A 64-year-old father-of-two has shown he’s still young at heart as he headed to Ibiza again for a 24-hour rave party – with nothing but a change of clothes in a Waitrose bag.
Andy Armstrong, who went viral last year for flying to a night out at Pacha ‘because there was nothing on TV’, decided to make the trip again 12 months later.
The party animal visits the island several times a year and this time he even managed to get a guest list for a performance by Fatboy Slim.
Armed with his trusty Waitrose bag – which he calls a “business class upgrade” on Asda, last year’s airline – Andy boarded a £62 flight from Newcastle on Thursday 1 August.
He landed on the party island shortly after 7pm and headed straight to San Antonio for a beer at Hotel Abrat, where he enjoyed the sunset before heading to Pikes for the gig at 11:30pm.
A 64-year-old father-of-two has shown he’s still young at heart as he headed to Ibiza again for a 24-hour rave night – with nothing but a change of clothes in a Waitrose tote bag
The raver partied all night long until 5am on Friday before having to head home.
When Andy landed on British soil, he took a train and arrived home 24 hours after leaving. The entire journey cost him less than £200.
The steelworker from Yarm-on-Tees, Stockton-on-Tees, North Yorkshire described his experience as ‘brilliant’.
“I saw I could get a flight from Newcastle for £62 and then a return flight to Leeds for €24, so I thought, ‘Let’s do it!’” he enthused.
‘The bag actually says “eat, sleep, re-use, repeat” – so I crossed out “re-use” and replaced it with “rave”.’
Andy said he even enjoyed a change of outfit – swapping his T-shirt for a floral one – to enjoy Fatboy Slim’s performance, which was “very intimate” with “no more than a couple of hundred people”.
The raver explained that he still had some time before his flight was due to leave, so he decided to head to superclub Eden.
“I turned on my charm and asked if they could waive the entrance fee and I was given a free VIP pass to get in,” Andy said.
Andy Armstrong, who went viral last year for flying to a night out at Pacha ‘because there was nothing on TV’, decided to make the trip again 12 months later
The party animal visits the island several times a year and this time he even managed to get the guest list for a Fatboy Slim performance. Pictured in Cafe Mambo
He landed on the party island shortly after 7pm and headed straight to San Antonio for a pint at the Hotel Abrat, enjoying the sunset before heading to Pikes for the 11.30pm gig.
Armed with his trusty Waitrose bag – which he calls a “business class upgrade” on last year’s Asda airline – Andy boarded a £62 flight from Newcastle on Thursday 1 August and was home within 24 hours.
The raver partied all night until 5am on Friday before heading home. After landing on British soil, Andy caught a train and arrived home 24 hours after leaving – the whole journey costing less than £200. Pictured on the way to Ibiza
The raver explained that he had some time before his flight, so he decided to head to superclub Eden. Pictured with bar staff in Ibiza
The contents of Andy Armstrong’s bag. A party animal dad jetted off to Ibiza for 24 hours of raving – with nothing but a change of clothes in a Waitrose tote bag
Andy personalised his Waitrose bag (pictured) as he headed to Ibiza for a 24-hour adventure and back
“I just went in there, enjoyed it and sat there and soaked up the atmosphere.”
‘Then at 6am I got a taxi to the airport. I set my alarm, had a quick nap on the seat and boarded the plane back to Leeds. Then I got the bus into the city centre, bought a new T-shirt to wear and then got the train back home,’ he revealed.
‘Everything arranged within 24 hours.’
Although Andy initially considered going for a few nights, the high costs put him off.
“I’m on the mailing list for Pikes and got an email two weeks ago about the Fatboy Slim gig and asked to sign up for the guest list,” he said.
‘I got an email back and I was in – a free ticket.
‘Pikes is a very famous venue – Wham made the 1984 video for Club Tropicana there and Freddie Mercury had his 41st party there – so the place where Fatboy Slim appeared is called Freddie’s Room.
‘So I wanted to go for three or four nights and it looked quite expensive – so I thought maybe I wouldn’t bother. It’s a free ticket, I’m not losing anything.
“But when I woke up the next morning, I remembered that I went for 24 hours last year. Let’s see if I can do it again.”
Andy fell in love with the party island in 1981, during a holiday with a boy when he was 21.
“I loved it,” he said. “I went back a couple of times later, when I was married, with my wife and daughters.”
But after the tragic loss of his wife five years ago, Andy wasn’t sure if he would ever return to Ibiza.
It was his eldest daughter, Tiffany, 32, who persuaded him to return with her in July 2018.
“I wasn’t sure because I had this idea that it would be full of youth, but I was wrong,” Andy recalls.
‘There were many people of the same age as me, who loved music and the island like I did.
Andy fell in love with the party island in 1981 while on holiday with a boy when he was 21. Pictured during his most recent trip to the island
And the raver has no plans to stop anytime soon – he hopes to ‘keep it going for as long as possible’. Pictured on his way to Ibiza
‘The first time we came back we stayed in Ushuaia and went to see David Guetta.’
In September 2018, he returned to the island with his second daughter Ellie, 24.
‘That’s how my love for Ibiza started. I’ve been back there many times, alone or with friends,’ he says.
And the raver has no plans to stop anytime soon. He hopes to ‘keep going as long as possible’.
“It’s fun,” Andy said. “I don’t do it for the attention or the ‘fame’, I do it because I want to and because I enjoy it.
“It’s an adventure and that’s what life is all about. I’m 64 and GOD….I’m getting old shamefully!”
