Babyshambles have teased more reunion shows following their reunion at a Pete Doherty solo gig.
The band, who formed in 2003 and ran until 2014, includes Doherty, Mick Whitnall (guitar), Drew McConnell (bass), and Adam Ficek (drums). They released three albums together: ‘Down In Albion’ (2005), ‘Shotter’s Nation’ (2007) and ‘Sequel To The Prequel’ (2013).
After Doherty teased the return of Babyshambles to NME last June, the band reunited for a gig at Pete Doherty’s solo concert on August 28. Although only McConnell and Ficek joined on stage at Northampton’s Roadmender, sources told NME they spotted Whitnall at the venue shortly before the gig – but apparently he couldn’t stay.
Now, it appears that gig wasn’t a one-off after all, with Ficek teasing on Instagram: “4 out of 5 ain’t bad….wait for it….”
Babyshambles reportedly played a version of The Libertines’ ‘Don’t Look Back Into The Sun’ before playing hits including ‘Baddie’s Boogie’, ‘Back From The Dead’ and ‘Albion’ before finishing off with ‘Time For Heroes’ and ‘Killamangiro’.
NME spoke to Doherty about their reunion earlier this year, with the frontman speaking on the potential of new material along with new shows: “The thing about the ‘Shambles is we had so many songs that we never got round to recording. In fact there’s one, called ‘Ocean’, which is now called ‘Stad Ocean’, which is on the solo album.
“But yeah, it’s just been a question of who’s gonna do what because there was a few Babyshambles line-ups and they’re all brilliant. In an ideal world, we’d get Pat [Walde, guitarist] and Mick [Whitnall, guitarist] playing and then maybe get Gemma [Clarke] and Adam [Ficek] to do some drums.”
The Libertines frontman also spoke of his documentary Stranger In My Own Skin, which NME rated four stars: “At the documentary’s end, he snuffs out the possibility of a tragic finale, sharing a desire to help other addicts on their road to recovery. A title screen that closes it all out calls attention to the Libs’ upcoming fourth record, out next year, while promising ‘many more records’ to come.
“Years ago, such a finish would have seemed unlikely. [Katia] DeVidas’ film might be a difficult watch but, as well as serving up a reminder of the horrors of addiction, at least it gives us plenty to be grateful for too.”
Speaking to NME, Doherty said of the film: “I’m really happy for Katia, really. It’s been finished for quite a while. I just hope the world gives her the credit she’s due. Now we’re thinking about the next project for her. She wants to do a fiction film. Hopefully if this does well and she can get the money together for the next project, it’ll be amazing. I’ll just be made up for her.
“It’s quite heavy watching a lot of that stuff, but it is a different time. The fuzz, forcefield and camouflage of the drugs I was taking at the time meant that I wasn’t arsed about what people thought or how I looked.”
