How was it for you? Pete Doherty's 2007

Here we are, it's Peter's turn! A quite active year for Peter and Babyshambles, but also a pretty messy one (are you surprised?). There have been some good and some bad times, the release of an album and a so-called "arena tour" (I was not sure whether that fitted the Top or Bottom so I left it out!). But, as in Carl's case, I think the best moment has still to be that memorbale night of April...

Peter's Top Ten
10. Releasing Shotters Nation
9. Getting rid of some horrible people
8. Organizing the exhibition of his blood paintings
7. Scoring two goals at the Celebrity Soccer Six Event
6. Meeting Paul McCartney
5. Recording A Day In The Life with Carl
4. Playing some awesome surprise gigs
3. Being brilliant at Glastonbury
2. Joining LMHR campaign
1. Playing with Carl at the Hackney Empire

Peter's Bottom Ten
10. Releasing Shotters Nation
9. Not turning up at a few gigs
8. Turning up at the EMAs
7. Being crap at T In The Park
6. Not making up with Pat Walden
5. Still bitching a bit about the Libertines
4. Shooting the KP Nuts video. Too much is too much, Pete
3. Releasing crap b-sides
2. Still making a permanent exhibition of his life for the massified idiocy
1. Going mainstream. They don't deserve you, Pete (and viceversa).

How was it for you? Carl Barat's 2007

2007 is wrapping up and it’s time for recaps.
Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to the Official Breck Road Lovers’ 2007 Top Ten and Bottom Ten Charts.
Today it’s Carl Barat’s turn. Carl and Dirty Pretty Things have had a rather quiet year (at least, compared to 2006) but our man has been through his regular ups-and-downs.

Carl ‘s Top Ten

10. Showing his terror of wasps without fear of being branded as a sissy
9. Getting through the year without breaking his bones
8. Being able to brag about the new album for a whole year without telling anything at all
7. Becoming Gene Vincent “just for one day”
6. Writing two long posts to the DPT’s official site “Diary”
5. Writing 9 Lives
4. Recording A Day In The Life with Peter
3. Being brilliant at Get Loaded In The Park
2. Joining LMHR campaign
1. Joining Peter’s solo gig at the Hackney Empire


Carl’s Bottom Ten

10. Trying to become a boring teetotal farter at the beginning of the year. Teetotallers stink.
9. Opening for Muse and Red Hot Chili Peppers. Fuck rock dinosaurs.
8. Bragging about the new album for a whole year without telling anything at all
7. Getting a crap haircut
6. Writing only two posts to the DPT’s official site “Diary”
5. Getting involved in silly and unworthy activities to promote McGee’s other (unworthy) acts
4. Reforming the Chavs. Yawn.
3. Being crap at Glastonbury.
2. Keeping McGee as manager
1. Hiding himself away for four months (and making up stupid excuses for that)

Stay tuned for Peter’s Top and Bottom Chart in the next days!

Carl and Didz back from the dead

Bulletin from DPT’s myspace:
We’re Back! Well some of us are anyway! To celebrate our return to the UK, we are heading down to Rochester this Saturday, 22nd December, to DJ at the launch night of our good friend Dean Fragile’s new club night - Totally Wired (see site). Cheap drinks and a DPT DJ set - what better way to start the festivities! See you there!
(Carl and Didz doing the honours)

Not a single word about the album yet. But hey, welcome back fellas.

Babyshambles at the Rhythm Factory - Night 2

Disastrous second night of the Shambles at the Rhythm Factory. Peter had the "cat flu" and after 8 songs and a bit of puking and passing out he left the venue. The poor fellas who had forked out 30 quid or so to see the band rocking out were left deeply disappointed, but at least they can boast around they have seen Peter throwing up. Kidding, I'm very sorry for them.

By the way, this is the NME report:

Pete Doherty was taken ill halfway through at a Babyshambles gig in London last night (December 19). The singer was forced to abandon the show at Rhythm Factory in the early hours of the morning.Doherty passed out briefly and vomited backstage before being rushed home to recuperate. His bandmates continued the set with fans on vocal duties as they did at the Shockwaves NME Awards Launch Party, before the frustrations led guitarist Mick Whitnall into an altercation with security guards. Pete Doherty had arrived at the venue with his bandmates at 11:40pm GMT, looking sober though tired and wearing two coats for warmth, following a long late-night set with Babyshambles the previous night at the venue (December 17), and a solo show on Sunday (December 16) night.“I’ve got cat flu!” the singer had joked to NME.COM as he arrived, adding that after playing two vigorous gigs in a row he felt “pretty rough”. The band took the stage shortly afterwards to rapturous applause form hardcore Babyshambles fans who had been lucky enough to bag tickets, opening with ‘Killamangiro’. The band continued to play an energetic, tight set including fan favourites 'UnStookietitled’, ‘Delivery’ and ‘Beg, Steal Or Borrow’. After playing ‘Side Of The Road’, the eighth song of the night, Doherty suddenly rushed backstage and was shortly followed by his bandmates.

After a brief interval Babyshambles, minus Doherty, returned to the side of the stage where bassist Drew McConnell told NME.COM: “He’s [Doherty] vomiting, he’s passed out on the sofa now." McConnell added: “It’s his complex, it’s the same thing that meant he couldn’t go to the NME Awards show the other night." “The poor sod,” McConnell said. “It’s not his fault at all. And poor them [the fans].” Taking the stage again, Whitnall performed ‘I Wish’ solo, before he was joined by McConnell and Ficek. McConnell then announced: “We are really sorry. We don’t like this any more than you, it’s embarrassing.” Doherty’s manager then invited fans to come forward and take vocal duties. The trio, went on to play ‘Delivery’, ‘Albion’ and ‘Fuck Forever’ with a different fan chosen from the audience to sing each song. “Thanks for humouring Babyshambles karaoke,” McConnell laughed during ‘Fuck Forever’. As ‘Fuck Forever’ ended, the frustrations of the evening seemed to get to Whitnall, who began hitting his guitar against the monitors amps, causing security guards to step in an escort him backstage. A brief shouting match between Whitnall and venue staff then took place, before both sides calmed down and made their peace. It was then confirmed by the Babyshambles camp that Doherty had been driven home to recuperate. Doherty had been sober and coherent throughout the performance until being taken ill, as he had during the previous two nights at the venue. A spokesperson for Doherty told NME.COM later that the singer had "seen a doctor and was fine, but exhausted".

Babyshambles at the Rhythm Factory - Night 1

(photo by Benmatthewreyes for Flickr)

Following Peter's solo gig of Sunday, last night Babyshambles came back in full at the legendary Rhythm Factory club. In spite of numerous technical problems the band was on top form and the night was highly successful. No more arenas, guys!

From NME.com:

Babyshambles played a chaotic set at London’s Rhythm Factory venue in the early hours of this morning (December 18) that thrilled fans who had managed to bag a much sought-after ticket. The show was part of a three-night residency of sorts, with frontman Pete Doherty playing a solo show the previous night (December 17) and Babyshambles playing a second set at the venue tonight (December 18). The band were 45 minutes late for their scheduled start, with bassist Drew McConnell having to find a replacement bass guitar after his broke down. With fans rushing to get close to the band, the hyperactive atmosphere continued as the band opened with ‘Side Of The Road’ with the house lights failing. Doherty’s manager had to create makeshift lighting for the band, shining a torch on them so fans could see the action. As the band played ‘UnBilotitled’ the lights were activated again, but the set was punctuated with equipment failing, with the band having to swap instruments regularly. During recent single ‘Delivery’ Doherty leaped into the crowd where he crowdsurfed while singing, returning with his shoes and socks removed. He returned to the crowd again during the following ‘Pipedown’, and was hauled back from the sea of fans by four security guards. Babyshambles played a number of new songs during the set, including the recently debuted ‘Pretty Sue’, a -esque, melodic mid-paced song. After playing ‘Killamangiro’, Doherty was given a Christmas present by a fan in the crowd. He unwrapped it to reveal a frame containing photos from his solo set the previous night and a ticket stub with the message “Thanks for a fantastic performance”, which he read to the crowd, much to the fan's delight. Babyshambles closed their set with ‘Fuck Forever’ before heading backstage to cool off, Doherty downing two bottles of cold water. “I don’t know anything about that gig – it was nothing to do with me!” Doherty joked to NME.COM as he cooled down, referring to the technical problems the band had to battle through. “Ha, ha, it was a fucking disgrace! Nothing worked!”. “It’s the best gig we’ve ever done, actually!” laughed guitarist Mik Whitnall, while bassist Drew McConnell adding: “Hey, it’s The Rhythm Factory. But it was fun!”.

Setlist: Side Of The Road, UnBiloTitled, Untitled New Song, Carry On Up The Morning, Untitled New Song, Delivery, Pipedown, I Wish, Sedative, Untitled New Song, I Love You (But You’re Green), Pretty Sue, Albion, Killamangiro, Beg, Steal Or Borrow, Baddie's Boogie, UnStookietitled, Fuck Forever.

Peter's pre-Chrissie shenanigans

After the brief stint at the Chas & Dave show at the Tap'n'Tin on Saturday (see the video of Albion here), last night Peter played a proper, full-length gig at the Rhythm Factory, the first of his 3-night residency.

From NME.com:

Pete Doherty played a solo show at London’s Rhythm Factory venue last night (December 16), running through a variety of Babyshambles and songs. The evening had got off to a chaotic start before Doherty’s arrival. During support band the Television Personalities’ set, Alan Wass, former singer of -associated band Left Hand, invaded the stage. Standing at the front of the stage looking highly intoxicated, Wass refused to leave the frontman position, despite the band’s continued aggressive calls for him to leave. Eventually five security guards bundled Wass from the stage, allowing the Television Personalities to continue.

Later in the evening, at 11:55pm GMT, Doherty took the stage wearing a suit, baggy white shirt and necklace, performing opener ‘Fuck Forever’ with just electric guitar. After performing ‘Carry On Up The Morning’ Doherty defied the smoking ban by puffing on a lit cigarette. Then before playing ‘UnBiloTitled’, the Babyshambles man chanted “Rangers ‘til I die”, a reference to his favourite football club, Queen’s Park Rangers.

In the middle of the set, just before performing ‘You’re My Waterloo’, a fan threw a plastic cup at the stage, prompting Doherty to laugh and say, “What was that – a Christmas present?”. The jovial tone took a darker edge slightly later on, however, as during the last song of the main set, ‘Music When The Lights Go Out’, a female fan in the front row passed out due to dehydration and had to be carried backstage by security, where she came to. Following a short break Doherty returned for a three-song encore then left the stage to rapturous applause.“It went alright!” Doherty told NME.COM as he left the stage. “There were a few songs I haven’t played there in fucking years!“. The last time I did a solo set for that length of time was at Hackney Empire,” he continued, referring to the gigs he played in April this year. It was great!”

Pete Doherty plays again at the venue tonight and tomorrow (December 17 and 18) with Babyshambles.

Setlist: 'Fuck Forever', 'Pay The Lay', 'Don't Look Back Into The Sun', 'Carry On Up The Morning', 'The Delaney', 'Death On The Stairs', 'UnBiloTitled', 'Never Never', 'La Belle Et La Bette''Tell The King', 'You're My Waterloo', 'For Lovers', 'What A Waster''Can't Stand Me Now', 'Lady Don't You Fall Backwards', 'Bollywood To Battersea', 'Time For Heroes', 'Dilly Boys', 'The Blinding', 'Bucket Shop', 'Through The Looking Glass', 'Up The Bracket', 'Music When The Lights Go Out', 'I Wish', 'You Talk', 'What Katy Did'.

Photo of the month

Let's resurrect the nostalgia corner. Three things I want from 2008: a beautiful Peter solo album, a beautiful DPT second album, and the return of the band pictured above.

Oh, and a pair of jeans just like Peter's.

The NME and Benicassim

As much as I hate it I have to keep quoting it. It's the NME, of course. The new issue of the bollockers has a full page about the Peterless and Mikless "Babyshambles" show at the Shockwaves launch night of last week (above).

The rag also publishes the NME writers' "Album Of The Year" chart, and Shotters Nation is at number 14. This is the Top 5 according to the top bollockers:

1.Klaxons - Myths of the Near Future

2.Arctic Monkeys - Favourite Worst Nightmare

3.Radiohead - In Rainbows

4.Arcade Fire - Neon Bible

5.Les Savy Fav - Let’s Stay Friends

The Festival season seems as far as Jupiter at the moment but summer will be here before we know. So, beware:

My Bloody Valentine and Babyshambles have been confirmed amongst the first batch of bands for Benicassim 2008. Also joining them are The Rumble Strips will more acts to be continually announced over the coming months. Tickets for the festival go on sale tomorrow (December 14) with earlybird prices being 160 Euros for a four day pass, although this is a limited offer of 5000 tickets.

Nuggets

• Peter writes to FDB: "So meself Mickle and Adam are at Albion Towers, awaiting Drewsive (as ever). Has been a pleasant weekend. Astile and his sister are sleeping upstairs and the cats are scrapping. We are rehearsing and moaning about managerial tactics. New tunes aplenty.. nameless but with class. alright!". Alright Peter. Exhaustion my ass.
• The Rhythm Factory gigs are all sold out.
• Rumor has it that Peter is going to be one of the special guests at the Chas and Dave show at the Tap'n'Tin next Saturday (15th).
• You Talk entered the... Top 60 singles chart at no. 54. Ahem.
• Pat Walden's new band, Big Dave, are performing at the Time For Heroes Christams Party on Dec 22nd (at Club 19, Trent Park - opposite Oakwood Tube st).
• If you reckon Peter, Drew or Carl are the sexiest boys alive (or at least sexier than fuckin Matt Bellamy) go to the NME Awards site and vote (can't be arsed to give the proper link).

Future gigs

Who:
Pete Doherty:
Sun Dec 16th - A special one-off solo acoustic show from PETER DOHERTY (with guests)

Babyshambles:
Mon Dec 17th - BABYSHAMBLES with special guests
Tue Dec 18th - BABYSHAMBLES with special guests

Where:
RHYTHM FACTORY16-18 Whitechapel Rd.London E1-1EW
Tel : 020 7375 3774
Email: info@rhythmfactory.co.uk

DREW, ADAM and JOSH AT THE NME PARTY

Peter didn’t turn up at the NME Shockwaves Awards launch party of last night, but it seems the lovely Drusillo and the sweet Adam put up a beautiful show the same, with the help of the ever available Josh Hubbard from the Paddingtons (remember? He was the guy who took guitar duties in Dirty Pretty Things when Carl Barat smashed his collarbone during the summer of 2006), plus a guy from the crowd named Jamie Bell.

Drew was elusive about the reason of Peter’s absence, he only said Peter was “ill” (cold? Consequences of Sunday’s beating? Soloalbum-itis? Fuck the NME-itis? I can’t be bothered to leave my beautiful new house in Wiltshire to play three songs at a stupid party in London and who’s going to feed the cat tonight-itis?) but Drew was also quick to add that “it’s got nothing to do with drugs” (why, did anybody ask?).

Well, since my current relationship with the NME has just sunk to a new all time low after what they have done to the greatest artist alive… I’m kinda glad Peter figuratively fucked their silly party, whatever the reason might be.
Rant over.


REVIEWS!!!
NME
Dot Music
Uncut

And last but not least, Shambled from FDB: "Just got back from the gig. Drew and Adam are fuckin legends! They really were great!!!! They started with I wish, they did Janie Jones, Beg Steal or Borrow, Delivery & Fuck Forever! It was brilliant. I was so glad 2 see Drew & Adam up there it was so great of them".

Babyshambles tonight at Shockwaves NME Awards launch party

Babyshambles are gearing up for the Shockwaves NME Awards launch party tonight at London's IndigO2 venue, and you can follow all the action on NME.COM.
Pete Doherty and co. will be joined by The Wombats and Joe Lean and the Jing Jang Jong, who will also be playing live at the bash.

Babyshambles new song on line

Babyshambles have posted a brand new song online. 'Pretty Sue', in its early demo stage, was recorded by the band between tour dates on their recent arena tour.The song is available to hear now on the MySpace site for Roses, Kings, Castles: Babyshambles drummer Adam Ficek's musical project site. In a MySpace bulletin, Ficek has explained that the band plan to post two further new songs, '1939' and 'Mouse In The House', online soon.Ficek also revealed that the band plan to play "some small shows for Xmas" - which may mean more of Babyshambles' famed secret pub gigs are on the cards.

Source: NME.com (FUCK THEM)

MOJO's Greatest Pics: Babyshambles, 2005

Death on the stairs revisited

Something to look at! A collection of beautiful Babyshambles pictures taken by Mattia Zoppellaro in 2005. Browse here.

Article by Ross Bennett:

As the Pipe Down tour-party stumbled across the UK, MOJO’s Mattia Zoppellaro was on hand to capture Pete Doherty and his motley band of merry musicians hit new levels of chaotic abandon.
“The original idea was to spend a week on the road with the band,” explains Zoppollaro. “Then the (alleged) Kate Moss cocaine scandal appeared in the papers. The atmosphere around the group was quite tense to say the least and it was very difficult to grab Pete for any amount of time at all. But I was quite surprised to find the rest of the group focused and really trying to keep everything on track.”
With access becoming increasingly tight, it wasn’t until the final night of the jaunt that Doherty appeared long enough for Zoppellaro to get those crucial shots. “When we finally got to spend some time with him, he was very available. Although we only spent about 100 seconds together, I thought he was really charming. I remember him pouring me a vodka and orange and giving me a couple of tokes on a joint. And whatever I asked him to do, he did. He’s actually a very photogenic guy – really enchanting. And he never made a fuss.”
“Shooting the band live was a crazy experience,” he continues. I was quite surprised to be honest, because I’m not a big fan of Babyshambles music, but the relationship they have with their audience was captivating. I love that about them. People were reaching out and worshipping Pete. They were totally transfixed.”

DPT support gig cancelled

From Dirty Pretty Things official site:

"We are very sorry to announce that Dirty Pretty Things will no longer support The Pogues at Nottingham Arena on the 14th of December as previously announced.
As the recording sessions for the second album are at a very crucial stage, the band have had to take the difficult decision to remain in LA and pull out of this gig.
The band are very disappointed as they were looking forward to returning to the UK and playing this gig very much and apologise to those of you who have purchased tickets for this cancellation. However, the album sessions must take priority and regrettably, there was no other option".

I'm very sorry for the people who had already bought a ticket but surprised I'm not.

Babyshambles interview

Backstage in Brighton (from NME.com - Interview by Michael Nolder):

There’s something about the atmosphere inside the Brighton Centre’s flush dressing room. It’s fresh, it’s clean and there’s not even one drop of alcohol in the room. Can this really be a Babyshambles gig? Apparently so - Pete is keen to make it clear that it’s a dry tour, although the pint he’s clutching at the end of his band’s set later suggests that this rule isn’t too vigorously enforced. As clean as a whistle, Pete is chatty and coherent throughout. He even attempts to do the badger dance (“Badgers Badgers Badgers MUSHROOM! MUSHROOM!), and strums along gently to the George Formby CD playing in the background. Babyshambles would appear be a band on the mend, improving with every gig they play…

What’s it like playing larger venues like this – are these the largest places you’ve played?
Adam Ficek: It’s like you were saying the other day…
Peter Doherty: Yeah, normally it’s like, we haven’t got enough leads, or the tuner’s not working, or someone spills a pint of beer on the amp. Little venues are good, but nothing ever works. The atmosphere is good but it ends up sounding shit, whereas here there’s a pretty slick atmosphere and things work.You don’t find larger gigs like this more nerve-wracking then?
Adam: I find it more nerve-wracking playing the big places, yeah. I shit myself.

Have you been down to Brighton much before?
Adam: I think this lot have before.
Peter: Last time I played here it was to about 80 people. It was an acoustic gig with Dot Alison, and then on the way home we ran over a stag.
Adam: (To Pete) Didn’t you play down here in the band as well? I think Babyshambles played down here at some point.
Peter: Yeah we did, yeah. I think we played that rectangle place with the dressing room behind the stage – it was on the front. And we played the Freebutt – I think we played there when we just got signed.
Adam: And Event 2…

So you know Brighton quite well then?
Peter: I love Brighton.
Adam: It’s brilliant, yeah.

Why do you think people should come and see you tonight?
Adam: We’ve already sold it out, so we don’t need convince anybody…

Dizzee Rascal is supporting you on your tour at the moment – How did this come about?
Adam: Dizzee Rascal’s amazing – he fires us up and gets us ready to play – it’s brilliant. You watch him and you just become really up for it.
Peter: We had a shared experience with him on an aeroplane when we came to Ireland. It was quite strange – like a kind of fucked-up version of Stella Street. We had us lot, Dizzee Rascal, Sinead O’Connor in a shell-suit and Brian Wilson…
Adam: He was in a shell-suit as well…
Peter: As soon as the engine of the plane started, he (Brian Wilson) started… Imagine the whole of the plane, like, silent and all of a sudden you just hear… do it Mick…
Mick Whitnall: Haaaaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrr!
Peter: And he’s going (puts on accent) - “Can you hear the chord?” And he’s like humming and singing in tune to the engine. And then he’s going (does accent again) “Doesn’t it feel like Christmas guys?” Then Mick offered him a sweet, and he goes “No, I shouldn’t really,” then grabs a hanky, and sort of put it in his mouth unopened… It was fucking weird. And then Dizzee said “Can I support you?”

Do you get much of a chance to try out new songs on the road?
Adam: In the sound check two minutes ago we just did two new ones - really good. We kind of do most of the stuff on the hoof, really. There’s one we’ve just done called 1939 which is really good. (To Pete) What’s 1939 about?
Peter: It’s about a bloke who gets captured behind enemy lines. He sacrificed his life for Germany, because he didn’t tread carefully behind enemy lines.
Adam: So he’s actually a German then?
Peter: Yeah. It’s one of my works of fiction.
Adam: I had a dream last night that I was a snowboarder, right. It’s weird, I was at the top of this hill just in shoes, yet I beat ‘em all. And I got to the bottom, but they said “You can’t claim the prize because you started after the buzzer.” And I’m going “Yeah, but that shouldn’t matter, because that means that they’ve got an advantage,” but she wouldn’t have it. But I was feeling really good about myself.

Have you got a favourite song you like playing live?
Adam: I like playing ‘Side Of The Road’ live ‘cos it’s fast and you can get the crowd moving.
Peter: I like playing ‘Sedative’ because it’s a lovely tune, and…
Adam: Gives us a chance for a tea break…
Peter: Yeah, you get to sit down.
Adam: You should sit in the armchair an’ have nice a cuppa tea during it.
Peter: Think I will actually tonight.
Adam: A little glass of lemon tea.

In the past you’ve often played old Libertines’ songs, but not so much on this tour – is this something you’ve enjoyed, or is it something you feel uncomfortable doing?
Adam: I like it – I think there’s a good buzz playing them. It wasn’t a conscious decision on this tour, it just didn’t really materialise.
Peter: It’s great, we should do it more really. You can feel uncomfortable about the past, but it doesn’t make you feel uncomfortable about the songs. When we do smaller gigs and were playing more, sort of, ramshackle set lists, we’ve had a crack at loads of them – ‘Time For Heroes’, ‘Horrorshow’, ‘Can’t Stand Me Now’, ‘For Lovers’, ‘What A Waster’… We do a reggae version of ‘I Get Along’. But in more formal gigs we want to do things that we know inside out, and we’ve never really bothered to learn ‘em properly.

You’re not playing any of them tonight then?
Adam: Not in the set, but you never know.

Is there anyone in the future you’d like to collaborate with?
Adam: What about Amy?
Peter: Yeah, Amy Winehouse. We were working on something last night actually. It’s called ‘You Hurt The One’s You Love’.

Who should be the next England manager?
Peter: (Sighs) It’s just depressing.
Adam: I think get Venables back.
Drew McConnell: Get Wolfman.
Adam: Hmm, I don’t know who would be a good manager actually.
Drew: Wolfman.
Adam: Yeah, but he plays a defensive game, though, doesn’t he?
Peter: You know Wolfman used to play professional football for Gillingham? But he’s in hospital at the moment on a drip from alcoholism. He’ll be all right if he stops drinking.Well he could probably apply for it then – he’s got some experience.
Adam: I reckon so, yeah. Wolfman it is.

What have been your highlights of your time in the band so far?
Adam: I love it when an album’s finished. The actual recording process is quite stressful, but I love it when it’s finished. You can actually sit and go, “Fucking hell, that’s great!” and all that stuff.

What about low points? Have you had many times where you’ve felt you just weren’t enjoying it?
Adam: Yeah, sometimes it’s quite troublesome – when there’s a lot of press intrusion and stuff kicking off. Like pictures in the press and that – it takes its toll, but you’ve just got to pick yourself up and keep your chin up really. It’s been hard and you think it’s gonna implode any second, but then something always just comes around the corner and kind of saves everything.

Any messages for the Brighton blog readers?
Adam: When you go to the beach, don’t leave rubbish. Very important. It annoys me, that. You know, you’re sitting on a lovely beach and you don’t want to see rubbish. Actually, I saw Blur at Sussex University here. I had to spend the night in the car park. This was when they first started to play songs like ‘Girls And Boys’ and ‘Parklife’ - it was amazing. So, yeah, Sussex University – I saw Blur there.

Later on, an impressive set is topped-off by a 25-minute encore. Pete even has time for a beautiful rendition of ‘Music When The Lights Go Out’ – perhaps an epitaph for the evening, as the crowd leave the venue singing late into the night. The tour may since have finished, but Babyshambles are back from the dead.

Nottingham, Glasgow and beyond the Arena Tour

So, that's it. After two nights in Nottingham (Friday) and Glasgow (yesterday) the infamous Arena Tour is over. There's not much about the Nottingham gig. "Great to see Pete back to his best" said downinalbion.co.uk "A brilliant, professional set, with an amazing atmosphere, despite the arena not fully selling out. [...] Anthems such as Albion and Fuck Forever went down amazingly as always, and the new songs sounded even better live than they do on the album".

Thanks to Hokeystokie who put on line a few videos from the show:

Sedative

Lost Art of Murder

Pipedown

The Glasgow gig got a review from the NME; and one from our friend Milly: "Shambles were ace, pulled off the secc amazingly! The sound was great and were really tight, also I liked the bit of talk between songs. Great Set list and stage, they all looked like they were really enjoying it [...] Great night, amazing gig, tightest I've seen them!".

So what's next?. It seems the guys are going separate ways in the following weeks. Adam will be launching his solo project, and so will Drew. And so will, most of all, Peter. There's a European tour looming in 2008, and of course a few surprise gigs here and there. But we cannot see Peter staying with his hands in his hands for long, and we are not sure whether his next adventure will be still under the Babyshambles name. In spite of the many rave reviews, a lot of people are highly dubious about the direction Babyshambles are taking, and they are expressing their doubts in all the web spaces dedicated to the band. You can never please everyone?

We'll talk about it in another occasion. Maybe on 32nd of December.

Yeti announce 2008 UK Tour

Let's take a break from the Shambles Tour and have a look at John Hassall and his band. A UK winter tour has just been announced and dates are the following:

17 January - Norwich Arts Centre, Norwich

18 January - The Independent, Sunderland

19 January - The Arena, Middlesbourough

20 January - Cert18, York

21 January - Escobar, Wakefield

24 January - Barfly, Birmingham

25 January - Kico, Bolton

26 January - The Tavern, Wigan

27 January - Love Music Hate Racism at Abertay Student Union, Dundee

28 January - The Tunnels, Aberdeen

29 January - Cabaret Volitaire, Edinburgh

30 January - Barfly, Glasgow 31 January - Brickyard, Carlisle

1 Febuary - Carling Academy 2, Liverpool

5 Febuary - Barfly, Cardiff

6 Febuary - Cavern, Exeter

7 Febuary - Orange Box, Yeovil

8 Febuary - The Queens, Weymouth

9 Febuary - Thekla, Bristol

11 Febuary - Pressure Point, Brighton

12 Febuary - The Joiners, Southampton

19 Febuary - Approach, Nottingham

22 Febuary - Water Rats, London

26 Febuary - Soultree, Cambridge

27 Febuary - Brudenell Social Club, Leeds

Birmingham, 28/11/07

From icBirmingham:

TROUBLED Pete Doherty has banned booze from his tour bus and is turning to Chinese meditation to get him back on the straight and narrow.
And it seems to have worked, as he put in a strong performance, proving just how talented he is.
There was no slurring, no late appearance or bad behaviour last night. In fact, Pete was being so good, he didn't even light up the cigarette hanging from his mouth.
The bad boy may have disappeared for the night, but the rock'n'roll entertainer was still there as he coquettishly won over the crowd with his silly Birmingham accent and boyish good looks.
Wearing black jeans and a jumper (the iconic hat stayed off until after the interval), Pete immediately shrugged off any worries of an Amy Winehouse-style stage meltdown.
For the next 90 minutes, Babyshambles were allowed to do what they did best before Pete's addictions, arrests and Kate Moss dramas got in the way.
His soft husky tones revitalised a cover of Culture Club's Karma Chameleon, intermingled with tracks from Delivery to The Blinding and Kilamanjiro.
Pete was so on the ball that he even changed the words to Down In Albion to "down at Digbeth Irish Centre" and gave a shout out to Birmingham's famous Mr Egg cafe.
The finale of anthemic Forever saw British flags drop from the ceiling above a sea of waving arms and reminded fans of this band's place in the Brit music scene.
For once with Pete Doherty, the music came first and there was nothing else to overshadow his abilities.
Afterwards, fans said they relieved to see Babyshambles pull out all the stops despite Pete Doherty's chequered past.
Couple Craig Keegan, a 26-year-old postman, and admin assistant Grace Richards, 25, from Bromsgrove, were delighted to see Pete Doherty perform.
Grace said: "Pete is back on form after all his problems and came out to give fans what they wanted, good luck to him."
Accountant Steve Richards, aged 27, said: "I was glad that Pete turned up as I didn't know if he would.
"After that performance, I think he is over the bad times and has come through it a better person. The future's bright, the future's Babyshambles."
Johnathon Gray, a microbiologist from Northfield, said the band had exceeded his expectations and added: "I love Pete - he is a hero in a hero-less world."
Mike Brinkworth, 27, from Solihull, added: "After the Amy Winehouse gig in Birmingham, I think a lot of people were worried the same would happen with Babyshambles, but Pete pulled himself together to perform brilliantly."
(Review by Alison Dayani)

Wembley part 3: The pictures

More here

Wembley part 2: The videos

Thanks a lot to theGizzard!

• Albion
• Music when the lights go out
• I wish (Mick on vocals)
• Side of the road
• Baddies Boogie
• Delivery

Wembley part 1: the reviews

• MTV
• NME
• Gigwise
• This is London

(I'm not responsible for wrong titles and so on)

Moisturisers, special guests and meditation

There's not much to tell about last night's gig in Bournemouth. The gig was moved to a smaller venue and that worked fine but reports talk of a nasty crowd, throwing things to the stage and generally behaving like idiots. Peter looked pissed off enough to leave the stage in a huff at the end of the encore (which was Fuck Forever, as usual). Setlist was identical to the Brighton gig, with Music When The Light Goes Out on acoustic guitar.

Now it's only a few hours to Wembley and the guys seem a tad excited (can you blame them?). Look what the lovely Drew has written in his blog:

Hello. I'm currently sat in the BIC production office waiting to play our fourth date of the tour, which finds us in Bournemouth. We played Brighton last night and Newcastle before that. It's been great so far. Dizzie Rascal and the Jing Jang Jongalongs have been on form too. Highlight of the set for me tends to be Unstookie-titled. When we get that one right it kind of sends me into a trance, like the music is moving in circles. Erm ... I know what I mean. Having Lord Large playing with us has been great, but he's off on tour with Squeeze. Terrible shame. Hopefully some youth called Shamus is coming to play tomorrow at Wembley. Wembley! Babyshambles? Wembley!? Who woulda thunk it?
Today I watched Mick apply moisturiser to his toothbrush and scrub his teeth for about two minutes before he realised. His face was a picture. On that bombshell... ta ra.

Drew

Bombshell? OK, there are talks of special guests tonight. Pat Walden it ain't (that's another story but now it's not the time for brooding). Carl Barat it ain't either (that's a third story). Kate Moss? I hope she's not. Mick Jones? Keith Richards? Johnny Marr? Buddy Holly? Time will tell.

Apparently Peter has become addicted to meditation (he took it from Adam). At least, that's what red tops say today (not worth linking).

The solo album again. There's a whole page in the new NME about it (Moz on the cover).

Have a special night everyone who's going to the show. We'll be waiting here, all alone...

The never ending soap of Pete's solo album

Another three months have passed and a new Pete-solo-album-on-the-way article has been published. Although this blog is only barely 4 months old we have already had this info in one of the first posts. Now it’s time for a relapse (oops), sorry, a reprise. The NME launched the news yesterday in the afternoon:
Pete Doherty is a quarter of the way through recording his debut solo album and plans to release it next summer, NME.COM can exclusively reveal. Three of the album's 12 tracks have been completed during secret recording sessions with producer Jake Foir. Foir told NME.COM: "We're recording it piecemeal between two studios in London. We go in for two or three hours at a time, usually at about two in the morning, and get stuff down. It sounds slower and more intimate [than Babyshambles] Pete's writing is more universal, rather than about personal experiences". Foir explained that a large cast of musicians will appear alongside Pete, including his Babyshambles bandmates, who play on the track 'Cuckoo'. South London band The Thirst, who visited Doherty at his Wiltshire home to demo with him, will also contribute, along with London rapper Klashnekoff. Although recording for the album is well underway, Babyshambles' label, Parlophone, could halt its release. Foir explained that the plan is to finish the album then present it to the label with a view to an official release, but he says that so far Parlophone have been unhappy about Doherty recording outside of their control. Foir was also able to reassure fans that, despite his heroin relapse, the Babyshambles mainman is "still on top form", healthy and enjoying life in rural Wiltshire. "I just spent a weekend with him - just me, him and the cats," he recalled. "He's out there in a 28-room mansion - it's very '60s-style and cool, I keep expecting Marianne Faithfull to come walking through one of the doors!”.

“THERE’S SOMETHING NEW ABOUT THAT DOCKERTY BLOKE!” screamed at this point the Sun’s news editor (who looks a lot like Alan McGee).
“What?” said the gossip column journo “Injecting heroin to a nun?”.
“NOPE! DOING SOLO ALBUM!!!”.
“What? With Karl Barrett???”.
“NOPE! WITH MARIANNE FAITHFULL!”.
“Who cares? She’s dead!”.
“NOPE SHE AIN’T! WRITE A PIECE! JUICY PIECE! NOW!”

And so The Sun published the news too…
FURY AT PETE’S SOLO PROJECT!!!!
PETE DOHERTY is recording a secret solo album inbetween trips to rehab.
He has been working on tracks at his “creative” Wiltshire den — but label bosses are livid as they want him doing songs for BABYSHAMBLES. The junkie is penning material with London rapper KLASHNEKOFF.

The news was also taken up by a site named earthtimes.

Jokes aside, I think a lot of people would be very very happy if this album existed for real and was going to be published next summer (followed by a tour??? One can only hope). But it looks like this is as probable as a Libertines reunion at this point (and I’m not talking Carl & Peter, I’m talking Libertines). Anyway, I bet that IF this album had to be released it would be something much more exciting than Shotter’s Nation (no offence to the other Shambles of course) and maybe it would restore a little more “faith” in Peter as an edge artist after his dubious 2007 antics. So my suggestion is: go on, Peter. We really want this album. Say a huge fuck off to record industry bosses and produce something amazing. I’m sure YOU at least have still the balls to do that.

Later with some news from the tour!

Brighton and more shambles

Babyshambles played Brighton Centre last night (photo by Mike Burnell for Flickr).

Setlist almost identical to the other nights plus Peter strumming Music When The Lights Go Out. "They were tight throughout" said Matt Shambles from FDB "The last encore was shambolic in truly brilliant way. Unbilotitled sounded as anthemic as Fuck Forever and surely must be their next single. I dont think it feels like an arena". Another poster to the Libertines official site confirms: "Not full (a lot of the seated area was curtained off) but it really was very good. Seemed to be the same set list as the last 2 nights but with Music When The Lights Go Out as an additional one at the start of the accoustic bit. Loved the acoustic bit (and the band really seemed to enjoy doing it). And Side of the Road was fantastic".

Setlist:

'Carry On Up The Morning', 'Delivery', 'Beg, Steal Or Borrow', 'Baddies Boogie', 'Unstookietitled', 'Side Of The Road', 'Unbilotitled', 'The Blinding', 'You Talk' , 'Sedative', 'Crumb Begging Baghead', 'Lost Art Of Murder', 'There She Goes (A Little Heartache)', 'Albion', 'Pipe Down', 'Killamangiro', 'Back From The Dead', 'Music When The Lights Go Out', 'Fuck Forever'

In addition:

• Peter is on the cover of French mag Rock'n'Folk (long article but in French. Anjali where are you?)
• There's a story about Peter banning alcohol on the tourbus
• Drew has gotten back to writing his blog
• Adam has launched another side project

The tour goes on to Bournemouth. Up the Shambles.

Sunday tips

• Pat Walden drama
• The Observer reviews the M.E.N. gig

Newcastle, and more from Manchester

While we are waiting for some photos or at least the setlist of last night gig in Newcastle, let's look at a few reports. Some people were astonished at the many empty seats, but almost everybody agree that it was "a good show". Peter talked about almost cancelling the gig due to voice problems. "...Pete said he wasn't goin to play fuck forever" reports Sean_Spaff from FDB "and the crowd all jeered and he was like "I can't man, it's too hard on ma voice"... followed by more jeers, so he plays Back From The Dead and then breaks into Fuck Forever".

"My favourite part of the whole gig" Sean says "was when the whole band just went to one corner of the stage and Drew picked up the cello, and Pete was on acoustic guitar and the band started playing songs like 'There she goes' ".

Spongebob says: "I thought they were amazing, its the first time i have seen shambles live.. I know it wasnt a sell out crowd but the atmosphere was still good and i have bruises on my arms off jumping into people. Their performance was really good and I loved the acoustic part of the show and when they played Fuck Forever at the end!"

The Daily Star has a piece about the Manchester post-gig shenanigans but it gets laughable at the end.

Unfortunately every time I google for Babyshambles news all I get is Wino and her drama.

Adam has given a rather bitter interview to a Nottingham journo. Maybe it was just the cold. Or maybe he knows something we don't.

Now I know who passed the germs to Peter!

No show tonight. A good chance to rest your voice, Bilo.

Setlist:

Carry on Up the Morning, Delivery, Beg Steal or Borrow, Baddies Boogie, You Talk, UnStookietitled, Side of the Road, UnBilotitled, Sedative, The Blinding, Crumb Begging Baghead, -(Acoustic) Lost Art of Murder (Pete Solo), There She Goes, Albion, -(Normal) Pipe Down, Killamangiro, Back from the Dead, Fuck Forever

Manchester, 22/11/07

First impressions on the opening night from people who were there. Small crowd, Joe Lean and Dizzee Rascal supporting (more positive reviews for the latter), no special guests, no Libertines songs, Peter and Adam in playful mood, scenography consisting of "old style english stuff such as old fashioned maxboxes covering the amps. On the screen in the backfround they had all sorts of old fashioned picture , with many newpaper cuttings and such from the war. It was really a good set and when they played Fuck Forever at the end about 6 massive Union Jacks dropped from the top of the set" (from Likely Laz of FDB Forum). Everybody seems to agree on a "a bit cold atmosphere".

Here's the NME review.

There's also a very irritating review from the Manchester Evening News but we are much more interested in reports from the boys and girls who spent their money and queued in the afternoon to get there rather than those from some snotty journos who were sent there by their chief to write a piece about something they don't give a shit about, OK?

Setlist!

Carry On Up The Morning, Delivery, Beg Steal Or Borrow, Baddies Boogie, Unstookietitled, Side Of The Road, Unbilotitled,The Blinding, You Talk, Sedative, Crumb Begging Baghead, The Lost Art Of Murder, There She Goes (A Little Heartache), Albion, Pipe Down, Killamangiro, Back From The Dead, I Wish, Fuck Forever.

The tour carries on tonight in Newcastle. Up the Shambles.

On the eve of the Arena Tour...

Let's have a quick round up of the latest.

Peter was in court yesterday to have his usual test (see photo above). He arrived sporting a cane and a black eye, mumbled something about not having a white (i.e. coked) or brown (i.e. skagged) Christmas and then launched himself in a hilarious defense of his friend Amy Winehouse and her hubby. The best line was: "I speak to Amy almost every day. She just wants her man back for Christmas. They are desperately in love". Spectacular.

Manchester is getting ready for the opening night. Oh Manchester so much to answer for.

A warm-up gig is rumored to be happening tonight at the Sunn Inn in Marlborough.

Up the Bracket is featured in the Guardian’s list of the 1000 albums to hear before you die.
‘The Libertines Up the Bracket (2003) Before they became a soap opera, the Libertines were the last gang in town, winning over sceptical hearts and spawning countless bands. Equally influenced by Chas & Dave and the Clash, their debut bears witness to the desperate beauty and battling British spirit of the fatally torpedoed ship, Albion’.

Adam Ficek suggested the Up the Shambles DVD is a bootleg and people should not buy it. That is, people who haven't downloaded it yet should not buy it. Ahem.

The sweet Adam is said to be dj-ing on New Years Eve at London's King College.

Both Peter and Carlos are out of the NME Cool List. The horror, the horror!

DPT's Nottingham date (supporting the Pogues) is officially confirmed.

Let's recap the Babyshambles Tour dates:
Manchester MEN Arena (November 22)
Newcastle Metro Radio Arena (23)
Brighton Centre (25)
Bournemouth International Centre (26)
London Wembley Arena (27)
Birmingham NIA (28)
Nottingham Arena (30)
Glasgow SECC (December 1)

Carl speaks from L.A.

A good spanking? Hmmmmm...

Short interview on the new issue of the NME (thanks to Linna for the transcription):

NME: Hi Carl. So you’re in LA recording the second Dirty Pretty Things album. How’s everything going in the States:
C: Great thanks. I’m really excited about making this album - it’s going really well, and I’ve found some good bars. There’s one called The Cock and Bull, and a dirty pub called the King’s Head. it’s really manky - just like an English pub. But last night we went bowling and ended up getting spanked with some rednecks, so I’m not feeling so good today.
NME Do you get homesick?
C: Yeah I miss England’s miserable weather. I’m not joking, I do. I like the passions you see in the seasons all year round - it’s a bit unnatural here - the weather’s always the same. Say Hi to Blighty for me. (Hi back from Blighty - Linna xx)
NME: So how’s the new album sounding?
C: We’re moving fast - we’ve done 20 songs. We’re not recording the album live - it’s the first time I’ve recorded like that. There’s some string effects. I think it’ll be easier on the ear, but by no means easy listening.
NME: Would you fancy playing an arena tour this time around, Babyshambles style?
C: Not really, I find arenas so impersonal. It’s a bit much for me.
NME Have you been in touch with Pete?
C: Not for ages actually, not since the Sgt Pepper thing (the pair covered The Beatles’ A Day In the Life for Radio 2 in June). His manager phoned me up recently and said he wanted me to write a musical with Pete. Pete was approached, so he wanted to see if I would get involved. It wouldn’t be a Libertines musical - it’d probably be a comedy. But I’m busy with the album right now. Maybe one day, it’d be fun!
NME If not musical-writing any plans for working with Pete again soon?
C: Maybe we’ll do something together, I don’t really know. I’m trying not to overshadow this album. Could we get together at a summer festival? Ha ha maybe, although I wouldn’t know about it until five minutes before it happened
NME We’ll hear more about the album soon but what’s the title going to be
C: Hmm maybe “this is where the truth begins”. Or possibly something inspired by last night’s events - Getting Spanked by the Yanks.

Two morning bits

• Legendary photographer Roger Sargent is set to be honoured for his work at a music industry awards ceremony in London tonight (November 20).The lensman will pick up the Outstanding Contribution to Music Photography gong at the Record Of The Day Awards. As well as being a regular contributor to NME and NME.COM, along with many other high-profile titles, Sargent also collaborated with NME.COM's Anthony Thornton on The Libertines book 'Bound Together'.
• Dirty Pretty Things are alive! It seems Carl's ensemble will play in Nottingham on 14 December, as special guests of The Pogues. Thanks to The Angel of Islington for this tip. More details will follow.

Q&A with Peter on the new Rolling Stone issue

"I'd be a liar if I said I'd never do [drugs] again," a sober Pete Doherty told Rolling Stone in late October. A week later, photos of him shooting up appeared in the British press, and he was set to enter rehab for the umpteenth time. "I can't make promises to anybody," he added. "But I know that today I'm going to be clean." The Babyshambles leader and noted drug enthusiast's brief sobriety — no crack, just pints of Guinness — seems to have done him some good, though. Shotter's Nation ("shotter" is Brit-slang for "drug dealer"), his second album with Babyshambles, proves that there were at least a few moments of clarity. The garage-y tunes — which bear traces of the Kinks, the Clash and the Who — are sharp, concise and compelling, a shock to Doherty himself. "I don't know how we got that vocal performance out of me," he says. "I'm quite proud of it."
What inspired your recent bout of sobriety?
I can honestly say that the reason I do drugs is not because of my childhood, or because I have self-esteem issues or resentments. It's purely because I enjoy it. Maybe I'm in denial. I think it reached a point where the negatives were outweighing the joys. So fuck it off for a bit.
Looking back on what you've been through, are you embarrassed?
I'm not gonna look back no more. It would break my heart, I think, if I looked back too closely.
You interviewed Paul McCartney recently for England's Observer. How'd that go?
I was dead nervous about meeting him. Because of nerves, I ended up putting my cigarette out in his drink. It wasn't a very good first impression, but we got on. He's down-to-earth.
I heard Amy Winehouse stopped by your cottage.
Yeah. She came out to the countryside with her husband, and we worked on a new song called "1939 Returning." We stayed up all night having a laugh. We're going to do something together. I love that girl — her music is absolute quality.
Who else is on that list?
I quite like 50 Cent. I think Julian Casablancas and Amy Winehouse are two contemporaries I envy. When I hear them, I think, "Oh, fuck, I wish I had written that."
What Shotter's songs are rip-offs?
"You Talk" was originally a copy of a certain Velvet Underground song. "Crumb Begging Baghead," that's a generic Sixties garage riff. For any music aficionados out there, if you just play E to G, with a cool hairdo, you can't go wrong. Check out [Texas psychedelic rockers] the Golden Dawn.
What are you listening to now?
I've been listening to Jimmy Cliff and skinhead reggae. I found this amazing Sixties garage compilation called Shindig, and it's got all sorts of early beat groups like the Kinks and loads of obscure Sixties bands. [Sings the Foundations' "Build Me Up Buttercup"] We'll try to rip that one off next.
Will you tour the U.S.?
I would love to, mate, if they'd let me in. I think they can overlook certain things if you can prove that you're going to make the American economy a few bucks.
What do you love most about America?
The girls, the alcohol and the old-fashioned guitars.

Pete Doherty Interview - Transmission - C4 - 17 Nov 2008

And now ladies and gentleman the interview! With Peter commenting the 11 year-old "Oasis-queue" video and confirming what we already knew. Of course.

Babyshambles - Delivery - Transmission - C4 - 17 Nov 2007

Delivery all the way!

Babyshambles - You Talk - Transmission - C4 - 17 Nov 2007

Let the Transmission feast begin! And thanks a lot to Goaty1boy!

Babyshambles "You Talk" Album de la Semaine

Here we go again.

A few nuggets

• Babyshambles on Transmission with T-mobile tonight on Ch4 at 0:10, together with Sons and Daughters, Scouting for Girls and Amy Macdonald (performance shot in Glasgow earlier this month).
• Drew's side project Helsinki played last night at the first date of the monthly event called Cazambles at The Old Queen's Head, Islington. John Hassal in the crowd.
• There's a You Talk review somewhere but I'm not linking it because it's shit (you know Dockerty's a junkie and Moss doesn't want royalties and all that crap).
• More words from Drew's "Beautiful Mouth" on the Arena Tour (once again from the NME): "...McConnell went on to reveal that Babyshambles’ forthcoming arena tour dates will see their stage decorated with old world war and Arcadian imagery, including some interesting stage props. It’s imagery from both world wars,” he said. “It’s more the romantic side of it, plus from the era 1913-1935. There’s going to be two big screens with images of the band playing. Then on the set there’s going to be large cigarette boxes where the monitors are. There’s a trinket market every Thursday at Spitalfields (in London) - we often head down there and buy old trinkets. It’s kind of inspired by that". Drummer Adam Ficek added that the band were calling the jaunt “Oh what a lovely tour!”...
• ChronicleLive has 2 pairs of tickets to giveaway to the BabyShambles gig at the Metro Radio Arena in Newcastle on Friday, November 23, 2007.

Canal Plus Strike Three

Peter's semi serious attempt at singing in French. Short but classy.

Drew on Biggles

Thanks to ToxicPixie (DPT forum) who signalled these words coming straight from Drew's beautiful mouth (actually from NME's printed edition of this week):

“I suggested getting Carl Barat to come and play on ‘ Time for Heroes’ [in the Arena Tour], but he’s not going to be around. I bump into Carl quite a lot and he’s a good lad. Every time I mention collaborating Pete’s always keen - he still calls him Biggles. We wanted to get Carl on “ Shotter’s Nation” as well, but he was too busy.”

"...Oh the wind, the wind is blowing,

through the graves the wind is blowing,

freedom soon will come

then we'll come from the shadows...."

Babyshambles on "L'Album de la Semaine" part 2

One more treat from France. This is Unstookietitled.

Babyshambles on "L'album de la semaine"

Video shot a few weeks ago in Paris for Canal Plus (French TV).

The Smoking Section and something else

The Rolling Stone has a short article about Peter in which he hints at a possible U.S. future tour:

"The Smoking Section spoke with Pete Doherty just before his most recent drug relapse and return to rehab. At that time, however, the Babyshambles leader was proudly clean and sober: “I’m still a bit wobbly,” Pete Doherty tells the Smoking Section. “Like a newborn horse. But I’m getting there.” Two weeks out of rehab — where he addressed his well-documented addictions to crack and heroin — the Babyshambles frontman is holed up in a quaint cottage in Marlborough, England, with his bandmate and sober-buddy, guitarist Mick Whitnall. Though Babyshambles’ new album, Shotter's Nation, is a fantastic work, recorded in the haze of the past two years, Doherty attests that “we’ve been more creative since we’ve been clean.” In addition to constant guitar picking, the two have been taking morning walks through the British countryside, where Doherty traded in his syringe for a fishing pole. “I caught two dogfish and three haddock,” Doherty says cheerfully. And even though Amy Winehouse spent a night with them, working on a new tune called “1939 Returning,” Doherty’s still on the wagon, gearing up for an arena tour in the U.K. “We’ve got to be on the ball for that,” he says. Then maybe America? “I’d come tomorrow if they’d let me in.”

Babyshambles have pulled out of the charity gig at Islington Union Chapel on November 20th. No explanation at all but it seems the Arena Tour will go ahead as planned.

Revenge of the Bilo! Carl is out of the NME Cool List but Peter enters at number 9.

On DPT front, Anthony "Stan" Rossomando has started an acting career participating to the first episode of the third series of The Mighty Boosh (the episode is entitled "Eels" and is aired on BBC3 on Thursday 15 November at 10.30 pm).

L.A. baratspotting: the mighty Carlos and the sensual Stan were spotted last night oustide The Troubadour club in Santa Monica together with Portland teenyboppers "The Hugs", whose gig they had just attended. Apparently Carl was chatting with the guys and then launched himself in a tip tap dance. All credits for this info go to Collie Tsunami and Dirty Pretty Things official forum's French star Anjali.

Something new

What you see here is the possible cover of You Talk. It looks very much like Delivery but instead of Peter running from the cops there's a posh couple at some posh event (probably Peter himself and Moss, since the latter has co-written the song).

Another shamblette, the lovely Drew, has started a new adventure together with his mate Luca C. According to The UK Mobile Report (???) it's a "new monthly event called Cazambles, organised and hosted by Drew McConnell from Babyshambles and Luca from the Cazals to showcase London bands alongside DJ sets. The band being featured is Helsinki, Drew McConnell’s side project under which he’s worked with a whole host of artists including the likes of Albus Hammond Jr (The Strokes) and Pete Doherty. Joining Helsinki is Luca C (DJ set / Cazals), Shauney (Sensitive Youth)". The launch party of this new event occurs Thursday November 15th from 7pm at The Old Queen's Head, Islington, London.

Another birthday cake...

... Of course for the Good Old Gary!!! Happy birthday man!

Happy Birthday Sweetie!!!

Peterless and Carlless

With Peter back in rehab and Carlos still in exile, let's have a look at what else is going on in the Libertine world.

• We were a bit confused yesterday when we heard that Graham Coxon is recording with a supergroup featuring Drew, Supergrass and the Enemy for a charity record called Crisis X Factor. More confusion followed when we read the record was going to be completed today with the final collaboration of Dirty Pretty Strings. No, it's not a typing error. This band actually exists. If you want to know more about Dirty Pretty Strings click here (Carl is the one on the left, at the front).
• It seems Chester Bennington of Linkin' Park is a secret Shambles fan.
• The XFM's birthday gig featuring Babyshambles, originally scheduled on November 18, has been postponed to December 3 at King's College London.
• The power of frinkocracy! Although not listed among the acts originally proposed by the NME for the 2007 Cool List, as I write Carletto Barattolo has already jumped to number 3 in the readers list. Says the NME: "Another year and will Carl slip further from the Cool List or triumph like a phoenix from the flames? There’s hope for the future if he can make Dirty Pretty Things’ second album a classic". Great. Now stop voting Carlos, and get back to recording.
• Yeti are playing the 100 Club in London on 24 nov 2007.
  
  

Campaign of hate

We had just woken up yesterday, and while staggering around with a cup of coffee in one hand and the remote in the other (Morning News yawwwwn) we also found five minutes to switch on the PC. Who knows, some interesting message in the mail. George Clooney proposing, or George W Bush dying. No, nothing like that. Somebody selling some cheap Viagra. I ain’t no bloke, sorry. Then you google for news and suddenly your PC screen is invaded by this headline “LOCK HIM UP”. Great. Maybe the McCann mystery has been solved, or maybe better, somebody has proved at last that GWB and Osama are the same person. No, the “article” is from The Sun, and it shows a blurred image of someone resembling Pete Doherty, the leader of Babyshambles, doing something with his arms. The Sun wants to lock up Doherty. What crime for? Injecting something in his arms in front of a mobile phone, while somebody asks him about some Wembley tickets. Locking him up? This demands capital punishment!!!

Unfortunately, people are often so ill informed and naïve they tend to lend their ears to this kind of insanity. Peter-loyals (a new breed of fans who think everything Peter does is absolutely perfect) were left sincerely distraught in front of that video, poor souls. Many started questioning the genuinity of the clip, arguing that Peter’s recent tattoos, one in honor of his son, the other a mysterious “VIC” writing (Very Interesting Creature? Vomiting Inside Cars? Vain Immature Carlos?) were not showing. Plus, Peter looked skinnier than in recent appearances and his hair darker. So, the clip was surely old, and the Shambles management had to sue The Sun (what a threat). Then, the day started properly and the debate went more and more inflamed and practically totally invaded the forum of Babyshambles’ website French Dog Blues, and to a lesser extent, the Libertines’ official site..
“Actually, if you look closely at his neck, a bit of tattoo is showing…”
“Shut up! That’s the shadow of his collar!”
“No way the clip is recent. Where’s Babybear? We want him to take the writer of that lurid article straight to court!”. (Babybear is the nickname of one of the Shambles manager).
“Ahem, excuse me, before taking action and talking about – cough - *court* - cough – maybe we have to be sure the video is REALLY old because the outcome might be disastrous and…”.
“I have lost all my faith in Pete Doherty”.
“Now the NME is talking about it too!”.
“Fuckwits”.
“That green wristband is not a wristband, it’s a watch!”
And on and on and on and on…

Let me say I’m not laughing at those people at all, I’m only trying to see everything with a bit of humor. I was a bit saddened too when I realized Peter’s not ready to stay off trouble yet, in spite of all his claims, but of course the usual “what did you expect?” question did its best to shrug off all the “sadness”. What irks me most is the way The Sun and similar rags always come out as winners. On the same day a mag like the NME is coming out with “the first clean interview with Peter ever” (Jesus Christ!!!), the Sun tells us that no, it’s all wrong, Peter is forever a junkie and should be hanged. NME 0, The Sun 6. And we talk football here, not rugby.

I don’t know who the “culprit” is, the person who shot the video, or Peter himself, or the fans and their naivety, or Rupert Murdoch. The result is that the Babyshambles appearance at Jools Holland last night was cancelled and people are now afraid the Arena Tour won’t go ahead at all. We learn that Peter now has decided to go back to rehab and has just produced an official statement. It reads: "Peter Doherty would like to apologise to the medical staff, fans and wellwishers who have helped and encouraged his progress in fighting his addiction to heroin. His ongoing rehabilitation was a source of such pride to him that Peter and those closest to him thought that he was close to winning his personal battle with the drug. However, Peter sadly relapsed last week and is now looking to check himself back into a rehab clinic so that he can try to continue the hitherto excellent attempts he had made to break free of heroin.He realises that he has not only let himself down but has let down those who trusted and encouraged his efforts and he is filled with remorse for what he describes today as 'a stupid, stupid action for which I feel only shame'."

I hope Peter will stop feeling remorse because he hasn’t done anything wrong. And people who “lost their faith” maybe should find something else to put their faith in (if they really need to), maybe not a rockstar. What I want from Peter is good music, great records and exciting gigs. Being also a person with a strong willpower who manages to overcome addiction is a bonus, and it’s not important to me, only to himself. Come on Peter. Wise up. We want to see you on a stage soon. Fat and red haired, and with all your tattoos showing.
And beware of the man with the mobile, for heaven’s sake!!!

Peter in the new NME

While being alternatively tagged as "the ugliest man ever" ("when the world's ugliest boy...") and a "relapsed junkie", Peter also found some time to appear again in the NME for a brief interview. Don't try to read it in the photo or you'll go blind (I hope I'll be able to post the interview in the next days).

NME.com has also put up the You Talk video but we have seen it already.

Babyshambles - 'You Talk' music video

This time it's in full! Enjoy.

Watch You Talk Preview

30 seconds only. And you must have quicktime to watch it. But it looks cool.
Check it out.

Gonzo podcast with the Libertines

Download it NOW.

More from the EMAs

Images like this, showing Peter looking happy and relaxed, with a bottle of beer in his hands (Corona in this case, my fave) are starting to look familiar. It was taken last night, at the much discussed Europe Music Awards in Munich. Babyshambles didn't win anything (they weren't even nominated of course) but, according to Gigwise, they "stunned the crowd". "Performing ‘Delivery,’ - the lead single from their second album ‘Shotter’s Nation’ - the band received a positive ovation from the large crowd in Munich both before and after the song". We, who followed the show from our little houses and our little TV sets, saw a strong rendition of Delivery, but failed to see any "stunned" watcher. Not that they had many stunning rivals in the other artists. Avril Lavigne is a pretty little girl who always sings the same song, My Chemical Romance only appeal to Teenagers, and Tokio Hotel are the last metheoritic semi-boy band. Amy Winehouse is a good singer but, poor girl, totally wasted (she even won something but did not seem to be quite aware of that). Peter said she was on White Russians, in the short interview previous to the show. He also said something about the new course of Babyshambles being "punctuality and professionalism". Judging from his face he was being tongue in cheek, but we know that behind his bollocks Peter always says a grain of truth. The Shambles presence at the Awards was enriched by those two Madden twins from Good Charlotte, who announced Peter's band as winner of the album of the year award (of course they weren't. Nelly Furtado was). I don't think it was a pisstake, also because the Maddens had just had their photo taken with Peter and co. and they looked all happy to meet them and all that crap. There's also an interesting photo showin' Peter backstage with Michael Stipe (everybody has seen it so I'm not showing it).

So, what else is to be said? I don't believe this little escapade in the mainstream showbiz did any serious harm to Babyshambles. All in all, they seemed to be quite at ease, maybe with the only exception of the lovely Drew. Of course Peter has been steeped in the showbiz for almost 3 years now (although for other reasons than music) but also his mates seem to be going much more self confident while the Arena Tour is coming closer and closer. What should I say, that all this has nothing to do with The Arcadiam Dream? Well, yes, sure. But people keep saying, move on. And we move on. On and away from Arcadia. Up the Shambles.

You can see the EMA's best bits, interviews, performances etc in the various MTV Europe national websites.