Reviews

Pete Doherty once wrote a song called Hooligans On E, detailing "Meat pies and Burberry/or Aquascutum if you’re lucky". The drunk kids and undertone of violence here tonight confirm that the band appeal to those they immortalise in lyrics. There’s a feeling of the terraces in the wordless chants of a slightly wayward rendition of Killamangiro, a technique echoed on I Wish, with its reggae feel.

Babyshambles (c) Shirlaine Forrest

There’s little banter at first but it’s easy to forgive when Doherty’s hushed, husky vocals breathe through the crowd. It’s a truly lovely voice that carries the band’s romantic recollections, such as UnBiloTitled, a song that has a sense of both historical scale and of the individual.

The rowdy crowd may be a little small, but then the music has been overlooked by the tabloids in a way that Amy Winehouse, Pete’s sparring partner in terms of column inches, has not. That’s perhaps because of some truly embarrassing performances, such as the Glastonbury horror show combining Lethal Bizzle and Kate Moss.

That performance took self indulgence to new highs in several senses. But songs from new album Shotter’s Nation represent a much more refined musical direction than on the rambling debut, Down In Albion, which, between nuggets of gold, was not so much hit as miss.

Babyshambles (c) Shirlaine Forrest

An impromptu, a cappella version of Build Me Up, Buttercup precedes finale **** Forever, a song that seems incredibly apt considering Doherty’s fast-living mantra. As the guitars crash, a photo of Churchill’s infamous v sign provides the backdrop to union flags and naval ensigns unfurling. The crowd lap up the song’s clever observations on the way happy endings are entertaining and yet subversive – "they have a way to make you pay/and to make you toe the line".

Babyshambles are still patchy, but are now the right side of the ‘hit and miss’ spectrum. Many consider Doherty overrated but there’s plenty to like about his band, not least of which is the fact that they retain more of the magic of the Libertines than Dirty Pretty Things.

Although with Barat and Powell, the music had vitality brought about by musical competence, it was always Doherty’s wistful lyrical and vocal contribution that set the band apart from their peers. It was always the wording that intrigued, and it still does.