Portsmouth club night Delight to host socially distanced event in Astoria

DJs Will Chump and Alex Dutton will host the Summer Anti-Social Club on Monday, August 3 at The Astoria club in Guildhall Walk.

The slot is usually held by their Delight club night which is popular for its use of alternative music and had been running for 21 years until the coronavirus outbreak.

Will, whose real name is Will Chambers, explained that the free anti-social night will act as a way for people to safely interact. He said: ‘I am very aware that the people from our scene don’t really have anywhere to go in the city yet in terms of bars. People can get very isolated, and there are a lot of people on their own.

‘The event will make use of the club's garden and we will run a quiz, which we have been doing over Facebook during lockdown. There will also be the chance for people to vote on what music is played in the background with an interactive jukebox app.

‘We are just doing this as a one-off and because we need to make sure we have got enough support and of course it's about keeping people safe. The venue has been incredibly diligent in making sure people can distance.

'The night is not about making money, it's just to allow people to get out and socialise safely.’

To ensure Delight will make a comeback in the future the public helped raise £2,542, with £1,000 donated by Portsmouth City Council, as part of a crowdfunding scheme.

Rather than asking supporters for cash the donors receive a ticket to the re-opening of Delight as well as a choice of merchandise, from mugs - to T-shirts to commemorative plates.

‘That pays for all our ongoing background costs, like keeping equipment in storage,’ Will said.

‘We are still very much looking forward to running our club nights as normal again with out loud music and outlandish events.'

The Summer Anti-Social Club night will take place from 9pm until 1am and is free to attend.

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