A NEW play telling the story of the Rolling Stones’ 1967 drugs bust has its gala opening tonight in Chichester – where Mick Jagger and Keith Richards once stood trial.
While many might think the pair would rather forget the infamous events, they have actually backed the production and allowed eight of their songs to be featured.
Their involvement in the show – named Redlands after Keith’s mansion, where the raid took place – is all down to the singer’s son Marlon, who passed the script on to his famous dad.
Director Justin Audibert told us at the Chichester Film Festival: “Marlon read the script and said, ‘This is amazing’. He then got the script to the Stones.
“There were specific Jagger and Richards compositions we wanted for the story and it was not a simple process.
“And they have never released their music for a theatre show before, so it was a really big thing.”
He went on: “I got an email as I arrived at the car park gates for the rehearsals and it said, ‘Mick and Keith say yes’.
“After that point, you know it is going to be OK. And I know Keith is coming to see the play.”
The theatre show turns the spotlight on Mick and Keith’s arrests for drug possession and the subsequent trial which saw them jailed.
They had their sentences overturned on appeal thanks to Nigel Havers’ dad Michael, a barrister who took on their case.
Redlands also focuses on the friendship between teenage actor Nigel and singer and actress Marianne Faithfull, who was Jagger’s girlfriend at the time.
Should the play take off, Justin said there is a chance it could move to London’s West End.
He added: “It was originally written as a film script, and then it was turned into a play. There have been offers, but we will have to see what happens.”
Given the cultural impact of the trial at the time, and the events that followed, I reckon this will be a must-see for Stones fans.
MADGE IS TRUE BLUES
MADONNA is the undisputed Queen of Pop but she can still slip under the radar.
I’m told the Material Girl went to watch Chelsea FC face Brighton at Stamford Bridge.
And rather than be wined and dined in a VIP box, she joined the crowd in the stands at the West London ground. Her presence seemed to be a lucky charm for the Blues, as they won 4-2 on Saturday.
After her Celebration Tour wrapped in May, Madonna has been working on a new album, her first since 2019’s Madame X.
Time goes by so slowly indeed.
Jack’s snacks are reminder of home
ITALIAN singer Jack Savoretti likes to take a little bit of home on the road with him.
Ahead of his UK tour next year, he tells us he stocks his dressing room with Italian snacks.
Jack, who has previously worked with the likes of Kylie Minogue, says: “We don’t drink like we used to. I still have Birra Moretti on my rider, but it’s mainly a lot of Italian snacks.
“Usually I have a band with me, but on this tour I will be solo, which is both exciting and nerve-racking. I used to be more nervous when I had to speak in between songs during a set, but you learn the fans and that it’s safe.”
Jack, will kick off his UK solo tour on the Isle of Man in February, before playing gigs across the UK into March. In another nod to his love of home, Jack’s latest album, Miss Italia, is all in Italian.
The record’s newest single, Bada, Bing, Bada Boom, features Miles Kane.
The pair performed the track on The Graham Norton Show over the weekend, with Jack admitting the loss of his father inspired him to reconnect with his roots.
He said of making an all-Italian album: “I had to do it rather than choosing to do it. My father, who was Italian, passed away two years ago and it was the first time I had experienced grief.
“Physically, I felt entirely numb, and Italian music was the only thing I could listen to and that moved me.”
Tickets for Jack’s 2025 tour are on sale now.
ROB TOONS UP HIS BUFF BOD
ROBBIE WILLIAMS was looking Supreme as he posed shirtless and opened up about his fitness overhaul on Insta.
Alongside his buff snaps, left, Robbie shared a drawing of his younger self.
He writes: “What you’re looking at is a fat 11-year-old . . . joined a boy band at 16 . . . nearly got a six- pack. Then left and tried Hedonism. Hedonism made me fat.”
He added: “I turned 50 and I’ve worked out consistently more than I ever have in my life. This time it’s to remain strong. I look cocky in those photos, but I’m not. I’m proud.”
Keep it up, Rob.
ESCAPE THE GLOOM AT JANET’S GIG
IT’S been 13 years since Janet Jackson last toured here but, my God, it was worth the wait.
Her show is practically a greatest hits set with stylish costume changes, slick staging and – of course, as a Jackson – the fiercest dance moves, even at the age of 58.
And she set such a relentless pace that even her newer, much younger fans could barely keep up.
Hits including What Have You Done For Me Lately got the crowd going before a section of slow jams starting with Take Care.
Before State Of The World from her Rhythm Nation 1814 record, she said: “When I wrote Rhythm Nation 35 years ago, I felt like the world was in desperate need of healing.
“I believe that the same message is needed now.”
Ain’t that true.
Thankfully. with her creative staging and a finale featuring her collaboration with late brother Michael, Scream, and uniting song Together Again, Janet had everyone forgetting about the outside world.
This show is the perfect form of escapism.
★★★★★
By Howell Davies
WEDDING BELLS FOR REBEL
CONGRATULATIONS are in order for Rebel Wilson.
The Pitch Perfect star, below, has tied the knot with fiancée Ramona Agruma in a romantic ceremony in Italy
The couple said, “I do” on Saturday in Sardinia. Rebel and Ramona went public with their romance in June 2022, with the actress branding her bride-to-be a real-life Disney princess.
They got engaged on Valentine’s Day last year after Rebel got down on one knee to pop the question. She recalled the moment in her book Rebel Rising: A Memoir: “Ramona sees the pastel rose petals all over the ground and the roses in a vase. I tell her how special she is.
“And then I get down on one knee and open the ring box.”
