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The Motel is a love letter to a lost paradise: Ibiza in the 1990s. It's a celebration of all those people from around the world who came to a small Mediterranean island and became part of the swashbuckling adventure that was Manumission.

In 1998, with Manumission going into its fifth year, Mike and Claire borrowed a large amount of money from an armed German cocaine dealer and against all odds took over an abandoned brothel on the outskirts of Ibiza town and turned it into a 24-hour party destination – the most notorious venue of the decade – The Motel.

This is the story of the Motel but it’s also the story of Manumission. Over its fourteen-year history, over 1.5 million people attended the club, it was the biggest weekly party in the world earning it a place in the Guinness World Records. On the dancefloor young ravers rubbed shoulders with supermodels, rock stars, fashion designers, drug dealers, and the sporting elite – sharing a universal feeling of ecstasy – with zero violence – everyone partying in complete harmony.

With much of club culture currently under the spell of VIP service, corporate sponsoring and branding, The Motel is a timely reminder that life wasn't always that way.

The cover image of Claire at the Motel is by kind permission of the photographer Franck Sauvaire.

 

The Motel

Claire Manumission
Status: Being written
Publication date: TBC
  • Signed Hardback
    Signed Hardback£35.00387 Pledges

    Signed first edition hardback and the name of your choice printed in the subscribers’ list at the back of the book.

    Name to be printed in the back of the book
    387 Pledges
    Name to be printed in the back of the book
  • The Motel - Cover
    Hardback£25.0082 Pledges

    First edition hardback and the name of your choice printed in the subscribers’ list at the back of the book.

    Name to be printed in the back of the book
    82 Pledges
    Name to be printed in the back of the book
  • eBook
    eBook£10.00448 Pledges

    Take 'The Motel' state of mind with you everywhere - a beautifully designed eBook and the name of your choice printed in the subscribers’ list at the back of the book.

    Name to be printed in the back of the book
    448 Pledges
    Name to be printed in the back of the book
  • Audiobook
    Audiobook£10.0038 Pledges

    The Motel Audio Book. A groundbreaking sonic delight designed by M&C with original score by Mark Sayfritz. An homage to the classic radio play with a pumping 90s dancefloor twist. Stunning and evocative sound design by ex-Goldie producer turned Hollywood composer (Motel regular) Mark Sayfritz. And full emotive narration by Claire with contributions from Mike and all the major players who will join us in reliving their Motel adventures as they tell the tale in their own iconic voices.

    38 Pledges
  • Bookmark
    Bookmark£5.0026 Pledges

    A Manumission bookmark from our record-breaking year in Privilege - when the crazed club owner forever closed the doors on Ibiza’s most successful night.

    26 Pledges
  • A2 Cover Art Poster
    A2 Cover Art Poster£30.001 Pledges
    1 Pledges

The Motel is a love letter to a lost paradise: Ibiza in the 1990s. It's a celebration of all those people from around the world who came to a small Mediterranean island and became part of the swashbuckling adventure that was Manumission.

In 1998, with Manumission going into its fifth year, Mike and Claire borrowed a large amount of money from an armed German cocaine dealer and against all odds took over an abandoned brothel on the outskirts of Ibiza town and turned it into a 24-hour party destination – the most notorious venue of the decade – The Motel.

This is the story of the Motel but it’s also the story of Manumission. Over its fourteen-year history, over 1.5 million people attended the club, it was the biggest weekly party in the world earning it a place in the Guinness World Records. On the dancefloor young ravers rubbed shoulders with supermodels, rock stars, fashion designers, drug dealers, and the sporting elite – sharing a universal feeling of ecstasy – with zero violence – everyone partying in complete harmony.

With much of club culture currently under the spell of VIP service, corporate sponsoring and branding, The Motel is a timely reminder that life wasn't always that way.

The cover image of Claire at the Motel is by kind permission of the photographer Franck Sauvaire.

 

You literally did not know what sort of a day you were going to wake up into. Or if you were going to wake up. Or even go to bed at all, ever again.
Irvine Welsh
Author

Updates

FRIENDS AND MOTELIERS UPDATE

Dearest Friends & Moteliers, Two years writing the memoir. It's been so time consuming and immersive that I often plan to - but totally forget - to give you an update. To make matters more complicated...

30.01.2024
See more updates

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