Savour the original flavour with a Balearic revival

A couple of summers ago, some friends and I decided to buy four old Ford Capris, none of which cost more than £300, and drive them in teams of two to France. Don't ask me why. It's just the sort of stupid plan that blokes hatch after a night out. I won't bore you with the details but suffice to say that my car didn't make it further than the first mile along the motorway. If nothing else though, the RAC man was very amused by the "go-faster" racing stickers we plastered all over it. What was crucial to the trip, however, was the soundtrack. "Keep it Balearic" was our mantra. We wanted happy proto-acid house grooves - the sort of tunes made for grinning, not gurning.

As we clunked and clattered our way to the motorway, Summer Of Love '88 anthems pumped out of the sound system and we were, at least until the engine exploded, quite deliriously cheery. For the uninitiated, Balearic beats sprang from Ibiza (the clue is in the name) and are typified by a lower BPM (usually 90-110) and a laid-back feel.

It's music for gentle grooving in the Mediterranean sun, as opposed to tops-off, head-down raving in a warehouse. The real beauty of Balearic, though, is its refusal to be pigeonholed.

A true Balearic DJ back in the day might play, say, a Mandy Smith remix, followed by The Thrashing Doves, some Chris Rea and then an electroey Finitribe tune. That genrebending mix is sadly lacking in many of today's clubs. But with smiley T-shirts and espadrilles back on sale in Top Man, and the rock and rave mash-up sound blowing up some of London's best clubs, the time is surely right for a full-on Balearic revival.

Leading the charge is a fabulous-looking night called The Balearic Lounge, opening tomorrow in the champagne bar of the Great Eastern Hotel (7pm-1am). It's free to get in and the promoters promise a night of "pre-house, ambient classics and rhythmic disco" - meaning a glorious mix of Fleetwood Mac B-sides, Rolling Stones remixes, guitar-flecked house and Bobby O disco.

Similarly eclectic and also well worth a look tomorrow is Chalk at The Scala (10.30pm-4am) with a wild mix of styles, including hip hop, deep house, ragga and jungle. London's Balearic heart is beating once more as DJs and promoters experiment with styles and inject a dose of fun back into clubland. Come savour the original flavour.