How Ayia Napa became a clubbing capital
Witness History
BBC
4.5 • 1.6K Ratings
🗓️ 19 July 2024
⏱️ 10 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
In the 1990s, Ayia Napa, in Cyprus, went from quiet fishing village to party resort.
The Kool Club was one of the first nightclubs to open in 1995.
Rachel Naylor speaks to founder and DJ Nick Power, the 'godfather of Ayia Napa'.
Eye-witness accounts brought to life by archive. Witness History is for those fascinated by the past. We take you to the events that have shaped our world through the eyes of the people who were there. For nine minutes every day, we take you back in time and all over the world, to examine wars, coups, scientific discoveries, cultural moments and much more.
Recent episodes explore everything from football in Brazil, the history of the ‘Indian Titanic’ and the invention of air fryers, to Public Enemy’s Fight The Power, subway art and the political crisis in Georgia. We look at the lives of some of the most famous leaders, artists, scientists and personalities in history, including: visionary architect Antoni Gaudi and the design of the Sagrada Familia; Michael Jordan and his bespoke Nike trainers; Princess Diana at the Taj Mahal; and Görel Hanser, manager of legendary Swedish pop band Abba on the influence they’ve had on the music industry. You can learn all about fascinating and surprising stories, such as the time an Iraqi journalist hurled his shoes at the President of the United States in protest of America’s occupation of Iraq; the creation of the Hollywood commercial that changed advertising forever; and the ascent of the first Aboriginal MP.
(Photo: The Kool Club, in Ayia Napa. Credit: Nick Power)
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | He is Brian Cox. |
| 0:02.8 | Hello. |
| 0:03.3 | And he understands science. |
| 0:05.3 | I'm Robin Ince and I don't understand it quite so much. |
| 0:09.0 | Could it tell us something about the nature of matter? |
| 0:11.3 | Nope. |
| 0:12.0 | Okay, good. |
| 0:14.2 | Together we'll be joined by a collection of experts and non-expert guests. |
| 0:18.6 | What's going on? |
| 0:19.8 | Don't worry. |
| 0:21.7 | Taking a look at some of the most wonderful things |
| 0:24.4 | in the scientific world. |
| 0:25.9 | Science with Funny Bits, The Infinite Monkey Cage on Radio 4 and BBC Sounds. B.C. World Service and now the Witness History Podcast with me Rachel Naylor. |
| 0:49.0 | Grab your crew, your glow sticks and your alka pot or off raving in I and Apa. I'm taking you back to the 90s to when the Cypriot resort was just a quiet fishing |
| 0:56.2 | village long before it became a European clubbing capital. I've been speaking to the Godfather |
| 1:02.1 | of IANappa, the DJ who put it on the party map. |
| 1:09.1 | It's summer 1992 and British-born Cypriot Nick Power is on holiday in Iyanapa in Cyprus. |
| 1:16.4 | Sure it was pretty but there wasn't much of a party scene. There was a handful of clubs playing |
| 1:22.3 | mainly commercial music for Scandinavian tourists. |
| 1:27.4 | All the bars were tuning into the local radio station, which was Napa radio, |
| 1:32.2 | between the hours of midnight and 1.30 something like that. |
| 1:35.6 | Yo, give me something to dance. |
... |
Please login to see the full transcript.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from BBC, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of BBC and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.