Pete Doherty before his V Festival arrest

Mon, 01 Sep 2008 17:25:31 +0100

Sarah Champion caught up with Pete Doherty and the band at the 2007 Virgin Mobile V Festival just hours before his arrest on Sunday night. Watch this exclusive backstage interview, and read what was said below, including Pete's thought's on Amy Winehouse, following her decision to cancel her festival appearance.

VR: Alright ok, we are backstage live at the V Festival with Babyshambles, welcome guys, how are you?

BS: Alright.

PD: Yeah, alright, we are still on the look out for our bass player though to be honest.

VR: Ha ha. A missing bass player!

BS: It is getting a bit near the knuckle.

BS: He is on stage now.

VR: He is on stage now? Just could not wait any longer, done for it! Why not, grab that festival moment that is what it is all about! Are you happy to be at the V festival or do you prefer the smaller intimate gigs that you guys are more well know for?

PD: Yeah, well it is not the biggest festival in the world is it? Yeah, it will be alright. I don’t know why we are playing so early? I like playing at night to like a fucked crowd. Maybe they don’t trust us to stay sober!

VR: Do you think that is what it was?

PD: Outrageous!

VR: Well listen, we are loving Delivery, we are playing it a lot you will be pleased to know. Shotter’s Nation is out next month, can you tell us a bit about the album and obviously the inspirations behind it?

BS: The inspirations behind it was just to make a good album really that we can all look on and be proud to hear time and time again. There was no main inspiration behind it, the title came from Peter, what was your inspiration behind Shotter’s nation?

PD: Behind the title or behind all of it?

VR: Behind all of it?

PD: Dunno, we just somehow against all the odds became quite a tight unit and got a load of quality tunes together that we wanted to get down and that goes for anyone making an album unless you’re like bang on the conveyer belt and you are being pushed to do things. We went for quite a long time without a manager just knocking tunes into shape and then it all happened quite organically, we met the right manager and he took over things a little bit, he pushed us into the studio knowing that we had the songs and yeah

BS: It has still be a year and a half’s work innit really.

PD: Yeah.

VR: Is Delivery quite indicative of the rest of the album?

PS: I dunno, it is a pretty mixed old bag, you know, there is a few slow ones in there a few 60’s rip offs in there.

Ha ha.

BS: Production wise it is pretty indicative that the album is like that, it is different to Down in Albion , it is a different kind of production on it so yeah the sounds that you hear in Delivery, the quality of sounds is gonna be through the whole album.

PD: do you know what, we have been saying that over and over again to each other but we are dead proud of it, really dead proud of it. I can’t wait for people to hear it.

VR: Yes, it must be quite a frustrating time period now that you have done the album and you are waiting for it hit the shelves.

PD: It will get leaked there is a huge fucking anti conspiracy that says don’t let them make any money. Leak everything!

VR: Are you going to be show casing your new stuff?

BS: Yeah of course, always, we have been showcasing it for the last year and a half to be honest. They are songs that we have been kicking about forever. Ok not forever but for a long time.

VR: Did it just come together when you were on the road then, writing?

BS: Yeah always, we don’t specifically say right, we are going to write. We are just sitting together and things get written, things come out and those to come out with ideas and then we just embellish them.

VR: OK, we have a bass player!

BS: Oh yeah sorry, I was watching Jet, I did not realise that this was happening.

BS: You were watching Jet?

BS: They are banging!

BA: They were alright.

VR: Is there anyone else here who you are going to run out across the field to go and see?

BS: He is handsome isn’t he?

VR: He is a handsome fella!

BS: Happy Mondays, The Coral

PD: We don’t just get any mug on bass! You know what I mean.

VR: The Coral, The Coral are they on?

BS: They are on after us, we are on next! Are you guys ready?

BS: No I am not!

VR: I think that we should probably leave you guys to it then in that case. Just one more thing, obviously Amy Winehouse could not make it, have you got any words, advice or encouragement for Amy at this time?

PD: Just nothing but love and respect for her. You know what I mean. She is an absolute genius.

VR: She is.

PD: And she has been having a really hard time recently, you know, pardon my language, fucking cunted twats in the press who just like, even to the point where she has 10 year old girls sitting next to her and they are saying oh what is it like smoking heroin, it is so sick.

BS: She is my mate, get better.

VR: Yeah, nice one.

BS: She knows was to do.

PD: Yeah we love her.

VR: Brilliant nice one guys. Thanks a lot.

V Festival 2007 Review

Mon, 28 Jan 2008 14:47:20 +0000

Babyshambles are, let's face it, known mainly for the never-ending Doherty drama that we see in the papers almost everyday. The music itself tends to go pretty unnoticed by most people.

However, it's very clear today here in Chelmsford that there are a lot of people out there who not only know the music of Babyshambles, but who absolutely love it. The band themselves have undeniable appeal on stage, being entertaining to watch and - would you believe it - very professional performers! Even Pete himself proves himself to be more than capable of delivering a set at one of the biggest festivals of the summer.

Do You Know Me? and Killamangiro brought cheers almost loud enough to drown out the sound from the mic, and Pete looked utterly at home throwing himself around and pulling disinterested expressions, as well as finding time to jump up onto the drums and assert his Rock n Roll status.

And it's got to be said, the fact that the band were all accounted for, on stage, on time, after everything that's been said about them... well, just goes to show that maybe these boys aren't unreliable after all. They're just doing their rock star thing.

Check out the other acts at V Festival 2007

Photos: VFestival 2007

Tue, 21 Aug 2007 10:46:06 +0100

Watch: Babyshambles chats to Sarah at V Festival 2007

Sun, 19 Aug 2007 10:32:45 +0100

Photos: Isle of Wight Festival 2005

Mon, 03 Jul 2006 17:35:26 +0100

Babyshambles news

Pete Doherty before his V Festival arrest

V Festival 2007 Review

Photos: VFestival 2007

Watch: Babyshambles chats to Sarah at V Festival 2007

Photos: Isle of Wight Festival 2005