Irvine Welsh preps Ibiza87 dance music drama

Trainspotting author Irvine Welsh, Sony and The Late Late Show with James Corden prodco Fulwell 73 are making Ibiza87, a new drama series set in the early years of the dance music scene on the party island.

DJs Danny Rampling, Paul Oakenfold and Nicky Holloway are all attached to the project, which is in development. The DJs will advise on the soundtrack and, producers told TBI,  are expected to make cameo appearances in the show.

Welsh (pictured) will write the series alongside his regular collaborator, Dean Cavanagh.

Sony Pictures International and Fulwell 73, the UK-based indie in which James Corden recently became a partner, are producing.

The project comes as Oakenfold, Rampling and Holloway all celebrates the 30th anniversary of their first life-changing trip to Ibiza.

The series will chronicle the rise of dance music, following the exploits of the British DJs on the Balearic island.

“Like the missing link between 24 Hour Party People and Straight Outta Compton, Ibiza87 chronicles the roller coaster highs and lows, the drug-fuelled excess and the untold riches through to the rivalries, violence and arrests of an incredible period in British music culture,” Fulwell said this morning.

“The house music scene and most importantly, the friendships made, the adventures had and crazy tales swapped, have been a pivotal part of our lives over the years,” said Irvine Welsh. “Those beats, pills and travels – whether to the other side of the world or across the town – shaped a generation, and the opportunity to construct a drama within this backdrop is a dream come true.”

Leo Pearlman, who will produce Ibiza87 for Fulwell 73, said: “Our aim is to make anyone who lived it look back with misty eyes and anyone who missed it wish they’d been along for the ride, and in Irvine and Dean we have the perfect writers on board to achieve that goal.”