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The original announcement in September promised a string of shows in major cities including London, Manchester, Glasgow, Newcastle, Leeds, Nottingham, and Liverpool. Tickets sold quickly, with many venues reaching capacity almost as soon as they went on sale. Promoters and the band alike were quick to notice the strength of the response, and before long, extra nights were being announced in some of the biggest markets. 

The band revealed today that they will now perform at Coventry’s HMV Empire on November 13, Oxford’s O2 Academy on November 24, Keele University in Stoke on November 25, Cardiff’s Tramshed on November 27, and Middlesbrough’s Empire on December 1.

 

 

 

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With these additions, Babyshambles are not only reinforcing the idea that this is more than a nostalgic reunion – they’re turning it into a full scale celebration of their legacy and connection with fans across the UK.

Whilst the tour is a celebration of the band’s debut album, there’s emotional weight behind this expansion as well, as the recent passing of original guitarist Patrick Walden has provided a sense of urgency to bring the music back to stages while they still can.

For fans who may have missed out on earlier shows, the new stops in Coventry, Oxford, Stoke, Cardiff, and Middlesbrough offer fresh opportunities to attend. Tickets for the newly added dates are slated to go on general sale at 10am on Friday, October 3, with a fan pre-sale available at 10am on Wednesday October 1.

Whether all these shows will end up sold out too remains to be seen, but as the calendar fills out, it’s clear that Babyshambles’ comeback is being received as something more than a revival.

When ‘Down in Albion’ was released in 2005, it showed a raw, chaotic energy that made Babyshambles stand out from other indie bands of the time. Songs like ‘Killamangiro’ and ‘Albion’ became cult anthems. Two more albums followed: ‘Shotter’s Nation’ in 2007 and ‘Sequel to the Prequel’ in 2013, but the group eventually drifted apart.

The band will hit the road in November and December 2025 for 10 shows across the UK. Members Peter Doherty (vocals, guitar), Mick Whitnall (guitar), Drew McConnell (bass), and Adam Ficek (drums) will all return. 

The reunion tour starts in Norwich on November 14 and ends in Plymouth on December 10. In between, Babyshambles will play in big cities such as Manchester, Birmingham, Leeds, Nottingham, Glasgow, and London, where they will take over the O2 Academy Brixton.

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However, the announcement carries a bittersweet undertone, as just two months ago the news broke that former guitarist in the band, Patrick Walden, had passed away. 

Patrick Walden was more than just a guitarist, he was central to Babyshambles’ earliest identity. Joining the band in its formative years, he co-wrote songs with Peter Doherty and helped shape the raw, restless energy of ‘Down in Albion’. Tracks like ‘Albion’ and ‘Fuck Forever’ carried his fingerprints, with his distinctive, jagged guitar style cutting through the chaos.

Though his time in the band was sometimes turbulent, Walden’s creativity left a lasting mark. Fans and fellow musicians alike have paid tribute to him since his passing, remembering not only his talent but also his role in creating some of Babyshambles’ most iconic moments. For many, this reunion tour feels like a tribute to him as much as a celebration of the band’s 20th anniversary.

20 years later, Babyshambles are ready to return to the stage. For many fans, this tour will be a chance to relive the excitement of the mid-2000s indie scene. For the band, it’s about unfinished business, honoring Patrick Walden, and proving that their music still matters.

Tickets go on sale Friday September 5 at 10AM, with an early access pre-sale going live on Wednesday. More information here.

Joyce’s memoir arrives as the final member of the band to share his story, following frontman Morrissey’s ‘Autobiography’ (2013) and guitarist Johnny Marr’s ‘Set the Boy Free’ (2016). The late bassist Andy Rourke, who passed away in 2023, never penned a memoir.

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Described by the publisher as “no-holds barred,” ‘The Drums’ promises more than a recitation of well known events. Instead, Joyce aims to evoke the emotional truth of his time with the band, not iconic moments, but what it felt like to be a member of The Smiths. According to MusicRadar, he and Rourke often pondered, “Where did it all go right?”, a reflective question at the heart of his narrative. 

A significant part of the memoir is Joyce’s personal account of the infamous 1996 High Court case, where he and Rourke sued Morrissey and Marr over royalties. The dispute stemmed from disproportionate earnings, Morrissey and Marr had been taking 80% between them, leaving only 10% each to Joyce and Rourke. The court ruled in Joyce’s favour, awarding him approximately £1 million in back royalties and a 25% share going forward. A judge notably called Morrissey “truculent and unreliable” in the ruling

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The memoir also reflects on why a reunion of The Smiths remains unlikely. Marr has reportedly dismissed recent offers, citing principle and a sense that “the vibe’s not right,” while Joyce has declared reforming the band would be “impossible” without Rourke.

Joyce is now largely retired from active performance but has recently been making guest appearances playing with Pete Doherty’s band on his most recent tour. On stage, Joyce and Doherty delivered memorable renditions of The Smiths classics. Notably, they closed shows with a full-band performance of “Panic”, and occasionally mixed in a segment of “How Soon Is Now?”, the latter intertwined with Doherty’s own song “The Last of the English Roses”

His writing promises warmth, wit, and vulnerability, from the perspective of a Fallowfield lad who found himself at the beating heart of one of the most influential bands of the 1980s.

Coming to fruition only 5 years ago, Strap have quickly gained a sizeable roster of artists including: Warmduscher, Real Farmer, GANS and previously, Andrew Cushin.

The Wednesday lineup, consisting solely of artists signed to the label, was split over the two “Deep End” and “Soundwaves” stages, both situated on the stone shore, just along from the famous Brighton Pier.

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 Artists Real Farmer and Junior Brother, from Holland and Ireland respectively, brought the weather with them as the sun shone down on the festival-goers throughout the day, as bands began to take the stage.

Peter Doherty headlined the ‘Deep End’ stage as a part of the launch of his new record ‘Felt Better Alive’, which came out on the Friday and is available now. He was joined on the stage by The Smiths’ drummer Mike Joyce, who has been a regular fixture on the European leg of Peter’s recent ‘Anywhere In Albion’ tour. Peter was also joined by another guest who is frequently seen on stage with him, Gladys the dog.

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Peter was not the only artist celebrating a new release; Real Farmer, GANS and Junior Brother all have had new singles & EPs released recently.

Birmingham duo, GANS, now move onto their set on Sunday at Bearded Theory festival in Derbyshire, headlined by Iggy Pop and Manic Street Preachers.

The festival, situated on the picturesque shores of Brighton Beach, was host to a number of other great artists across the weekend, namely, Coach Party, Luvcat and Getdown Services. After the Strap Originals takeover on Wednesday, the festival splintered off into local bars and venues, creating a dot-to-dot atmosphere, giving local artists and venues a chance to participate in the weekend festival.

The Great Escape festival also offered opportunities for local BIMM students to participate in the festival as performers as well as bar staff and merchandisers.

The Libertines, consisting of Peter Doherty (vocals/guitar); Carl Barât (vocals/guitar); John Hassall (bass guitar); and Gary Powell (drums), will kick start the UK leg of their tour, on the 3rd of December 2019, in Bournemouth, at the O2 Academy before heading to Leeds, Dundee, Glasgow, Manchester, Nottingham, Birmingham, Bristol, and concluding on the 18th of December 2019, in London.

Before the quartet touch down in the UK, they will be heading across Europe throughout October and November. They will begin their eight day European leg of their tour, on the 27th of October 2019, in Paris before continuing on to Cologne, Munich, Berlin, Luxembourg, Brussels, concluding in Utrecht, on the 21st of November 2019. Tickets for the band’s first headline tour in more than two years, went on sale on Friday the 28th of June 2019 and can purchased from here.

The announcement comes ahead of the debut opening of The Libertines’ bar, ‘The Waste Land’ and recording studio, ‘The Albion Rooms’, in Margate, which will have their grand opening, on the 16th of August 2019. More details on the opening celebrations of the bar and studio to follow shortly. The tour announcement follows the previous news that Peter Doherty and Carl Barât will be playing two acoustic shows, at Hackney Empire, in London, on Thursday the 5th of September and Friday the 6th of September 2019, as part of Somewhere Festival.

The Libertines, before coming back together to work on their upcoming tour and their fourth album, the follow-up to the No.3 UK charting album, ’Anthems For Doomed Youth’ (2015), which gave us hits such as ‘Gunga Din,’ ‘Heart Of The Matter’ and ‘You’re My Waterloo’, band members Peter Doherty and Carl Barât done their own thing. Peter Doherty recently released his acclaimed new album ‘Peter Doherty &  The Puta Madres’ and toured the UK and Europe. While, Carl Barât has returned from a sold-out tour of the far East.

The Libertines released their debut single, ‘What A Waster’, in 2002, with the follow-up single, ‘Up The Bracket’ being released, in September of the same year and hit the UK Top 30. The  singles were then followed by their debut album, also entitled, ‘Up The Bracket’. ‘Time For Heroes’ was released, in January 2003 and followed by ‘Don’t Look Back Into The Sun’. The band’s second album, ‘The Libertines’, was released in August 2004 and entered the UK album chart at Number One, which gave birth to the top 10 singles ‘Can’t Stand Me Now’ and ‘What Became Of The Likely Lads.’

The Libertines UK and European Tour Dates 2019: 

27/10/2019 – Olympia – Paris
2/11 – Carlswerk – Cologne
4/11 – Tonhalle –  Munich
5/11 – Columbiahalle – Berlin
17/11 – Den Atelier – Luxembourg
18/11 – Cirque Royale – Brussels
20/11 – Tivoli Vrendenburg – Utrecht
21/11 – Tivoli Vredenburg – Utrecht
3/12 – O2 Academy – Bournemouth
4/12 – O2 Academy – Leeds
6/12 – Caird Hall – Dundee
7/12 – Barrowland Ballroom – Glasgow
10/12 – O2 Victoria Warehouse – Manchester
12/12 – Rock City – Nottingham
14/12 – O2 Academy – Birmingham
16/12 – O2 Academy – Bristol
18/12 – O2 Academy Brixton – London

Each year the event is represented by a different ambassador; this year self professed record lovers ‘The Mighty Boosh’ have been named the first comedians to ever take on the role. Julian Barratt and Noel Fielding, in an interview with RSD UK expressed their feeling towards the globally celebrated event “I love the smell of record shops – you can’t download that”. In the heartwarming interview, we are reminded of what music used to mean to fans before platforms such as Spotify and Apple Music: “I remember having enough money to buy the Nirvana Album, but not enough money to get the bus – so I walked to Croydon to get it, but I was walking on air”.

RSD host a range of events, the most popular being ‘The Unsigned Competition’, whereby undiscovered artists enter some of their work with a chance of their music being pressed on 500 vinyls and distributed across independent record shops. This year, the judges of this competition were: Jamie Oborne (Head of Dirty Hit Records), Phil Taggart (BBC Radio DJ), Chris Marksberry (Managing Director of Sounds Performance), and Natasha Funds (Co-owner of Resident Music). 

The winners of the competition were a Glaswegian punk-rock 4 piece ‘Heavy Rapids’ who formed in 2017. The band have had a series of single’s, the most recent being ‘Going Down’ which was released in February of this year. This success comes at at a perfect time for the boys, who coincidently have an EP coming out very soon. The band responded to being named the winners in a follow up interview with RSD: “We feel so privileged to have this opportunity and are excited to have our music pressed onto the old faithful of music forms”. Heavy Rapids currently has a small following of 800 followers on Twitter and 1,100 on Instagram – hopefully this win will mean a rise in the music scene! 

EVERYTHING HAPPENS FOR A REASON.

Delighted to announce we have won the @RSDUK competition. Our debut EP ‘Cash In Hand’ will be pressed on 500 copies of vinyl.

We hope you are as excited as we are! Dream come true. Xxx@SoundPerformUK @ProperMusicGrp pic.twitter.com/ZCz8hsJfz2

— HEAVY RAPIDS (@HEAVY_RAPIDS) April 10, 2019

The UK is bursting with energy today as RSD is in full swing! Find out which artists are performing close to you: 

LONDON: 

Rough Trade West – Fontaines D.C, Peter Doherty and KT Tunstall

Rough Trade East – Our Girl, Nadine Shah (DJ Set) 

Lion Coffee + Records London – Honey Lung, James Ford (DJ Set)

Phonica Records – Junction 2 Festival 

SOUTH EAST ENGLAND: 

Banquet Records – Tom Speight, John Otway and Wild Willy Barrett

Truck Store – Count Skylarkin (DJ Set) 

Resident – Our Girl 

SOUTH WEST ENGLAND: 

Rough Trade Bristol – Rozi Plain, Band of Skulls and Steve Lamacq (DJ Set) 

Badlands Records – Live music all day 

EAST OF ENGLAND: 

Soundclash Records – Sleaford Mods

Intense Records – Sepia and Danny Bounce 

WEST MIDLANDS: 

Revolution Records – Matt Sayers and Tied Acoustic 

EAST MIDLANDS: 

Spunout Records – Live Music All Day 

Rough Trade Nottingham – DMA’s, TVAM and Creatures 

NORTH WEST ENGLAND: 

Piccadilly Records – The Orielles (DJ Set), Tim Burgess (DJ Set) and A Man Called Adam

81 Renshaw – The John Lennon Time Capsule will be on public display for the first time ever!