Pete Doherty has announced his old band Babyshambles are embarking on a UK tour, marking their first reunion in 10 years.
The Killamangiro hitmakers – made up of Pete Doherty, Mick Whitnall, Drew McConnell, and Adam Ficek – will be performing 10 dates in November and December to celebrate 20 years of their debut album Down in Albion.
Pete, 46 – also frontman for The Libertines, who performed on The Pyramid Stage at Glastonbury earlier this year – took to social media with the exciting news.
‘@babyshamblesuk are reuniting for the first time in 10 years to celebrate 20 years of Down in Albion,’ he wrote.
Pre-sale tickets go live on Wednesday, and fans can sign up now for early access, while general sale will open on Friday September 5 at 10am.
The band – known for hits including F**k Forever, Delivery, Fall from Grace and Albion – will kick things off in Norwich on November 14, before heading to Brixton’s O2 Academy, and ending in Plymouth on December 10.
Pete told NME of the reunion that Babyshambles have ‘unfinished business’ and the tour was ‘a no brainer for me, a real desire to play some of their old tunes and have a little shindig’.
He also explained how this reunion was only possible once he and Witnall had both been clean for a number of years.
‘There was always talk about it; there was always a desire to play those songs again,’ he said, ‘but the centrifugal point of it was addiction really, and the danger that me and Mick would be an unhealthy influence on each other. So it was people around us not wanting to meet up and probably us both knowing that it wasn’t a good idea.’
This announcement comes after the band’s former guitarist Patrick Walden died aged 46 in June.
Pete confirmed Walden was meant to be part of the reunion, and said his death was a ‘real trigger to get it done’.
‘My first thought was of just seeing his face up there while we’re playing and that’ll be an important part of it,’ he added.
‘It is with deep regret and sadness that we share the news of Patrick Walden’s death,’ the band wrote in a statement, which Pete, also 46, reposted on his Instagram Story, along with a black-and-white photo of Walden.
‘We feel very fortunate to have known, loved and worked with him and we kindly ask for respect and privacy during these difficult times. Peter, Drew, Mike, Adam.’
Walden – who co-wrote many Babyshambles hits, including six of the 16 tracks on Down in Albion – joined the indie band in 2004 as the lead guitarist alongside Doherty after he was ousted from The Libertines for his escalating drug use.
Babyshambles tour dates
November
14th – Norwich, The Nick Rayns LCR
16th – London, O2 Academy Brixton
26th – Birmingham, O2 Academy
29th – Liverpool, Mountford Hall
30th – Manchester, O2 Victoria Warehouse
December
2nd – Newcastle, O2 City Hall
4th – Glasgow, O2 Academy
7th – Leeds, O2 Academy
8th – Nottingham, Rock City
10th – Plymouth, Pavilions
At the time Babyshambles formed there was much tabloid chatter surrounding Pete’s drug-fuelled personal life and relationship with Kate Moss, who also sang on their song La Belle et La Bête.
Pete said now that he and ‘brother’ Mick have been off the hard stuff for a number of years it was safe for them to ‘face polite society’.
They also teased they will try and get their original drummer Gemma Clarke along for a few songs, and they would even try to draft in The Clash’s Mick Jones, who did a number of backing vocals on Down in Albion.
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