Babyshambles were joined by Carl Barât at London’s KOKO for The Libertines’ ‘What Katie Did’ and played ‘Wolfman’ for the first time in 20 years.
Pete Doherty and co. have been playing their first tour together since 2014, following their brief onstage comeback at a Doherty solo show last year.
The final date of the run came on Monday night (December 15) at KOKO, where they ran through a career-spanning 20-song set, and brought out Doherty’s Libertines partner-in-crime Barât for ‘What Katie Did’, from their band’s 2004 self-titled album.
To round out the show, they dug deep into their back catalogue to play ‘Wolfman’, a B-side to their single ‘Albion’, for the first time since it was released in 2005. For that, they were joined by their original drummer Gemma Clarke, who played with the band from 2004 to 2005.
Watch footage of both performances here:
Barât also shared footage from the show on his Instagram earlier today (December 16), captioning the post: “Up the shambles.”
Babyshambles played:
‘Killamangiro’
‘Delivery’
‘I Wish’
‘Sedative’
‘Beg, Steal Or Borrow’
‘There She Goes’
‘La Belle Et La Bête’
‘Back From The Dead’
‘Unstookie Titled’
‘Carry On Up The Morning’
‘What Katie Did’ (with Carl Barât)
‘8 Dead Boys’
‘Baddie’s Boogie’
‘À Rebours’
‘Albion’
‘Dandy Hooligan’
‘Lost Art Of Murder’
‘Pipedown’
‘Fuck Forever’
‘Wolfman’ (with Gemma Clarke)
Speaking to NME recently about their return, Doherty explained that the reunion only became possible once he and guitarist Mick Whitnall had both been clean for a number of years. He also revealed that original guitarist Patrick Walden – who passed away in June – was meant to be involved in the comeback.
The singer-songwriter said Walden’s 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 continued.
“There was always talk about it; there was always a desire to play those songs again,” Doherty told NME, “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.”
The band also discussed whether any new Babyshambles material could emerge. “When we do the bigger shows, it’d be nice to release a single and a couple of B sides,” Doherty told NME. “I’ve got a couple of ideas and when we get in a room, we’ll try them out.”
Last week (December 12), Babyshambles reissued their debut album ‘Down In Albion’ for its 20th anniversary, with session tracks, rarities and B-sides from the era. Buy your copy here.
In August, meanwhile, The Libertines played a huge show at London’s Gunnersbury Park in support of their 2024 album ‘All Quiet On The Eastern Esplanade’. Doherty released his latest solo record, ‘Felt Better Alive’, this May.
