Mallorca Lee Arena unveiled for Stereofunk festival event with tribute set by Oceano Lee

As the 2024 event on May 4 approaches, after careful consultation with Maria Lee and the couple’s children Oceano and Angel and with their full blessing, Stevie has announced the main arena at Stereofunk will be renamed the Mallorca Lee Arena this year and every year.

Oceano Lee will take his dad’s place on the line-up for the May event, to play a tribute set to Mallorca and Ultra-Sonic, with the help and support of Dream Frequency/Ultra Frequency’s Ian Bland, another of Mall’s close friends.

Mallorca’s wife Maria said: "Thank you Stevie for naming the main arena after Mall and giving our son Oceano the opportunity to play a tribute to his pap."

Ian Bland said: “I’m so proud to help. Carry on my dear friend Mallorca’s musical legacy, and Help His son Oshy start his own musical journey but it’s not about me. It’s about everyone keeping his memory alive no matter how small by sharing a post or posting a memory.  that’s what mallorca would have loved , sharing good vibes and bringing people together.! LOVE LOVE LOVE”

Open letter from Stevie Lennon of Stereofunk

Mallorca has always been a massive part of Stereofunk Festival and over the years became a great friend and a big ambassador for the event.

He played alongside us in the tiny marquees at Strathclyde Park in the very beginning and cemented himself as one our main acts as the festival grew year on year.

He was one of the good guys in the industry and genuinely loved seeing Stereofunk getting bigger.

He was always the FIRST person EVERY year to promote our event off his own back. He would offer suggestions on how we could improve the event and even unselfishly offered suggestions for which acts to book when he could have quite easily kept them under his hat for his own events.

That was the type of guy he was - an absolute diamond and a true gentleman. He had such an infectious personality that lit up any room he walked into and he was one of the funniest guys I knew. The turnout for his funeral spoke volumes for the man - he was loved by so many and we still love him massively, we always will.

We put a message to him on our artwork and billboards telling him – WE LOVE YOU MALL - and I’m so glad he knew about it and it made him smile. Thank you Maria.

When we introduced a big top for the main arena Mallorca quickly made it his own, totally rocking it to its core every time he took to the stage. I danced many times in that arena just looking up at him in awe, admiring his energy and the way he bossed the arena. I always knew that when he was on the tent would be getting rocked to the rafters.

This year is going to be incredibly difficult for me personally not having him there and I wonder if it will ever be the same without him - in my heart of hearts I know it won’t.

I’ve had all sorts of thoughts in my head on what we do next - do we even have the energy to carry on without him? How do we take the event forward without him?

When he passed away I couldn’t bring myself to promote the event any more so we stopped all our adverts. How could we continue to shout about a party when we've lost one of our dear friends and one of the main headliners at the gig every year?

Quite simply Mallorca Lee is irreplaceable and he'll be missed not only by me but by everyone that attends Stereofunk every year - but we need to make sure his legend lives on. We need to keep his memory and his music alive forever.

I can still hear his voice in my head saying 'Cmon Stefano get it sorted! Keep fighting mate! You can do this'.

So this year and every year, we have decided to pay tribute to him by renaming our main arena 'The Mallorca Lee Arena' - permanently. That way, Mallorca will always remain a part of Stereofunk. He has to.

One of the last texts he sent me before he passed away was a message to ask if his son Oshy could play the festival this year and we are going to make it happen for him.

So Oshy will make his debut in the Mallorca Lee Arena on May 4 - to play a tribute set in memory of his dad, but in his own way with whatever spin he wants to put on it. It’s Oshy’s set, in honour of Mallorca. And there will always be a spot on the line-up for Oshy, in the arena named after his dad, every year.

I know Mall will be smiling down that day watching his son play in the tent that Mall made his own. The thought of this fills me with happiness and I hope it might offer Oshy, Maria and Angel some comfort as we pay tribute to a legend.

I know it’s going to be a hard day for everyone but it’s also going to be a proud day for me knowing I’ve helped Oshi on his musical journey following in his father's footsteps. It also feels nice that I’ve been able to do as Mall asked me - one of his dying wishes.

I know Mall will love this.

We love you Mall

Stevie