Although Doherty seems never really to have gone away, it is the iteration of him we see as a member of Babyshambles that has been most conspicuously absent in recent years. The Libertines returned to significant fanfare in 2015 and have remained a fixture of the live circuit ever since, while Doherty’s solo shows have been a near-constant presence on the UK touring circuit, albeit with varying line-ups, notably including former Smiths drummer Mike Joyce. Babyshambles, however, have occupied a less prominent place in the story of his career.
Reflecting on the post-indie sleaze landscape, it is difficult to know where the band might fit among the Libertines reunions and the enduring popularity of Doherty’s solo performances. For that reason, the live show captured at London’s KOKO last year feels like a particularly welcome addition to his recent output. It resurrects a catalogue of songs that, for many listeners, evokes a particular period in British music just as powerfully as the Libertines’ own material.
Taking to the stage with the signature chaotic, eccentric rambling that characterises both the man and his music, Doherty sets the tone for a performance that barely lets up. Opening with Killamangiro, the band immediately establish a bouncing, restless energy that carries through the set. At once madcap and prophetic, it is the unpredictable presence of the man at centre stage that has distinguished Doherty and his various projects from so many other British acts of the past 25 years. There remains something wonderfully difficult to pin down about him, an artistic unpredictability that translates just as readily to the stage as it does to his songwriting.
Returning to the Babyshambles back catalogue, what becomes particularly apparent is Doherty’s relationship with the wider lineage of British indie music. Delivery and I Wish respectively evoke the influence of Britpop legends Elastica and Doherty’s enduring admiration for ska and two-tone. Beg, Steal or Borrow offers perhaps the most revealing glimpse into his musical upbringing, with its Rusholme Ruffian-esque guitar work, Bowie references and a mid-song cover of The Stone Roses’ Waterfall. It is followed by There She Goes, dedicated to Amy Winehouse, which receives a deservedly raucous response from the crowd.
Where The Libertines draw heavily on classic punk, with their reputation and behaviour often reflecting that influence, Babyshambles feel like a more considered attempt to establish themselves within the wider indie canon. There is less of the laddish trashiness that occasionally defined The Libertines, replaced by a more playful, exploratory approach to songwriting. That distinction is reflected in the performance, although the audience are more than happy to fill any silences with football terracey but melodic chants of familiar lyrics and guitar hooks.
If The Libertines are something of a lad band for philosophers, Babyshambles are perhaps born more directly from an artistic compulsion to create. That creative instinct informs the playful spirit of the performance, rather than any earnest attempt to become a Noughties, BRIT Award-wielding John Cooper Clarke. Nevertheless, What Katie Did is greeted with enormous enthusiasm, perhaps demonstrating just how difficult it is for Doherty to situate his work within the indie canon without inevitably referencing himself. It is a fitting testament to the enduring influence and cultural significance of a once-chaotic, now considerably wiser voice of a generation.
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