On the evening of July 31, The Libertines treated a select crowd of fans to a rare, intimate performance at Bush Hall in West London. The gig served as a warm-up for their upcoming headline show at Gunnersbury Park on August 9, the final stop on their ‘All Quiet On The Eastern Esplanade’ tour.
The show was announced earlier in the week via social media, with tickets priced at just £22.50 and made available on a first-come, first-served basis. The 250-capacity venue Bush Hall offered fans the chance to see the iconic indie band in a setting far more personal than the festival stages and arenas they have been recently playing.
Opening the night with a burst of energy, the band launched into a run of classics: ‘Up The Bracket, The Delaney’, ‘What Became Of The Likely Lads’, and ‘Boys In The Band’. The momentum continued as they dipped into deeper cuts and fan favourites including ‘Night of the Hunter’, ‘What Katie Did’, ‘Shiver’, and ‘Merry Old England’.
Later, the band delivered raucous renditions of ‘Death on the Stairs’, ‘Music When the Lights Go Out’, and ‘The Good Old Days’, before closing out the 16-song set with a trio of defining hits: ‘Time for Heroes’, ‘Can’t Stand Me Now’, and the rousing ‘Don’t Look Back Into the Sun’.
The performance not only celebrated their recent album but served as a nod to their early roots – a reminder of the raw energy and chemistry that made The Libertines one of Britain’s most beloved bands of the 2000s indie rock explosion.
The warm-up gig precedes the band’s much-anticipated Gunnersbury Park show, which will take place on Saturday, August 9, 2025. The concert marks the final date of their ‘All Quiet On The Eastern Esplanade’ tour, which celebrates the release of their fourth album. Joining The Libertines at Gunnersbury will be a handpicked support line-up that includes Supergrass, Soft Play, Hak Baker, Real Farmer, and Lambrini Girls.
In a press statement teasing the London concert, the band shared: “The old white mansion in Gunnersbury Park is in one of our favourite films, ‘The Lavender Hill Mob’, so we thought we’d bring the Eastern Esplanade mob and some spiky guitars to that Arcadian glade in West London for a good ol’ homecoming knees up.”
“Look forward to seeing you there, along with our friends Supergrass, Soft Play, Hak Baker, Lambrini Girls and Real Farmer. Love Peter, Carl, Gary and John X”
In case you missed it, MXDWN’s earlier coverage of The Libertines’ Gunnersbury Park announcement is available here.
