Babyshambles

In mid- 2003, Pete Doherty was banned from playing with The Libertines until he could overcome his substance abuse problems. As a response, Doherty formed an alternate band, and recruited former Libertines line-up man, 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 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 line-up 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.

 
DOWN IN ALBION
In April and May 2005, Babyshambles spent several weeks in a recording studio in Wales 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 November 14, 2005. It reached the Top 10 on the UK Albums Chart. The first single from the album, "Fuck Forever", had been released on August 15, reaching number four on the UK singles chart. The second single, "Albion", was released on November 28 and reached number eight in the UK singles chart.

SHOTTER'S NATION

On October 1, 2007 Babyshambles released their second album Shotter's Nation. The track listing for the album was revealed on July 23, 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 September 17, 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)

ALBUMS: Down In Albion                                Shotter's Nation                                    The Blinding EP                                                        
           





MEMBERS:

Pete Doherty: Vocals and Lyrics


Mick Whitnall: Guitars and Vocals


Drew Mcconnell: Bass and Vocals (shown here with Lethal Bizzle)


Adam Ficek: Drums (shown here with some fangirl)