24 hour Dave is a legend in Ibiza, he was
head of security at Manumission for the
last 7 years, with a rep like that we sent
a Clubdates reporter to find out, just what
the best blag to get into a night club actually
is…
Punter: ‘My name’s
on the list, so and so sent me…’
Dave: ‘Who’s
so and so?’
Punter: ‘He works
for …’
Dave: ‘Sorry mate,
your name’s not on the list…’
Punter: ‘What do
you mean, my name’s not on the list?
(Don’t bother arguing you’ll
never get in) Are you calling me a liar?
With that, there’s no chance of you
getting in.
The main rules when trying to blag your
way into a club is always to keep eye contact
with the person you are talking to you who
has the guest list. Always act calm, and
never show signs of nerves, especially when
you’re walking up to the door. People
know whether you are on the blag by the
way you walk and talk.
Confidence is the key to success and also
being straightforward. Some of the best
blags are the truth, as 24 hour Dave went
on to tell me;
'Over the last 7 years I have heard all
of them. If people are honest with me I’m
more likely to give them a chance and listen
to them but over the years I’ve had
more people trying to blag their way into
Manumission than my grandmother’s
had hot dinners!’ Anyway, other security
may disagree but this to me is the best
blag;
‘ I had one guy come up to me one
night looking quietly confident and I thought,
here we go, another blag to hear. He came
up to me and asked if he could have a word.
Basically there was a big off queue for
Manumission and we weren’t letting
people in but making them wait due to the
fact that we were busy. Anyway, this geezer
starts walking towards me saying he wanted
to have a chat. I thought I’d listen
to what he had to say and see how good he
was.
I was waiting for the usual blag of I know
so and so and they’d put me on the
guest list (honestly!) but no, he was straight
up, said he’d pulled this stunning
girl and was dying to get into the club
to impress her. He was genuine and straightforward
which is usually the best way. I made him
wait for a few seconds as I pondered what
I should do and I thought bollocks, I’ve
had so many people trying to blag their
way in tonight but this guy had the front
to tell me the truth, so of course, I let
him and his lady in and not only did I let
them in free but gave them the full VIP
treatment – drinks etc.’
So, basically it goes to prove that honesty
IS the best policy.
'When people are walking towards me trying
to blag their way in, I stare at them just
to see how nervous they are. My face changes
from the staring at them, to staring right
through them, seeing how long they can keep
eye contact with me trying to unnerve them.
This usually works. I always have the last
word whatever the matter’.
CD: Who’s the most
polite, down to earth DJ you have ever met?
‘The most down to earth DJ has to
be Norman Cook. He’s not one of these
jumped up DJ’s he just loves his music
and loves playing. After playing one of
his sets at Manumission a couple of years
ago, not like some of the poncy DJ’s
wanting to be whisked away to a VIP lounge
where they can sit down and drink champagne
and do whatever chemical substances they
wish, all Norman wanted to do was go outside
for some fresh air and sit down and have
a beer and chill out. He’s never been
demanding and can’t stand all that
pretentious bullshit. This man could ask
for anything but all he wanted to do was
sit down, have a beer and chill out. Norman
Cook is probably the nicest person you could
meet on the island, loves his music with
a passion like no other DJ. No, Norman keeps
it real and I wish there were more DJ’s
like him.
CD: What about the Club
owners on the Island.
‘The club owners on the island are
always on the scam. If they can do a promoter
out of some money they will. I’ve
never taken a backhander and I never will.
I do not think its fair to the promoters…’
When working at Manumission I run a tight
ship. I have some of the best bouncers on
the island i.e. all ex army special forces.
They work well as a team keeping their eyes
on the punters and making sure that no one
was getting in to too much trouble. The
job we do is very stressful, clubbers have
to realise this. There are so many people
that overdo it and fry their brains on the
island that there is no point in getting
trashed if you are not going to wake up
in the morning to see the sun. Don’t
get me wrong, I’m not the cleanest
of living people. I’ve had my fair
share of good times out on the island having
been there for 8 years. I’ve partied
with the best of them and seen a lot of
them drop at the wayside.
So, if you ever really want to party on
the island, just find 24 hour Dave and he’ll
take you out on a bender you will honestly
never forget!
