Tony Pike - Mr Pikes: The Story Behind The Ibiza Legend

QUOTE

He did have an enormous penis and I was happy to take care of it Grace Jones

DEDICATION

To all the women I have loved before...

FOREWORD by Matt Trollope

February, 2017:

One new message...

Good morning, I dont know who the fuck you are, but Ive got a missed call from you, sorry for swearing. Im Australian. Im stuck in Ibiza at the moment, its not glorious, but its still quite nice, definitely T-shirt weather. Im still in bed, though, but I will get up now and go and get some breakfast, so if you could call me back, whoever the fuck you are, that would be great, thank you

Tony Pikes daily battles with his mobile phone are quite hilariousand well known among those close to him, who he frequently sends photos of his latest squeeze to by mistake. Or even your own profile photosomehow

But we can excuse the (senior) Seor Pikes a few technological indiscretions.

This is a man who built himself up from nothing ...and who revolutionised office admin long before the mobile phone, office computer or internet existed.

Who travelled the worldand became the living embodiment of the phrase work hard, play hard.

Who bought a 500-year-old Spanish farmhouse with no electricity, running water, sanitationor roomsand turned it into the best rock and roll hotel in the world.

The term living legend is bandied about far too much, but spend a day with Tony Pike and youll believe that its fully justified in his case. Too many people tell him constantly.

When I was asked to ghostwrite his autobiography it was a simple case of when do I start?. I was aware of the Pikes storyand had been introduced to Tony a few times over the years, but was intrigued at the opportunity to get to know the manto dig deeper behind the well-known tales of celebrity and hedonism. To find out the Story Behind The Ibiza Legend.

Ten hilarious, emotional, outrageous and eye-opening visits to Ibiza later and, as Tony had insisted, I had gone some way to finding my inner Pike.

Tony was 44-years-old when he arrived in Ibiza in 1978and he proceeded to party with the best of them through the 80s and 90s in his 50s and 60s.

Now at the grand old age of 83-years-young the man Boy George dubbed the real Hugh Hefner has decided to tell all

The globetrotting story of how Tony Pike reached Ibiza is as fascinating as the shameless shenanigans and scrapes he conjured up on the island.

One of the first questions I asked Tony was whether he realised he had already become a playboy by the mid-60s.

No I didnt. I realised I had become an international playboy, because I was travelling the world, to the most exotic places, fucking the most gorgeous women. To break into that playboy scene is hard, but once youre in, it can be self-perpetuating. And I had all the right props. Boats, charm, looks and a big dick...which I was prepared to use. I also used to remind myself regularly that I was nobody too. That I could be easily replaced or discarded. It helped.

And its probably that combination of ego, confidence and humility that helped propel and define Tony Pike into a comparative world of fantasy and decadence.

I used to have fantasiesbut not anymore. Ive done them all.

Its not for everyonesleeping with more than 3,000 women/people yeah, I know, its a hard job, but someones got to do it but Tony had the balls to take his life on. Big ones, at that, he will tell you.

The child that lived above a bottle shop in war-torn Waltham Cross had become that international playboy long before hed even heard of Ibiza.

On June 1st, 2018 the new owners of Pikes will hold the inaugural Tony Pike Day, to commemorate the 40th anniversary of his arrival on the island.

It may appear that every day is Tony Pike Day for Tony, but life wasnt always so easy, so hedonisticfilled with such bravado. How Tony was able to gad around the world with such gay abandon after a tough childhood that almost robbed him of all self-esteem is quite remarkable.

Even when life was good, and its often been as good as it gets for Mr Pike, there was often a disaster, tragedy or self-inflicted trauma around the corner.

But he always emerged with a glint in his eye and an unwavering lust and zest for lifeto a place where membership is definitely a smiling face.

Pikes Hotel has everything. The famous dusty dirt-track drive up to the hotel. The pool bar. The view. The conflicting relaxed ambience and party-hard ethos. A sprawling Balearic bolt-hole with boutique boho chic lovingly built, created and inspired by Tonys galavanting travels. The playboy who built himself a playground.

Yet, for all he has created, Tony has had to pick himself up and dust himself down again on many occasions. He has muddled and meddled his way through a flamboyant life most could have neither dreamed of or dreamt up. Yet he did both

And while he has certainly lived the dream, often pushing it to its reckless limits, to question Tonys rose-tinted outlook and devil-may-care attitude would be to undermine the immense amount of hard work he has put in and the huge amount of joy he has given so many along the way.

There are a few wives and girlfriends out there who may not be as grateful, but ask any guest at Pikes, and theyll say the same thing

Thank-you, Tony.

YOU CAN SUNTAN

Every year it was a battle to get the hotel ready for the season.

In the winter the property always looked like a construction site as Id try and build more rooms to keep up with demand in the summer.

The original finca that became Pikes is more than 500 years old and in the lead-up to the first four seasons it felt like I had built every other fucking brick.

Always covered in shit.

Locals would arrive asking for the jefe the chief.

Thats me.

No, the real jefe.

How real do you want, sport? Yes, Im head to toe in cement and other crap, but it just means Im fair dinkum and working to create my dream...not the violent drug baron the police have accused me of being.

Id graft hard all winter and do what I could until April, and then hope at least one couple would arrive at Easter.

But one coupleand I had to open the whole hotel.

Not always cost effective, with all the various licences, permissions and all that sort of bollocks needed, but we had to open at some point to be ready for any customand try and gradually build up until we were full.

A couple of seasons in and I had a particularly good piece of luck

One day in early 1983 I saw a guy walking across the fields. He gradually made his way up to us at the hotel and introduced himself as Simon Napier-Bell, the manager of a pop group in London.

He asked me where the boss was, and I told him I was the boss.

He said: No, the boss of this hotel?

What did he expect? That Id be sitting there in a bow tie?

He was a very nice and very English man and I commented on what a great name he had. I introduced myself as the owner of the hotel.

The fields were like a quagmire at the time, but Simon had trudged across, and explained he was looking for a venue to record a music video.

I explained that I was very ignorant and knew little about popular culture. Life just hadnt allowed me to enjoy as much music as I would have liked to.

I told him that now I was semi-retired. I had planned on buying the best sound system money could buy, and that I would listen to classical music on it, because that would attract the right kind of lady too. As usual, I was digressing

Semi-retired didnt really last that longit was hard work running a soon-to-be iconic hotel.

By chance I had just finished the pool.

The land around the finca was bathed in sunshine. Sun all day long. Its what hit me when I first viewed the property so I knew the hotel needed a pool for guests to lounge around and to be able to dip in and out of, but it was so expensive. My girlfriend Lynn helped fund it with her divorce settlement. Well, I had been named as co-respondent.