Pete Tong presents Ibiza Classics
Pete Tong, real name Peter Michael Tong, is the Dartford-born DJ and broadcaster who's been a fixture of British dance music since the early 1980s. He was the first Radio 1 presenter to front a dedicated club music show, the Essential Selection, which he began in 1991, having started out as a wedding DJ in Kent during his mid-teens. On 30 October 1993 he launched the Essential Mix on Radio 1, a show that's run for decades and introduced generations of listeners to house, techno and everything in between. Alongside his broadcasting, Tong worked for Capital Radio broadcasting club music, and started a record label in 1988, FFRR, introducing the careers of groups such as Orbital and Salt 'n' Pepa. He's also a longtime Ibiza DJ, having held a residency at Pacha during the mid-2000s.
Ibiza Classics is Tong's project reimagining house and dance anthems with a live orchestra. It began in 2015, when BBC Radio 1 brought together Tong with orchestral conductor and composer Jules Buckley to fuse electronic and classical music for the BBC's late-night Prom at the Royal Albert Hall. The resulting Ibiza Classics compilation album, made with Buckley and the Heritage Orchestra, followed Classic House and was released through Universal Music in December 2017. It features orchestral covers of tracks by artists including Massive Attack, the Prodigy and Jessie Ware. The live show has since toured internationally, taking in venues such as the Hollywood Bowl and multiple sold-out nights at London's O2 Arena.
On stage, Tong fronts the show alongside the orchestra and a rotating cast of guest vocalists and DJs, turning familiar club records into full orchestral arrangements without losing their dancefloor energy. Expect a host of special guest DJs and singers alongside reimagined versions of well-known house tracks, built around Tong's own decades of A&R and radio experience picking out the tunes that defined Ibiza's clubbing years. For the December arena dates in Glasgow, Manchester, Leeds, Birmingham and Nottingham, it's a big, orchestral night out built on recognisable dance music rather than a conventional club set.