From This is Nottingham:
Babyshambles are back in the city this weekend as part of a tour to road-test new material. Drummer Adam Ficek talks to ANDREW TRENDELL about politics, progression and ignoring what the papers say.
HAVING a frontman who attracts the sort of attention that Pete Doherty has over the past few years, you can perhaps understand how the rest of the band may get frustrated.
HAVING a frontman who attracts the sort of attention that Pete Doherty has over the past few years, you can perhaps understand how the rest of the band may get frustrated.
But not so much about being in his shadow, rather that the music is ignored.
"It's always been that way," says Babyshambles drummer Adam Ficek.
"The tabloids do have that power and that potency to make or break you by how they portray you. You just have to hope that people can see through that."
Then adds: "The shame is that people don't really see through that."
Most people, that is. But there are thousands who have handed over their hard-earned cash to see Doherty's post-Libertines band play.
Ficek admits it's not always worth it.
"When we're having a good day we can be an amazing band. The way I would describe us is that we are either the best band you've ever seen or the worst."
Famed in their early days for their chaotic and messy live performances, anyone who has seen the band in the last couple of years will have seen a far more professional and finely-tuned band than the Babyshambles who stumbled on to the scene in 2004.
"I do still really like the shambolic side of things, but we do work really hard in rehearsal and when you go out there and play you just get better. I think that just comes from playing – you just naturally shape up."
Following their upcoming UK tour, the band plan to release a third album.
"The new Babyshambles album is coming along okay actually. We're thinking of releasing a new EP in the New Year.
There will be an album out next year as well but it's quite weird as there's quite a lot of pressure, in terms of time.
"There's a lot more punky stuff coming out, as well as a lot of shoe-gaze type stuff too. It's sounding a lot less angular, but more melodic. Because there are so many influences within Babyshambles, there's no real overriding style."
He adds: "You always evolve as you make new music, you don't want to go back and do the same things again so you evolve.
"It's hard to describe the evolution in that respect. As you're evolving, different influences are coming from different areas."
Typical of Doherty, Babyshambles' new tracks sound colourful and poetic.
BNP Blues is a tirade against right-wing racism. As a multicultural band, racism is an issue that's close to the heart of Babyshambles.
"It's something that we all care about," says Adam. "I'm from Eastern European stock, Drew and Pete are from Irish stock, and we're all kind of shocked and disgusted that in the UK and in London that real xenophobia still exists.
"Personally, I try to not be too political. Some people just like to escape in their music, some people like to be told what to think, whether for right or for wrong. So sometimes music can be a pretty good means of escape, but other times music can be pretty politically moving. I do think you need to be careful about how hard you push it. You don't want to seem like you're preaching."
Unlike Bono?
"Well, Bono does what he does but that's his own subjective way of doing it. Sometimes, I don't want to hear reality in music. There's enough of that nasty stuff on the news and in real life, it's hard to escape. But there are times when it's good to raise social awareness."
As a decade in music that they helped to define draws to a close, what do the band hope to achieve in the future? Adam tells us of their humble ambitions: "I'd like to keep going as long as we can make a living from it. We're not really in it to become the biggest-selling band out there or to try and win the Mercury Prize.
"That never comes to bands like us, anyway. If you're a bigger band with a lot of media backing paying a lot of money, then that's fine. I don't really see us as that sort of band.
"We're more quiet and detached and unseen. We're not really that kind of pat-on-the-back Mercury band, or any of that T4 stuff. We're more your kind of meat and potatoes band, we just want to play."
"It's always been that way," says Babyshambles drummer Adam Ficek.
"The tabloids do have that power and that potency to make or break you by how they portray you. You just have to hope that people can see through that."
Then adds: "The shame is that people don't really see through that."
Most people, that is. But there are thousands who have handed over their hard-earned cash to see Doherty's post-Libertines band play.
Ficek admits it's not always worth it.
"When we're having a good day we can be an amazing band. The way I would describe us is that we are either the best band you've ever seen or the worst."
Famed in their early days for their chaotic and messy live performances, anyone who has seen the band in the last couple of years will have seen a far more professional and finely-tuned band than the Babyshambles who stumbled on to the scene in 2004.
"I do still really like the shambolic side of things, but we do work really hard in rehearsal and when you go out there and play you just get better. I think that just comes from playing – you just naturally shape up."
Following their upcoming UK tour, the band plan to release a third album.
"The new Babyshambles album is coming along okay actually. We're thinking of releasing a new EP in the New Year.
There will be an album out next year as well but it's quite weird as there's quite a lot of pressure, in terms of time.
"There's a lot more punky stuff coming out, as well as a lot of shoe-gaze type stuff too. It's sounding a lot less angular, but more melodic. Because there are so many influences within Babyshambles, there's no real overriding style."
He adds: "You always evolve as you make new music, you don't want to go back and do the same things again so you evolve.
"It's hard to describe the evolution in that respect. As you're evolving, different influences are coming from different areas."
Typical of Doherty, Babyshambles' new tracks sound colourful and poetic.
BNP Blues is a tirade against right-wing racism. As a multicultural band, racism is an issue that's close to the heart of Babyshambles.
"It's something that we all care about," says Adam. "I'm from Eastern European stock, Drew and Pete are from Irish stock, and we're all kind of shocked and disgusted that in the UK and in London that real xenophobia still exists.
"Personally, I try to not be too political. Some people just like to escape in their music, some people like to be told what to think, whether for right or for wrong. So sometimes music can be a pretty good means of escape, but other times music can be pretty politically moving. I do think you need to be careful about how hard you push it. You don't want to seem like you're preaching."
Unlike Bono?
"Well, Bono does what he does but that's his own subjective way of doing it. Sometimes, I don't want to hear reality in music. There's enough of that nasty stuff on the news and in real life, it's hard to escape. But there are times when it's good to raise social awareness."
As a decade in music that they helped to define draws to a close, what do the band hope to achieve in the future? Adam tells us of their humble ambitions: "I'd like to keep going as long as we can make a living from it. We're not really in it to become the biggest-selling band out there or to try and win the Mercury Prize.
"That never comes to bands like us, anyway. If you're a bigger band with a lot of media backing paying a lot of money, then that's fine. I don't really see us as that sort of band.
"We're more quiet and detached and unseen. We're not really that kind of pat-on-the-back Mercury band, or any of that T4 stuff. We're more your kind of meat and potatoes band, we just want to play."
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