After Hours... Spain: Rincón de Loix, Benidorm!

From watching many documentaries about Benidorm, the nightlife portrayed never left a lot to the imagination. During that January visit, certain limitations didn't stop us from enjoying evenings out at the venues that were open, regardless! From the Palladium to Morgan Tavern with a surprise appearance at the Black Chicken, sure I love a bit of camp karaoke in Benidorm! 

Deciding not to let our evening go to waste after such a great day out in nearby Alicante, we put our glad rags on and headed down to Rincón de Loix's own Benidorm Palladium. With a nights worth of free entertainment we were in, showing our NHS COVID Passes allowed us instant access to the fun! I didn't know what to expect, I was open to the delights of the nights lineup without any judgement. First up, the 'Rat Pack' took to the stage with a string of hits. They were a great warm up act for the incomparable 'Miss Levi G' who we had both seen on Channel 5's own 'Bargain Loving Brits In The Sun!' With a constant reel of jokes and witty banter, this Benidorm queen knew how to whip her audiences into shape. Literally, nobody was safe from being scorched by 'Levi' but it was all in good humour. She had impressed us so much so, we returned to the 'Palladium' to see Levi perform on our final night! A night-out in Spain? Yes, after being in the house bored it had to be done! Sure as heck, we loved seeing Levi G in Spain!

We were there for the long-haul to see 'Sticky Vicky' perform her novelty act, well her daughter, Maria. From TV's 'Benidorm' series, I remember hearing references made about 'Vicky' with the deepest of affections and adoration for her act. Reliving the fantasy from those moments paid towards Vicky and her act, we had to stay a little longer at the Palladium. Between 'Levi G' and 'Sticky Vicky', we saw comedian 'Tony Scott'. I had to hold onto my seat because the jokes he told really did shock me, maybe because I'm from this so called 'Generation Snowflake', I found 99% of his jokes utterly shocking! Hey, it was Benidorm and for that reason Tony's jokes didn't offend me, they made me laugh more than anything else! Sticky Vicky did what? Yes, she did! From acrobatics to pulling razor blades out of her vagina, well I had witnessed all of life's wonders at the Benidorm Palladium! A bottle of Pepsi? Yes, she opened that also! Benidorm's Palladium had me seeing very extreme things, it was all in the name of entertainment! I'm still in shock, V! 

Those Benidorm 'After Hours' experiences were rolling into one, during one of those nights we headed down to 'Morgan Tavern' to see two tribute acts. Of course, we knew that the bulk of the 'Neptunes' scenes from 'Benidorm' had been filled inside this venue. Checking out that former filming location had to be done! That night we saw two tributes at Morgan Tavern, we enjoyed such entertainment from Bob Marley and Shania Twain. Bob Marley aka 'Mykal Moziah' had everybody feeling those Jamaican 'island vibes' in the town of Benidorm that January 2022 night! Performing a string of classics from the legend, Bob Marley had people on their feet with no persuasion needed! Next up, Shania Twan aka 'Jasmin Benidorm' brought out all of those chart-topping Shania hits for us who were at Morgan Tavern that night. Home of the tribute act, I embraced Benidorm's night scene for what it was and that impressed me much! Benidorm's Morgan Tavern had me living my tribute Benidorm fantasy, what a time to be alive! We loved it!

Our meeting with Benidorm's 'Morgan Tavern' might not have been long enough to see the final two acts of the night but fearing not, the views had made me laugh without malice. People from the true 'working class' sector of British society could be seen having the best time on that night-out. Without judgement people minded their own business, making the most of the tribute acts who were on the bill that night, it was something new for me to see. I really hadn't seen anything like Morgan Tavern since I was a child as my travels as an adult have taken me to a different 'long-haul' scene. Being back in Europe since the Pandemic struck, the change of scenery has allowed me to experience the culture of the British package-holidaymaker in Spain. We did plan on returning to Morgan Tavern on our final night in Benidorm but let me just say that the next venue had us going back for second and third helpings! Things were about to get messy, really messy! Oh heck, it was 'After Hours!' Morgan, see you in the next blog post! Thanks, Morgan! 

The Black Chicken? ¿El pollo negro? That infamous Benidorm nightspot had been introduced to me on the second evening out in the Rincón de Loix area. Located next to the Benidorm Palladium allowed me to walk past the 'Black Chicken' to see a raucous scene with a hen party carrying away like they didn't have any cares in the world! Regardless of 'Señorita Corona' they were going to live their best lives and party on into the night! On our final night we decided to have a few drinks earlier on at the Black Chicken, their karaoke programme had already started with only a few other patrons who were also enjoying some early evening drinks. We had been on the beach that day and for the best part of that last day we had enjoyed wine and then a few hotel room made drinks, needless to say the edge was taken off because the Black Chicken had that spice! With a couple of songs already sung, we went back to the Palladium for seconds! It was mad, the microphone was constantly in my hands, I actually loved my life on the Karaoke! 

Back to Black? Yes, but don't even get me started! We decided to have a few more drinks at the Black Chicken before we originally planned to return to Morgan Tavern before we called it a night, that didn't happen! Upon leaving the Black Chicken I somehow left my phone behind, which to be honest isn't something I am no stranger doing. Retracing our steps, we went back to the Black Chicken to find the owner and another lady standing at the door with my phone! I was so grateful! Singing a few more songs, along with some of the other revellers we played 'karaoke roulette!'. Getting up to sing a few more songs, you already know that those performances would be training for those future KTV nights for when I'll be back in China. The three nights out in Benidorm's Rincón de Loix gave me the tribute, comedy and karaoke experience rolled into one holiday! Benidorm allowed me to have a great time without worrying how flashy or not I looked! Hoy se bebe, BB! The Palladium, Morgan Tavern and the Black Chicken completed the nights! 

¡Noches Locas En Benidorm!

Desperately Seeking Adventure