The Dirty Strangers will remember lost friends at Chichester gig

Though it certainly won’t be a sombre occasion, sadly their Christmas gig at the Chichester Inn on Saturday, December 18 at 8pm will be in tribute to their very own keyboard player Scott Mulvey who died in October.

Chichester musician Alan Clayton – a friend to The Rolling Stones for 40 years – offered a few words in memory of Watts at the September gig: “And then the best tribute was that we just played the best rock ‘n’ roll that we could.”

Similar thoughts will now underpin their Christmas party.

“A Christmas party is a bit of a tradition for The Dirty Strangers,” Alan said. “We always have a Christmas party every year apart from last year. I suppose the last one must have been 2019. It’s only a couple of years that I have moved down to Chichester. Our Christmas parties are all about drink, merriment and dancing. It is a tried and tested formula! September was brilliant. It was packed out. It was really, really good but since then we have lost our keyboard player who played with Chuck Berry and Keith Richards and all sorts of people. He played that last Chichester gig with us.

“He was my partner for 40 years. We brought up our families together and played together and worked together. The last time we played Chichester all he could talk about was his holiday in Lanzarote that he had booked. He went away and had a stroke. He died out there but because he had had a stroke before he was fully insured to the hilt so all the horrible things like getting him back home were taken care of which was something at least. He was 70 and lived in London. It was just horrible. I have not got over it yet and the gig will be dedicated to his memory.”

There will also be plenty to celebrate. The gig also falls on Keith Richards’ birthday and on the birthday of the late Rolling Stones saxophone player Bobby Keys.

Alan first got to know Keith Richards through his friend Joe Seabrook who was Keith’s bodyguard: “He introduced me to Keith and 40 years later I am still his friend.

“I moved down to Chichester two or three years ago. The thing was that our house in London I bought 40 years ago and was worth a lot of money 40 years later. We decided to cash in and move down and move away from the city. Keith said ‘Stay at my spare place at Redlands’, at West Wittering.’ We lived in the bungalow next door to Redlands until we found a place. In that seven months we found the place where we now live in Chichester. It’s a lovely place. We have got the sea. We have got everything there.”

And apart from the huge sadness of losing Charlie this year and now Scott as well, it has been a good year, Alan says: “We had started a new album and I have done well over half the album that Scott is on. It was going really well. We were hoping to resume writing and making the album so it has been a good year apart from Scott and Charlie. We will get back to it after Christmas. All the Christmas things will kick in now and then in the New Year we hope to get back to doing it.”

Tickets £15; https://www.facebook.com/thedirtystrangers/. Also on the bill will be bands including The Targets.