Pete Doherty is enigmatic but Babyshambles’ gig didn’t make me a fan

Drinks flying, people crowd surfing, and numerous mosh pits. You’d be forgiven for thinking this was a festival gig in the 90s, not a quiet Sunday night.

But fans went all out for Babyshambles’ reunion show at the O2 Academy Brixton, with their love for frontman Pete Doherty radiating off the moving mass.

I walked into their tour as a complete outsider, having only seen Pete perform once with The Libertines at Reading Festival in 2015.

Babyshambles have always existed as something of a musical cryptid to me, having formed in 2003 as a response to Pete’s temporary exit from The Libertines.

With their lengthy 11-year hiatus, during my formative music listening years, I’ll admit I hadn’t paid too much attention to the band beyond their most popular tracks.

Going into a gig blind to the music is a rare treat these days, so I relished the chance to really fall in love with Babyshambles — but sadly, I’m not sold.

I had high hopes for this first tour back after over a decade away, with the hype from fans fueling my own excitement and intrigue.

Pete proved a calm and collected presence, despite his former rockstar reputation, singing as if the hungry crowd didn’t exist and they were performing to an empty room.

Full disclosure, I was briefly concerned a half-empty venue would be their fate as the circle seating was largely empty until their on-stage time of 9pm.

Clearly, fans had opted to skip openers Real Farmer and GANS, the latter of which seemed to struggle to really connect with the audience until the very end.

Possibly the mostly millennial gig-goers were, like me, reminded of that one Friends episode when Ross makes music by GANS’ experimental keyboard choices.

My worries were laid to rest as the gig soon filled up when Babyshambles appeared, playing tracks like Delivery, I Wish, and Back From The Dead in a relentless stream.

The standing crowd jumped and swayed to the guitar-heavy tracks, while the balcony remained more reserved, only furthering my feeling that I was on the outside of an experience.

That being said, musically, the band were flawless with Pete’s vocals still strong after almost 30 years in the business.

Song Albion was a particular highlight, with Pete having fun listing different UK locations, including (of course) Brixton, which prompted a huge cheer.

Only new song Dandy Hooligan fell incredibly flat for me, offering repetitive lyrics over a ska-reggae tune that didn’t feel at home on the set list.

However, it was hard to truly connect with Pete as he barely spoke to the crowd — a far cry from the boisterous frontman I was anticipating.

He danced in his socks for one song and waved around a stick during others, hinting at a less poised potential lurking underneath his pork pie hat.

But aside from a few sporadic chats towards the end of the show, he seemed a little distant, in a nervous or shy way as opposed to any aloofness.

Pete only properly spoke as the group went into their last few songs about an hour in, including a tribute to late guitarist Patrick Walden and a bizarre but endearing interlude about walking your dog.

I could see there was charisma locked away in him by his dance moves and the crowd’s adoration, but he just didn’t unleash it.

This kept me as a new fan at a distance, rather than inviting me into the world of Babyshambles or help me understand why the crowds were so devoted to this band.

While I don’t think an artist needs a comedy routine to fill out their set, it was a little hard to connect, as his lack of introductions meant the songs did sadly blend into each other.

Perhaps that’s the luxury you get from having been one of the biggest names in British music in the 00s.

It’s hardly as if Pete will fade into oblivion if he doesn’t endear new fans, although Babyshambles’ new music could struggle in the face of streaming.

However, for a man with so much mythos surrounding his personal life, he left me wanting far more. But then again, maybe that’s the appeal.