Babyshambles
Encyclopedia
Babyshambles are an English
indie rock
band established in London
. The band was formed by Pete Doherty
during a hiatus from his former band The Libertines
, but Babyshambles has since become his main project (although recently he has been focusing on his solo work and possibly a full-time Libertines re-union). Babyshambles has released two albums, three EPs
and a number of single
s. The band has received a great deal of attention from the British tabloid press as a result of Doherty's personal life.
was banned from playing with The Libertines
until he could overcome his substance abuse problems. As a response, Doherty formed an alternative band, and recruited former Libertine, Steve Bedlow as vocalist. Initially, Doherty planned on calling his new band T'Libertines, because of the band's Yorkshire connection - the line up of the band at the time consisted mainly of Yorkshiremen.
On the night Babyshambles' first gig was scheduled to take place, Doherty was arrested for burgling Carl Barât's
flat. After he was charged and released, his friend Dean Fragile organized a new gig at the Tap'n'Tin. The performance received mixed reviews.
Doherty was sentenced to six months' imprisonment for his crime. His sentence was later reduced on appeal to two months. When he was released from prison, Doherty rejoined The Libertines and sidelined the Babyshambles project. However, he found time to record the band's first single "Babyshambles
", which was released in April 2004 on High Society Records. The single was limited to 2000 CDs and 1000 7" vinyl copies.
In the early summer of 2004, Doherty once again found himself cast out of The Libertines because of his drug use. As a result, Doherty brought Babyshambles to the fore with Patrick Walden
on guitar, Gemma Clarke
on drums and Peter Perrett
's two sons, Jamie and Peter Junior, on guitar and bass respectively. Doherty organised several gigs and the band began to gain respect in their own right, even though Doherty missed a number of appearances. The band's lineup underwent several changes before stabilizing during the late summer of 2004 with Doherty on vocals, Patrick Walden on guitar, Gemma Clarke on drums and Drew McConnell
on bass.
" was released 29 November 2004 on Rough Trade Records
, reaching number 8 on the UK singles chart
. The band embarked on another tour in December 2004, among growing concerns regarding Doherty's drug dependence. During a gig in Blackpool
, the band walked off the stage when it became clear that Doherty was too intoxicated to perform, and a riot broke out at the London Astoria
after Doherty failed to appear.
In January 2005, Gemma Clarke
quit the band, citing disagreements with the management, whom she blamed for failing to address Doherty's obvious drug problem. She was subsequently replaced by Adam Ficek
.
working on their debut album with Mick Jones
of The Clash
, who had also worked with Doherty on the production of The Libertines
' albums. The album, entitled Down in Albion
, was released on 14 November 2005. It reached the Top 10 on the UK Albums Chart
. The first single from the album, "Fuck Forever
", had been released on 15 August, reaching number four on the UK singles chart
. The second single, "Albion
", was released on 28 November and reached number eight in the UK singles chart.
Fellow English rock group Oasis
had booked Babyshambles to support them on their UK tour in July 2005. However, Doherty was attending the birthday celebration of fashion designer Hedi Slimane
with Kate Moss and was unable to arrange transport back to the UK in time for the band's first appearance. As a consequence Oasis cancelled Babyshambles' support for the rest of the tour.
Several small gigs took place at the end of 2005.
Babyshambles announced four small club shows in London, Liverpool, Sheffield and Stoke in January 2006. To the surprise of his fans, the band performed without guitarist Patrick Walden
, with Doherty on guitar instead. Walden returned for a gig in Cambridge on January 23 and a UK tour in February. He played his last gig with the band at the Shepherd’s Bush Empire during that tour, and has not appeared with Babyshambles since. He has, however, appeared on stage independently and in the company of Drew McConnell and Seb Rochford
, playing two Babyshambles songs which he co-wrote with Pete Doherty, in July 2007.
In February 2006, Babyshambles won the Naomi Award
for Worst Live Act, and were nominated for several NME awards. The band performed "Albion
" at the NME Awards
show, and Doherty won the "Sexiest Man" award.
In August 2006, Babyshambles signed to major record label Parlophone
for the release of an EP, and headlined the Get Loaded in the Park
festival. The band released the limited edition single "Beg, Steal or Borrow", which was exclusively available to those who had attended the festival. A free copy of "The Blinding" was released in the street magazine The Big Issue
.
A cover version of the Clash
song "Janie Jones" was released through B-Unique Records
in October. The single was released to raise money for Joe Strummer
's charity foundation Strummerville
and features contributions from others bands such as Dirty Pretty Things
, Larrikin Love
, We Are Scientists
, The Kooks
, and Guillemots
. This release marked the first time that Carl Barât and Pete Doherty
had worked together since The Libertines
parted, although they never met during the recording process.
On 4 December 2006, The Blinding EP
was released to critical acclaim. The release was promoted with music videos for "The Blinding" and "Love You But You're Green", and an acoustic
performance of the latter on The Culture Show
. The single was not eligible for the singles chart because it contained too many tracks; however, the band claimed on its MySpace
page that it would have made number four in the Christmas Day 2006 UK chart had it been eligible.
On 18 January 2007, it was announced that the band had signed a long-term record deal with Parlophone. The contract was reportedly for three albums. In Summer 2007, Babyshambles played Oxegen
, Glastonbury Festival
, the V Festival
, T in the Park
and Paredes de Coura Festival
.
. The track listing for the album was revealed on 23 July 2007 in the (p)review posted on Allan Jones' Editor's Diary Uncut
.co.uk blog. The Stephen Street
-produced record contains 12 tracks and features a guest appearance from Bert Jansch
on the acoustic closer.
Adam Ficek commented that Shotter's Nation is a "glossy picture" of where the band are at the moment.
The first single from the album, "Delivery
", was released on 17 September 2007, reaching number six in the UK Singles Chart
after its first week on general sale. A week prior to the release, a 7 inch vinyl containing a demo version of the song and an interview with the band was released with NME
magazine.
The album was received much better than previous Babyshambles releases. With an AMG rating of 3.5 stars (Compared with 2.5 for Down in Albion
and 3 stars for The Blinding EP
)
In November 2007 Babyshambles played their first arena tour, taking in dates at the Newcastle Metro Radio Arena, MEN Arena
in Manchester, the Nottingham Arena, Bournemouth International Centre
, London's Wembley Arena
, Brighton's Brighton Centre, and Birmingham's National Indoor Arena
.
The second single from Shotter's Nation, "You Talk
", was released on 3 December 2007.
In January and February 2008, Babyshambles played their biggest European tour to date.
Babyshambles are due to play at a lot of festivals this Spring and this Summer, especially in France.
In June they played at Hove Festival
in Norway
. In August they headlined the RadioOne/NME Stage of the Reading and Leeds Festivals
. However, a large amount of their scheduled tours were cancelled due to Doherty's recent imprisonment.
On 8 April, it was announced that Babyshambles was going to release A CD/DVD live untitled "Oh! What A Lovely Tour" on 2 June. The concert was recorded during the winter leg of the UK arena tour at the SECC Glasgow on 2 December. On 22 May 2008 Babyshambles performed at the Saturday Night Fiber
, a new music festival in Madrid
, Spain
with other artists such as Morrissey
.
Growing speculation suggested that Babyshambles would be unable to make all tour dates for 2008, but in a recent interview with NME "Doherty added that he will honour all his booked live commitments with Babyshambles, but will not book further gigs until his solo album is finished". The band is heading into studios to record 9 demos for their third upcoming album. On 12 January 2009, along with Roger Daltrey
, Babyshambles played a one-off gig at the O2 Academy Bristol in aid of Teenage Cancer Trust
.
, with former Supergrass
drummer Danny Goffey
temporarily taking his place.
(1=Jamie Parrett; 2=Peter Parrett Jr.)
Red: Lead Vocals/Guitar, Piano
Green: Vocals
Blue: Guitar
Yellow: Bass
Black: Drums/Percussion
In December 2005, guitarist Patrick Walden left Babyshambles, shortly after the debut album "Down In Albion" was released. He wasn't replaced immediately and returned to play guitar for the Babyshambles at a gig in the Junction, Cambridge, on 23 January 2006. Walden's reason to leave the band was his heavy drug abuse. In April 2006 Babyshambles went on tour without Walden, who was accused of assaulting his girlfriend, arrested and spent nine days in Pentonville prison. After all charges against Walden were eventually dropped, he left London. Babyshambles first continued as a three-man piece, but towards the end of the year 2006 Walden was finally replaced by Mick Whitnall, who was formerly a roadie. Walden was scheduled to reunite with the band at the Manchester MEN Arena in November 2007, however he dropped out at the last minute.
is the lead singer, guitarist and main songwriter for the band.
Mick Whitnall
is the lead guitarist and song writing partner for the band. Before this, Whitnall played with Kill City fronted by Pete Doherty's ex-girlfriend Lisa Moorish
, and also in bands including Finley Quaye
's band and ska band 100 Men.
Drew McConnell
is the bass guitarist and backing vocalist with the band. McConnell completed a bass degree at the Institute of Contemporary Music Performance (ICMP). He was formerly in the band Elviss
, and he currently also plays in another group, The Phoenix Drive as well as writing and recording solo material. Also currently playing double bass and piano with Irish singer/songwriter Fionn Regan
. McConnell organises a musical collective named Helsinki, with which he performs solo material as well as versions of songs by Babyshambles, such as a swing version of their single "Delivery
". Among the members of this collective are Matt Barrett, Stephen Large of Squeeze and Albert Hammond Jr of The Strokes
.
Danny Goffey
, former Supergrass
drummer, replaced Adam Ficek
in June 2010 after the drummer disappeared in mysterious, unexplained circumstances although he later resurfaced under the guise of Roses Kings Castles.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
indie rock
Indie rock
Indie rock is a genre of alternative rock that originated in the United Kingdom and the United States in the 1980s. Indie rock is extremely diverse, with sub-genres that include lo-fi, post-rock, math rock, indie pop, dream pop, noise rock, space rock, sadcore, riot grrrl and emo, among others...
band established in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. The band was formed by Pete Doherty
Pete Doherty
Peter Doherty is an English musician, writer, actor, poet and artist. He is best known musically for being co-frontman of The Libertines, which he reformed with Carl Barât in 2010. His other musical project is indie band Babyshambles...
during a hiatus from his former band The Libertines
The Libertines
The Libertines were an English rock band, formed in London in 1997 by frontmen Carl Barât and Pete Doherty . The band, centred on the song-writing partnership of Barat and Doherty, also included John Hassall and Gary Powell for most of its recording career...
, but Babyshambles has since become his main project (although recently he has been focusing on his solo work and possibly a full-time Libertines re-union). Babyshambles has released two albums, three EPs
Extended play
An EP is a musical recording which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as a full album or LP. The term EP originally referred only to specific types of vinyl records other than 78 rpm standard play records and LP records, but it is now applied to mid-length Compact...
and a number of single
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
s. The band has received a great deal of attention from the British tabloid press as a result of Doherty's personal life.
Early history
In mid-2003, Pete DohertyPete Doherty
Peter Doherty is an English musician, writer, actor, poet and artist. He is best known musically for being co-frontman of The Libertines, which he reformed with Carl Barât in 2010. His other musical project is indie band Babyshambles...
was banned from playing with The Libertines
The Libertines
The Libertines were an English rock band, formed in London in 1997 by frontmen Carl Barât and Pete Doherty . The band, centred on the song-writing partnership of Barat and Doherty, also included John Hassall and Gary Powell for most of its recording career...
until he could overcome his substance abuse problems. As a response, Doherty formed an alternative band, and recruited former Libertine, Steve Bedlow as vocalist. Initially, Doherty planned on calling his new band T'Libertines, because of the band's Yorkshire connection - the line up of the band at the time consisted mainly of Yorkshiremen.
On the night Babyshambles' first gig was scheduled to take place, Doherty was arrested for burgling Carl Barât's
Carl Barât
Carl Ashley Raphael Barât is an English musician, actor and author. He was the frontman and lead guitarist of Dirty Pretty Things, and recently debuted a solo album, but is best known for being the co-frontman with Peter Doherty of the garage rock band The Libertines.-Early life:Carl Barât was...
flat. After he was charged and released, his friend Dean Fragile organized a new gig at the Tap'n'Tin. The performance received mixed reviews.
Doherty was sentenced to six months' imprisonment for his crime. His sentence was later reduced on appeal to two months. When he was released from prison, Doherty rejoined The Libertines and sidelined the Babyshambles project. However, he found time to record the band's first single "Babyshambles
Babyshambles (song)
"Babyshambles" is the first single for Pete Doherty's post-Libertines band of the same name. It was released in April 2004 on High Society Records. The single was limited to 2,000 copies of the CD and 1,000 copies of the 7" vinyl and both can now be found changing hands for more than £100 on...
", which was released in April 2004 on High Society Records. The single was limited to 2000 CDs and 1000 7" vinyl copies.
In the early summer of 2004, Doherty once again found himself cast out of The Libertines because of his drug use. As a result, Doherty brought Babyshambles to the fore with Patrick Walden
Patrick Walden
Patrick George Walden is best known as the former guitarist for Babyshambles. Prior to joining Babyshambles, Walden belonged to a variety of London groups, among which were Fluid, the Six Cold Thousand, and The White Sport. He played guitar for The White Sport alongside another future Babyshambles...
on guitar, Gemma Clarke
Gemma Clarke
Gemma Clarke is a professional musician who was previously the drummer for The Suffrajets, The Krak and Babyshambles.-Babyshambles:For a year, Clarke played drums for the ex-Libertine Pete Doherty's band Babyshambles...
on drums and Peter Perrett
Peter Perrett
Peter Perrett is an English singer-songwriter. He fronts the recently re-formed 1970s English band, The Only Ones. Perrett lives in Forest Hill, South East London. The Only Ones often described as New Wave were noted for their musicianship during the Punk period...
's two sons, Jamie and Peter Junior, on guitar and bass respectively. Doherty organised several gigs and the band began to gain respect in their own right, even though Doherty missed a number of appearances. The band's lineup underwent several changes before stabilizing during the late summer of 2004 with Doherty on vocals, Patrick Walden on guitar, Gemma Clarke on drums and Drew McConnell
Drew McConnell
Drew McConnell is the bass guitarist and backing vocalist with Babyshambles, the band formed and fronted by frontman of The Libertines, Pete Doherty. He lived in Tenerife, Spain, for much of his childhood, and he speaks Spanish fluently...
on bass.
UK tours
In September and October 2004, Babyshambles embarked on a British tour that culminated with two shows at the London Scala. Despite fears that Doherty's performance would not be consistent, the tour sold-out and received critical acclaim. The band's second single "KillamangiroKillamangiro
"Killamangiro" is a song by English band, Babyshambles, released in November 2004 through Rough Trade Records. It achieved respectable chart success, peaking at #8 on the UK singles chart....
" was released 29 November 2004 on Rough Trade Records
Rough Trade Records
Rough Trade Records is an independent record label based in London. It was formed in 1978 by Geoff Travis who had opened a record store off Ladbroke Grove...
, reaching number 8 on the UK singles chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
. The band embarked on another tour in December 2004, among growing concerns regarding Doherty's drug dependence. During a gig in Blackpool
Blackpool
Blackpool is a borough, seaside town, and unitary authority area of Lancashire, in North West England. It is situated along England's west coast by the Irish Sea, between the Ribble and Wyre estuaries, northwest of Preston, north of Liverpool, and northwest of Manchester...
, the band walked off the stage when it became clear that Doherty was too intoxicated to perform, and a riot broke out at the London Astoria
London Astoria
The London Astoria was a music venue, located at 157 Charing Cross Road, in London, England. It had been leased and run by Festival Republic since 2000. It was closed on 15 January 2009 and has since been demolished...
after Doherty failed to appear.
In January 2005, Gemma Clarke
Gemma Clarke
Gemma Clarke is a professional musician who was previously the drummer for The Suffrajets, The Krak and Babyshambles.-Babyshambles:For a year, Clarke played drums for the ex-Libertine Pete Doherty's band Babyshambles...
quit the band, citing disagreements with the management, whom she blamed for failing to address Doherty's obvious drug problem. She was subsequently replaced by Adam Ficek
Adam Ficek
Adam Ficek is an English musician who performs under the 'Roses Kings Castles' name, and was a song writer and member of Babyshambles....
.
Down In Albion (2005-2007)
In April and May 2005, Babyshambles spent several weeks in a recording studio in WalesWales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
working on their debut album with Mick Jones
Mick Jones (The Clash)
Michael Geoffrey "Mick" Jones is the former lead guitarist, secondary vocalist and co-founder for the British punk rock band The Clash until his dismissal in 1983. He went on to form the band Big Audio Dynamite with Don Letts before line-up changes led to the formation of Big Audio Dynamite II and...
of The Clash
The Clash
The Clash were an English punk rock band that formed in 1976 as part of the original wave of British punk. Along with punk, their music incorporated elements of reggae, ska, dub, funk, rap, dance, and rockabilly...
, who had also worked with Doherty on the production of The Libertines
The Libertines
The Libertines were an English rock band, formed in London in 1997 by frontmen Carl Barât and Pete Doherty . The band, centred on the song-writing partnership of Barat and Doherty, also included John Hassall and Gary Powell for most of its recording career...
' albums. The album, entitled Down in Albion
Down in Albion
Down in Albion is the debut album by Babyshambles, Pete Doherty's post-Libertines band.Down in Albion was released on November 14, 2005 on Rough Trade Records, although it was leaked on to the Internet on October 19, 2005. Produced by Mick Jones, Down in Albion contains a rerecorded version of...
, was released on 14 November 2005. It reached the Top 10 on the UK Albums Chart
UK Albums Chart
The UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart...
. The first single from the album, "Fuck Forever
Fuck Forever
"Fuck Forever" is a song by Babyshambles. It was released as a single on 15 August 2005 and is their most successful single, peaking at #4 on the UK Singles Chart. The song was in danger of becoming a lost single due to its controversial title and lyrics, but it was eventually released and has...
", had been released on 15 August, reaching number four on the UK singles chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
. The second single, "Albion
Albion (song)
"Albion" is a song by English band Babyshambles. It was released as the third single from Down in Albion on November 28, 2005 in the UK. The single was released in Japan on March 8, 2006 by Reservoir Records/EMI....
", was released on 28 November and reached number eight in the UK singles chart.
Fellow English rock group Oasis
Oasis (band)
Oasis were an English rock band formed in Manchester in 1991. Originally known as The Rain, the group was formed by Liam Gallagher , Paul "Bonehead" Arthurs , Paul "Guigsy" McGuigan and Tony McCarroll , who were soon joined by Liam's older brother Noel Gallagher...
had booked Babyshambles to support them on their UK tour in July 2005. However, Doherty was attending the birthday celebration of fashion designer Hedi Slimane
Hedi Slimane
Hedi Slimane is a French fashion designer of Tunisian, Italian-Brazilian origins. He studied political sciences , and Art History at the École du Louvre, and was also educated as a tailor...
with Kate Moss and was unable to arrange transport back to the UK in time for the band's first appearance. As a consequence Oasis cancelled Babyshambles' support for the rest of the tour.
Several small gigs took place at the end of 2005.
Babyshambles announced four small club shows in London, Liverpool, Sheffield and Stoke in January 2006. To the surprise of his fans, the band performed without guitarist Patrick Walden
Patrick Walden
Patrick George Walden is best known as the former guitarist for Babyshambles. Prior to joining Babyshambles, Walden belonged to a variety of London groups, among which were Fluid, the Six Cold Thousand, and The White Sport. He played guitar for The White Sport alongside another future Babyshambles...
, with Doherty on guitar instead. Walden returned for a gig in Cambridge on January 23 and a UK tour in February. He played his last gig with the band at the Shepherd’s Bush Empire during that tour, and has not appeared with Babyshambles since. He has, however, appeared on stage independently and in the company of Drew McConnell and Seb Rochford
Seb Rochford
Sebastian "Seb" Rochford is a British drummer who spans many musical genres.He comes from Aberdeen and has a large family of 2 brothers and 7 sisters...
, playing two Babyshambles songs which he co-wrote with Pete Doherty, in July 2007.
In February 2006, Babyshambles won the Naomi Award
Naomi Awards
Naomi awards was a one off award ceremony dedicated to 'outstandingly bad' music acts. It is a parody of the BRIT Awards, and it was run by the music channel Music Choice. They were named after supermodel Naomi Campbell, whose own 1994 single "Love and Tears" was seen by Music Choice as a supremely...
for Worst Live Act, and were nominated for several NME awards. The band performed "Albion
Albion (song)
"Albion" is a song by English band Babyshambles. It was released as the third single from Down in Albion on November 28, 2005 in the UK. The single was released in Japan on March 8, 2006 by Reservoir Records/EMI....
" at the NME Awards
NME Awards
The NME Awards is an annual music awards show in the United Kingdom, founded by the music magazine, NME .The first awards show was held in 1953 as the NME Poll Winners Concerts, shortly after the founding of the magazine....
show, and Doherty won the "Sexiest Man" award.
In August 2006, Babyshambles signed to major record label Parlophone
Parlophone
Parlophone is a record label that was founded in Germany in 1896 by the Carl Lindström Company as Parlophon. The British branch was formed in 1923 as "Parlophone" which developed a reputation in the 1920s as a leading jazz label. It was acquired in 1927 by the Columbia Graphophone Company which...
for the release of an EP, and headlined the Get Loaded in the Park
Get Loaded In The Park
Get Loaded in the Park is an inner-city music festival held on Clapham Common in London annually since 2004. It was held on the August Bank Holiday Sunday until 2010 when the festival took a years sabbatical, before returning in 2011 with a new date of Sunday 12th June.In its original format it was...
festival. The band released the limited edition single "Beg, Steal or Borrow", which was exclusively available to those who had attended the festival. A free copy of "The Blinding" was released in the street magazine The Big Issue
The Big Issue
The Big Issue is a street newspaper published in eight countries; it is written by professional journalists and sold by homeless individuals. It was founded by John Bird and Gordon Roddick in September 1991...
.
A cover version of the Clash
The Clash
The Clash were an English punk rock band that formed in 1976 as part of the original wave of British punk. Along with punk, their music incorporated elements of reggae, ska, dub, funk, rap, dance, and rockabilly...
song "Janie Jones" was released through B-Unique Records
B-Unique Records
B-Unique Records is a London-based record label, founded in 2001 by Mark Lewis and Martin Toher.B-Unique has been a division of Atlantic Records UK since February 2008...
in October. The single was released to raise money for Joe Strummer
Joe Strummer
John Graham Mellor , best remembered by his stage name Joe Strummer, was the co-founder, lyricist, rhythm guitarist and lead vocalist of the British punk rock band The Clash. His musical experience included his membership in The 101ers, Latino Rockabilly War, The Mescaleros and The Pogues, in...
's charity foundation Strummerville
Strummerville
Strummerville is the Joe Strummer Foundation for New Music. It was established shortly after Strummer's death in the winter of 2002 by his wife Lucinda, who serves as a trustee...
and features contributions from others bands such as Dirty Pretty Things
Dirty Pretty Things (band)
Dirty Pretty Things were an English band fronted by Carl Barât, a member of The Libertines. The formation of the band was announced in September 2005, after a dispute between Barât and Pete Doherty led to the breakup of The Libertines in 2004. Barât had worked with Vertigo Records and had...
, Larrikin Love
Larrikin Love
Larrikin Love were an English four piece indie rock band from London.Consisting of Edward Larrikin , Micko Larkin , Alfie Ambrose and Coz Kerrigan , and also occasionally including violinist Rob Skipper from The Holloways or roving violinist Jonnie Fielding, the band were briefly described as...
, We Are Scientists
We Are Scientists
We Are Scientists is a New York-based indie rock band that formed in Berkeley, California in 2000. Originally formed of Keith Murray on drums, Chris Cain playing bass guitar and Scott Lamb providing vocals and guitar, before Michael Tapper became drummer and Keith became vocalist and guitarist...
, The Kooks
The Kooks
The Kooks are an English indie rock band formed in Brighton, East Sussex, in 2001. Formed by Luke Pritchard , Hugh Harris , Paul Garred , and Max Rafferty , the lineup of the band remained constant until 2008 and the departure of Rafferty...
, and Guillemots
Guillemots (band)
Guillemots are a BRIT Award nominated indie rock band formed in November 2004 by Fyfe Dangerfield. The band consists of 4 members: Fyfe Dangerfield, MC Lord Magrão, Aristazabal Hawkes & Greig Stewart. Although formed in Birmingham and now based in London, the band's members have been compiled from...
. This release marked the first time that Carl Barât and Pete Doherty
Pete Doherty
Peter Doherty is an English musician, writer, actor, poet and artist. He is best known musically for being co-frontman of The Libertines, which he reformed with Carl Barât in 2010. His other musical project is indie band Babyshambles...
had worked together since The Libertines
The Libertines
The Libertines were an English rock band, formed in London in 1997 by frontmen Carl Barât and Pete Doherty . The band, centred on the song-writing partnership of Barat and Doherty, also included John Hassall and Gary Powell for most of its recording career...
parted, although they never met during the recording process.
On 4 December 2006, The Blinding EP
The Blinding EP
The Blinding EP is an EP by English indie rock band Babyshambles. It is the band's first release since signing with major record label Parlophone. The EP was released on 4 December 2006 in the United Kingdom to positive critical reviews by that label's off-shoot Regal Records and on 5 December in...
was released to critical acclaim. The release was promoted with music videos for "The Blinding" and "Love You But You're Green", and an acoustic
Acoustic music
Acoustic music comprises music that solely or primarily uses instruments which produce sound through entirely acoustic means, as opposed to electric or electronic means...
performance of the latter on The Culture Show
The Culture Show
The Culture Show is a weekly BBC Two Arts magazine programme. It is broadcast in the UK on Thursday nights at 7pm, focusing on the best of the week's arts and culture news, covering books, art, film, architecture, music, visual fashion and the performing arts...
. The single was not eligible for the singles chart because it contained too many tracks; however, the band claimed on its MySpace
MySpace
Myspace is a social networking service owned by Specific Media LLC and pop star Justin Timberlake. Myspace launched in August 2003 and is headquartered in Beverly Hills, California. In August 2011, Myspace had 33.1 million unique U.S. visitors....
page that it would have made number four in the Christmas Day 2006 UK chart had it been eligible.
On 18 January 2007, it was announced that the band had signed a long-term record deal with Parlophone. The contract was reportedly for three albums. In Summer 2007, Babyshambles played Oxegen
Oxegen
Oxegen is an annual music festival in Ireland held since 2004, sponsored by Heineken. As of 2007, 2008, 2009, the festival has been cited as Ireland's biggest music festival. And by 2009, the festival is cited as the greenest festival, being a 100% carbon neutral event in Ireland. It was previously...
, Glastonbury Festival
Glastonbury Festival
The Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts, commonly abbreviated to Glastonbury or even Glasto, is a performing arts festival that takes place near Pilton, Somerset, England, best known for its contemporary music, but also for dance, comedy, theatre, circus, cabaret and other arts.The...
, the V Festival
V Festival
The V Festival is an annual music festival held in England during the penultimate weekend in August. The event is held at two parks simultaneously which share the same bill; artists perform at one location on Saturday and then swap on Sunday. The sites are located at Hylands Park in Chelmsford and...
, T in the Park
T in the Park
T in the Park is a major British music festival that has been held annually since 1994. It is named after its main sponsor, the brewing company Tennents. It was originally held at Strathclyde Park, Lanarkshire but since 1997 has been held at a disused airfield in Balado, Kinross-shire...
and Paredes de Coura Festival
Paredes de Coura Festival
Paredes de Coura Festival is a rock festival that is held every year in August at Praia do Tabuão in Paredes de Coura, Portugal. It is one of the three largest music summer festivals in Portugal, together with Sudoeste Festival and Optimus Alive. The first edition was held in 1993...
.
Shotter's Nation (2007-2010)
On 1 October 2007 Babyshambles released their second album Shotter's NationShotter's Nation
Shotter's Nation is the second album by English rock band Babyshambles and was released in the United Kingdom on October 1, 2007 by Parlophone to generally favourable reviews. In the United States the album was released on October 23, 2007 by Astralwerks...
. The track listing for the album was revealed on 23 July 2007 in the (p)review posted on Allan Jones' Editor's Diary Uncut
UNCUT (magazine)
Uncut magazine, trademarked as UNCUT, is a monthly publication based in London. It is available across the English-speaking world, and focuses on music, but also includes film and books sections...
.co.uk blog. The Stephen Street
Stephen Street
Stephen Street is an English music producer best known for his work with The Smiths in the 1980s, as well as Blur and The Cranberries in the 1990s. Street also collaborated with Morrissey on some of his most popular work after The Smiths broke up, playing instruments and co-writing songs...
-produced record contains 12 tracks and features a guest appearance from Bert Jansch
Bert Jansch
Herbert "Bert" Jansch was a Scottish folk musician and founding member of the band Pentangle. He was born in Glasgow and came to prominence in London in the 1960s, as an acoustic guitarist, as well as a singer-songwriter...
on the acoustic closer.
Adam Ficek commented that Shotter's Nation is a "glossy picture" of where the band are at the moment.
The first single from the album, "Delivery
Delivery (song)
"Delivery" is a song by the English band Babyshambles. It is the second track on the band's second album called Shotter's Nation. The song first appeared in demo form...
", was released on 17 September 2007, reaching number six in the UK Singles Chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
after its first week on general sale. A week prior to the release, a 7 inch vinyl containing a demo version of the song and an interview with the band was released with NME
NME
The New Musical Express is a popular music publication in the United Kingdom, published weekly since March 1952. It started as a music newspaper, and gradually moved toward a magazine format during the 1980s, changing from newsprint in 1998. It was the first British paper to include a singles...
magazine.
The album was received much better than previous Babyshambles releases. With an AMG rating of 3.5 stars (Compared with 2.5 for Down in Albion
Down in Albion
Down in Albion is the debut album by Babyshambles, Pete Doherty's post-Libertines band.Down in Albion was released on November 14, 2005 on Rough Trade Records, although it was leaked on to the Internet on October 19, 2005. Produced by Mick Jones, Down in Albion contains a rerecorded version of...
and 3 stars for The Blinding EP
The Blinding EP
The Blinding EP is an EP by English indie rock band Babyshambles. It is the band's first release since signing with major record label Parlophone. The EP was released on 4 December 2006 in the United Kingdom to positive critical reviews by that label's off-shoot Regal Records and on 5 December in...
)
In November 2007 Babyshambles played their first arena tour, taking in dates at the Newcastle Metro Radio Arena, MEN Arena
Manchester Evening News Arena
The Manchester Evening News Arena is an indoor arena situated in Manchester, England. It is adjacent to Manchester Victoria station near Corporation Street...
in Manchester, the Nottingham Arena, Bournemouth International Centre
Bournemouth International Centre
The Bournemouth International Centre in Bournemouth, Dorset, is one of the primary venues for conferences, exhibitions, entertainment and events in southern England...
, London's Wembley Arena
Wembley Arena
Wembley Arena is an indoor arena, at Wembley, in the London Borough of Brent. The building is opposite Wembley Stadium.-History:...
, Brighton's Brighton Centre, and Birmingham's National Indoor Arena
National Indoor Arena
The National Indoor Arena is a large indoor arena and is owned by the NEC Group. It is situated in central Birmingham, England and was opened in 1991, as the largest indoor arena at the time in the UK...
.
The second single from Shotter's Nation, "You Talk
You Talk
"You Talk" is a song by English indie rock band Babyshambles. It is the third track and the second single from the band's second album Shotter's Nation. The single was released on December 3, 2007, reaching number 54 on the UK Singles Chart after its first week on general sale...
", was released on 3 December 2007.
In January and February 2008, Babyshambles played their biggest European tour to date.
Babyshambles are due to play at a lot of festivals this Spring and this Summer, especially in France.
In June they played at Hove Festival
Hove Festival
The Hove Festival is a music festival held on the island Tromøy outside of Arendal in southern Norway. It was held for the first time from 26–30 June 2007. Since 2007 Hove festival has been the largest music festival in Norway....
in Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
. In August they headlined the RadioOne/NME Stage of the Reading and Leeds Festivals
Reading and Leeds Festivals
The Reading and Leeds Festivals are a pair of annual music festivals that take place in Reading and Leeds in England. The events take place simultaneously on the Friday, Saturday and Sunday of the August bank holiday weekend, sharing the same bill. The Reading Festival is held at Little John's Farm...
. However, a large amount of their scheduled tours were cancelled due to Doherty's recent imprisonment.
On 8 April, it was announced that Babyshambles was going to release A CD/DVD live untitled "Oh! What A Lovely Tour" on 2 June. The concert was recorded during the winter leg of the UK arena tour at the SECC Glasgow on 2 December. On 22 May 2008 Babyshambles performed at the Saturday Night Fiber
Saturday Night Fiber
Saturday Night Fiber was a small-scale music festival in Madrid, Spain that took place in 2008. It took place on the Saturday night of its similar sister festival, the Festival Internacional de Benicàssim, from which it took its name. The two festivals also had similar line-ups...
, a new music festival in Madrid
Madrid
Madrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...
, Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
with other artists such as Morrissey
Morrissey
Steven Patrick Morrissey , known as Morrissey, is an English singer and lyricist. He rose to prominence in the 1980s as the lyricist and vocalist of the alternative rock band The Smiths. The band was highly successful in the United Kingdom but broke up in 1987, and Morrissey began a solo career,...
.
Growing speculation suggested that Babyshambles would be unable to make all tour dates for 2008, but in a recent interview with NME "Doherty added that he will honour all his booked live commitments with Babyshambles, but will not book further gigs until his solo album is finished". The band is heading into studios to record 9 demos for their third upcoming album. On 12 January 2009, along with Roger Daltrey
Roger Daltrey
Roger Harry Daltrey, CBE , is an English singer and actor, best known as the founder and lead singer of English rock band The Who. He has maintained a musical career as a solo artist and has also worked in the film industry, acting in a large number of films, theatre and television roles and also...
, Babyshambles played a one-off gig at the O2 Academy Bristol in aid of Teenage Cancer Trust
Teenage Cancer Trust
Teenage Cancer Trust is a charity that focuses on the needs of teenagers and young adults with cancer, leukaemia, Hodgkin’s and related diseases by providing specialist teenage units in NHS hospitals. The units are dedicated areas for teenage patients, who are involved in their concept and creation...
.
Ficek's departure (2010-present)
In June 2010 drummer and co songwriter Adam Ficek split with the band to focus on his solo outfit Roses Kings CastlesAdam Ficek
Adam Ficek is an English musician who performs under the 'Roses Kings Castles' name, and was a song writer and member of Babyshambles....
, with former Supergrass
Supergrass
Supergrass was an English alternative rock band from Oxford. The band consisted of brothers Gaz and Rob Coombes , Mick Quinn and Danny Goffey ....
drummer Danny Goffey
Danny Goffey
Daniel Robert Goffey Daniel Robert Goffey Daniel Robert Goffey (born 7 February 1974 in Slough, Buckinghamshire (now Berkshire) is an English musician and singer-songwriter best known as the drummer and backing vocalist for the English Britpop band, Supergrass...
temporarily taking his place.
The band's lineup
The band's lineup has undergone several changes before eventually stabilizing in late summer of 2004 with Pete Doherty on vocals and guitar, Patrick Walden on guitar, Gemma Clarke on drums and Drew McConnell on bass. It's very difficult to create a comprehensive and absolutely correct timeline, because of the band's very turbulent early days.(1=Jamie Parrett; 2=Peter Parrett Jr.)
Red: Lead Vocals/Guitar, Piano
Green: Vocals
Blue: Guitar
Yellow: Bass
Black: Drums/Percussion
Major changes of the lineup
After finally stabilizing in late summer, Babyshambles' lineup underwent another change in January 2005. On 27 January 2005, Drummer Gemma Clarke quit the band after disagreeing with their management. The ongoing heavy drug abuse of the band members, especially of frontman Doherty, and James Mullord's inability to do something about it, made her eventually leave the band. She was immediately replaced by Adam Ficek, who was once a band member of The White Sport alongside Patrick Walden.In December 2005, guitarist Patrick Walden left Babyshambles, shortly after the debut album "Down In Albion" was released. He wasn't replaced immediately and returned to play guitar for the Babyshambles at a gig in the Junction, Cambridge, on 23 January 2006. Walden's reason to leave the band was his heavy drug abuse. In April 2006 Babyshambles went on tour without Walden, who was accused of assaulting his girlfriend, arrested and spent nine days in Pentonville prison. After all charges against Walden were eventually dropped, he left London. Babyshambles first continued as a three-man piece, but towards the end of the year 2006 Walden was finally replaced by Mick Whitnall, who was formerly a roadie. Walden was scheduled to reunite with the band at the Manchester MEN Arena in November 2007, however he dropped out at the last minute.
Current lineup
Pete DohertyPete Doherty
Peter Doherty is an English musician, writer, actor, poet and artist. He is best known musically for being co-frontman of The Libertines, which he reformed with Carl Barât in 2010. His other musical project is indie band Babyshambles...
is the lead singer, guitarist and main songwriter for the band.
Mick Whitnall
Mick Whitnall
Mick Whitnall is the English lead guitarist for Pete Doherty's rock band, Babyshambles, replacing former guitarist Patrick Walden...
is the lead guitarist and song writing partner for the band. Before this, Whitnall played with Kill City fronted by Pete Doherty's ex-girlfriend Lisa Moorish
Lisa Moorish
Lisa Moorish is an English singer-songwriter most notable for having had children fathered by musicians Liam Gallagher and Pete Doherty. She had a solo career beginning in 1989, and was the lead singer of the indie band Kill City in the early 2000s...
, and also in bands including Finley Quaye
Finley Quaye
Finley Quaye is a British musician. He won the 1997 Mobo Award for best reggae act, and the 1998 BRIT Award for Best British Male Solo Artist.-Life:...
's band and ska band 100 Men.
Drew McConnell
Drew McConnell
Drew McConnell is the bass guitarist and backing vocalist with Babyshambles, the band formed and fronted by frontman of The Libertines, Pete Doherty. He lived in Tenerife, Spain, for much of his childhood, and he speaks Spanish fluently...
is the bass guitarist and backing vocalist with the band. McConnell completed a bass degree at the Institute of Contemporary Music Performance (ICMP). He was formerly in the band Elviss
Elviss
Elviss were a West London based British alternative rock band, who were active during the mid 2000's releasing only one album titled Dead Cat and Sharksick in 2004. The album was due to be released in 2003 after the release of their third single "Radio ", but was put back until the band had a hit...
, and he currently also plays in another group, The Phoenix Drive as well as writing and recording solo material. Also currently playing double bass and piano with Irish singer/songwriter Fionn Regan
Fionn Regan
Fionn Regan is an Irish singer-songwriter and artist from Bray, County Wicklow, who came to prominence in 2006 with the release of his Mercury-nominated debut album, The End of History...
. McConnell organises a musical collective named Helsinki, with which he performs solo material as well as versions of songs by Babyshambles, such as a swing version of their single "Delivery
Delivery (song)
"Delivery" is a song by the English band Babyshambles. It is the second track on the band's second album called Shotter's Nation. The song first appeared in demo form...
". Among the members of this collective are Matt Barrett, Stephen Large of Squeeze and Albert Hammond Jr of The Strokes
The Strokes
The Strokes are an American indie rock band formed in 1999 in New York City. Consisting of Julian Casablancas , Nick Valensi , Albert Hammond, Jr. , Nikolai Fraiture and Fabrizio Moretti ....
.
Danny Goffey
Danny Goffey
Daniel Robert Goffey Daniel Robert Goffey Daniel Robert Goffey (born 7 February 1974 in Slough, Buckinghamshire (now Berkshire) is an English musician and singer-songwriter best known as the drummer and backing vocalist for the English Britpop band, Supergrass...
, former Supergrass
Supergrass
Supergrass was an English alternative rock band from Oxford. The band consisted of brothers Gaz and Rob Coombes , Mick Quinn and Danny Goffey ....
drummer, replaced Adam Ficek
Adam Ficek
Adam Ficek is an English musician who performs under the 'Roses Kings Castles' name, and was a song writer and member of Babyshambles....
in June 2010 after the drummer disappeared in mysterious, unexplained circumstances although he later resurfaced under the guise of Roses Kings Castles.
External links
- The official Baby Shambles site
- The official Baby Shambles blog
- Interview on German/Austrian/Swiss culture channel 3sat with Babyshambles (Munich, 31.10.2007)
- Babyshambles and Roger Daltrey concert photograph by SPINSpin (magazine)Spin is a music magazine founded in 1985 by publisher Bob Guccione Jr.-History:In its early years, the magazine was noted for its broad music coverage with an emphasis on college-oriented rock music and on the ongoing emergence of hip-hop. The magazine was eclectic and bold, if sometimes haphazard...