LIVE REVIEW: Superstar DJ Pete Tong is hot stuff as Ibiza party shines in Scarborough

There's no getting away from it, as much as we all love it, Scarborough is hardly likely to match the sun-kissed island of Ibiza in the party holiday stakes.
Pete Tong brought his Ibiza Classics tour to Scarborough.Pete Tong brought his Ibiza Classics tour to Scarborough.
Pete Tong brought his Ibiza Classics tour to Scarborough.

But for one night only, the East Coast's premier seaside resort was treated to a taste of summer on the White Island when superstar DJ Pete Tong brought his Ibiza Classics tour to town.

The premise is a simple one. Bring the worlds of house music and classical music together and turn them into one huge party, welding together strings and brass onto electrifying drumbeats and breaks, all under the tutelage of Tong who oversees proceedings from his decks on a perch at the back of the stage.

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Considering many of the Ibiza classics were built around orchestral arrangements in the first place, Tong's link-up with The Heritage Orchestra and conductor Jules Buckley all makes perfect sense and as the sun set over Scarborough, we were treated to an epic set of dancefloor diamonds.

The swirling brooding strings of Fatboy Slim's Right Here, Right Now got things under way and from then on, it was a dip back into the Ibiza of summers gone by with one huge anthem after another being lapped up by a knowledgeable and appreciative audience, keen to show off its dancing skills right from the off.

So we had stompers like The Shapeshifters' Lola's Theme, the Chemical Brothers' Galvanize and Daft Punk's One More Time.

With a blistering and dazzling light show and lasers beaming into the Scarborough sky, most of the audience were probably reliving their heady days in the isle's superclubs like Pacha - although they do say if you can remember it, you weren't actually there!

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It's such a fast-paced and frenetic trawl through the musical history books that guest singers come and go to do their bit with Tong letting his decks do the talking.

The opening bars of Energy 52's Cafe Del Mar whip things up to an all-singing (OK, I know its an instrumental), all-dancing frenzy and by the time the epic Insomnia by Faithless rounds things off, it feels like Ibiza has well and truly landed on the East Coast and turned Scarborough into one loved-up party capital.

This was one magical, memorable party night - and while clubbing days might be a distant memory for some, this was a wonderful and exciting trip back in time with a man who knows how to throw an impressive party with all killer and no-filler.

All gone Pete Tong? It certainly didn't in Scarborough.