BABYSHAMBLES – KOKO CAMDEN – LIVE REVIEW

15.12.2025

As I walk into KOKO (Camden), its tall fancy ceilings, shiny red velvet walls full of golden decoration and balconies make me feel small, but in a good way, like I’m entering the very guts of an old Victorian temple of music. Like I’m about to witness one of the most magical rituals Camden has seen in the past couple decades… Babyshambles final show of their 20th Anniversary Reunion Tour, celebrating the birthday of their debut album “Down in Albion”.

Before their set starts, I observe the crowd from the top floor. Eager, pulsating, homogenous, ready to spark up any second… The room is hazy and the air feels slightly thin, most likely from the expectation. You can really feel it. It’s like when you hear those crazy stories about Camden Town back in the day, when you could come across anything or anyone, when the nights and the fun had no end, when anything could happen… That’s how it feels.

Someone hugs me from behind, I turn around and it’s my good friend and original Babyshambles drummer Gemma Clarke.

She’s nervous about her surprise performance with the band after more than 20 years, she mentions how Peter shared a tear when he saw her earlier and decided they are going to end the show with her on the drums for a rendition of their song “Wolfman”.

Suddenly we hear the crowd roar and burst into applause… The magic is about to begin.

This is when I run into the photo pit right in front of the stage, hardly making my way through the ever so more vibrant public.

Bill Bailey is announcing that the show will be commencing very shortly.

Then a couple seconds of silence.

Then…

Peter and the band come out to the stage very elegantly, showing the confidence only a very successful and long tour gives you, showing that they’re keeping the good old days alive. The first two songs of the set are received like an absolute explosion of music and love, “Killamangiro” immediately followed by “Delivery”. The crowd turns electric, you can almost see sparks.

As the show goes on, the selection of tracks keeps the crowd in a feeling of euphoria, but they did not know what was waiting for them yet. Suddenly Peter addresses the big hole left in our hearts left by the passing of Mani from The Stone Roses and proceeds to play a rendition of their song “Waterfall” which is received with a loud applause and a shy tear up. But that is not the only cover they play, as Peter also dedicates some words for his late good friend and famous Camden Town local, Amy Winehouse, just before playing the song “There She Goes” by The La’s in her memory.

Despite 1,500 being there, it feels intimate, like you’re just hanging out with your idols in a musical playground, and they’re letting you see their true colours and emotions. This is not just any Babyshambles concert, as the presence of Patrick Walden, original guitarist of the band, who passed away a few months before the show, is very much missed as the band addresses right before inviting Hak Baker on stage, who had been taking guitar lessons from the late guitarist as Doherty tells the audience.

It’s a very special and emotional night for the band, you can clearly see it, but what’s even better, the audience is absolutely connected with that feeling, as one. I’ve never seen a band having the crowd in such awe with them.

Just when I thought things couldn’t get any better and I was waiting at the bar for a drink, I hear a lazy, very recognisable chord progression. It’s not a Babyshambles song, what I’m listening to is the beginning of The Libertines song “What Katie Did”.

“Screw the drink” I say while I run to a balcony, looking for the best view of the stage. I feel like a kid in Christmas Day as I see Carl Barat walking on stage, elegant, suave, confident, ready, aware of the commotion he’s causing in the crowd right now. It doesn’t get better than this.

Shortly after, as promised to her by the frontman, Gemma Clarke comes on stage for the final number of the night, “Wolfman”. The band goes crazier as the song goes on, to the point where they start trashing all the stage design and props, and… Oh well, there goes a mic stand as well which Peter wildly throws and snaps in two against the floor.

The huge climax this beautiful night deserved is delivered, the band gives a long and very wholesome farewell before they leave the stage, and the audience wait a little while until the start making their way out. Some of them stand still, looking at the stage, like they are shocked, like their shoes are glued to the floor, like they want to re live that whole night again.

I see smiles and tears in everyone’s faces as I wait for them to leave so I can have a moment on my own just to contemplate the empty venue. It’s like a herd of elephants ran through the room, the walls are still rumbling but yet KOKO remains peaceful, astonishing, full of whispers from the old days and the present ones, from those who are no longer with us, but inside our hearts and earphones.

What’s next for Peter Doherty? After a couple years of relentlessly touring with The Libertines after the release of their latest album, and also on his own after he released his solo album “Felt Better Alive” and smashing a sold out tour with Babyshambles, he probably needs a vacation. But everyone knows how he rolls, he lives for his art, and we live eager to witness it.