Thursday, October 22, 2026
Aboard the Island Princess--on the Mediterranean Sea
68F, sunny
Imagine sailors
stepping off a Navy ship anchored in a port like Palma, the Mediterranean light
spilling over the harbor as they wander into the maze of old streets, taking in
the mix of sea air, café chatter, and the slow rhythm of a city that seems to breathe
differently from the world they left offshore.
It would not take
long for them to learn about The Barbarella Discotheque, a futuristic octagonal
dance hall that opened on July 15, 1969, in Palma, Mallorca. Located on Avenida Joan Miró near Plaza
Gomila, it had a capacity of about 1000 people. The dance area was
surrounded by bar areas, red and blue lighting, and advanced sound systems for
the era.
The
logo was a black silhouette of a woman, chosen through an international
competition--pictured in one of the photos below.
Known for playing
records not yet released in Spain, it was a cutting-edge venue that attracted
major international acts, including the Rolling Stones, James Brown, Wilson
Pickett, The Hollies, The Animals, Jimi Hendrix, B.B. King, Jose Feliciano, and
The Marmalade. Barbarella quickly became
one of Europe’s most famous discotheques.
The decline of Barbarella
in Palma began in the late 1970s. A fire
in 1988 damaged the building when it was operating as Metropolis. The structure was eventually demolished in
the early 1990s.
According to
various sources on the Internet, there may still be such a disco in Croatia. Even
Sweden, the United Kingdom, and Orlando, Florida had discos with the same name
at one time.
For one short moment, TK and his pals had a good time.
Various photos found on the Internet specifically for Palma. Not many!
Looks like it would have been a fun time
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