We do not have a detailed chronicle of this party, but some figures help to guide us. We know, for example, that it ended with 232 broken glasses, which is not bad for 500 guests. We also know that it took three days to inflate with Helio the thousands of black and golden balloons that decorated the space and that someone was about to cause a misfortune by burning one with a lighter to entertain a girl with whom he was ligating. The lag was extended for three days and 350 bottles of Moët Chandon were consumed. We talked about Freddie Mercury’s 41 birthday party at the Pikes Hotel in Ibiza, one of the most legendary of the singer, held on September 5, 1987.
Nor do we have the fact of how much money was spent on it, since when Tony Pikes – Australian website of the establishment – asked Mercury about the budget he replied that “there is no”, giving him a white letter to spend. Queen had always been a generous person, but that year money cared less than ever, since they had just diagnosed AIDS, a disease that had high mortality rates at the time. He did not comment to any guest. The celebration was raised as the mother of all parties, something with which to overcome her 1978 spree at the New Orleans Fairmont Hotel, famous for the dwarves that carried trays with Bolivian cocaine in the head, raffling a team of waiters who served naked all night.
This time, at the Pikes Hotel, the only condition of the establishment’s owner was not to force him to buy drugs. Each guest had to get theirs and some tabloid published that some sprinkling cocaine in breakfast cereals had been seen. The sensationalist press exerted a sad influence on the party, since it prevented the assistance of Elton John because at that time they had accused him of lying with chaperos minors. Elton suspended his night outings for a while and ended up winning a trial for Rupert Murdoch. The only two things that failed on the birthday was the assistance of the author of “Your Song” and the immense cake in the form of Gaudí’s sacred family, which collapsed hours before the beginning.
The four vodkas with tonic of discord
The guest list is spectacular: Julio Iglesias, Naomi Campbell, Tony Curtis, Bon Jovi, Van Damme, Kylie Minogue, Grace Jones, Boy George, Spandau Ballet … If someone had put a bomb, we would have taken decades to rebuild the pop planet. The lag ended with an impressive fireworks show. Mercury was usual of the Pikes, a splendid, educated and always grateful customer with the attention of the staff. Although the party had no budget, the accounts were checked thoroughly by the band’s manager, which protested Toni Pikes to include “four vodkas with tonic” when he did not remember that no one had asked for Vodka. Freddie had to intervene to clarify that he had commissioned them for the boys of the bar. Today the spirit of that party floods the entire Pikes hotel, which has Mercury Furniture, corners dedicated to its memory and parties in its honor where the clothing code requires to wear a mustache, real, postpizen or painted. That 1987 night was the top of this Boutique Hotel, to the point that the current owners (the Ibiza Rocks Group) continues to exploit its aura.
What Queen’s singer liked most in his frequent vacations in El Pikes was to play tennis and that the piano to play near the pool, an operation that required six men. The clients were then with the luxury of an unexpected concert. The close relationship reached such an extent that, in 1990, when Mercury was already very deteriorated, Pikes broke his rule of not buying drugs for customers. His most iconic guest had asked him to get cocaine to support pain and did not want to refuse. As he had no habit or contacts, he asked the head of the Local Police for help, who knew he would not denounce him because he was a big fan of Queen.