2025 served as a big year for British guitar music, and is undoubtedly one that will go down in the history books for years to come. The Gallagher brothers finally put their feud to bed and reunited Oasis to dominate headlines, fill stadiums and shape a new generation of British rock fans.
Whilst the spotlight remained well and truly on the household Mancunians, another familiar stalwart of the noughties indie scene made their long-awaited return.
Babyshambles re-emerged into a scene that was busy rediscovering its roots. They returned with the ragged, romantic anthems that dominated a chaotic-yet-intimate era of indie history that deserves just as many plaudits as those who came before.
Whether you were there or not, you now have the chance to revisit the reunion with ‘Live At Koko‘, released on Strap Originals. The combined force of Peter Doherty (Frontman), Mick Whitnall (Guitar), Drew McConnell (Bass) and Adam Ficek returned in 2025, following their silent split in 2014.
On a personal note, I was slightly too young to catch Babyshambles in their prime, but I’ve had the privilege of seeing this reunion take shape and form it’s on life from a few different vantage points.
Ahead of the tour, the band dropped into my hometown, Southampton, for an intimate warmup at Papillon. With friend, Charles Bueller (Strap Originals stablemate) on the bill and a review pass for the night. It was the first time I’d seen a full set of Babyshambles anthems, and it was my duty to spend the night in the front pit. I’ve seen Doherty in many bands and lineups through the years, and have seen McConnell play in Liam Gallagher’s and Carl Barat’s solo bands respectively. It was my first opportunity to see them as a unit and to witness Whitnall and Ficek at their craft.
On the reunion tour, my wife and mum accompanied me on a day out in London to see them perform at Brixton Academy. We hung back a bit more, which allowed me to take in Doherty’s connection with the songs and the crowd. I followed up this year with a show at Margate’s Dreamland, where I once again spent the night in the front pit with my good friends Dave (Margate Ledge) and Pete.
Reviewing a live album comes with its own complications. Technically, there’s very little here that hasn’t been picked up on through album reviews and live reviews in the past. There’s not a fresh collection of songs or a new album to unpick, so allow me to revisit familiar territory through a different lens.
It’s the little moments of spontaneity and chaos that a live album captures. Bill Bailey introduces the band quipping that he has a real affinity with the band as they’re “Like me, still alive”.
Doherty welcomes his adoring fans “Good people of Camden, they say the sun never set on the British empire, well during Mick Whitnall’s reign of terror over Camden, the sun never stopped snapping, bapping, whacking, flagging…” and the band roar into one of their biggest hits ‘Killamangiro‘.
This intensity remained as the band roared into ‘Delivery‘. Before introducing ‘I Wish‘ Doherty announced that Patrick Walden was supposed to be there on that night. Unfortunately, the former lead guitarist passed away ahead of the reunion announcement, but the shows and songs served as a permanent tribute to him and his creations.
Moments like the “Oh oh oh” of the crowd chanting back at the band feel prominent here. The band perform ‘Sedative‘ ahead of a jangling performance of ‘Beg, Steal or Borrow‘ that features a reworked cover of The Stone Roses’ ‘Waterfall‘.
A fair representation of this live album is that the songs sound smoother and cleaner than they did back in the day. The melody and rhythm shines through a lot more pronounced than the old “Turn everything up to the max” approach.
To tumultuous applause, Peter Doherty announces that last time Babyshambles played Koko Amy Winehouse watched from the balcony, so he wanted to dedicate ‘There She Goes‘ to her memory. Ficek’s drums continue to roll into ‘Le Belle A La Bete‘, where the band feed off the crowd, who complete a lot of the lines. Comparing this to the studio version of the song (And the notable omission of Kate Moss on co-lead vocals), the performance is a lot more ferocious, and the song seemingly carries a lot more weight in the room.
‘Unstookie Titled‘ begins with Doherty seeking members of the audience with Scottish descent, whilst Whitnall strums away. Doherty teases ‘Fuck Forever‘ mid way through which entices the crowd into some louder antics.
Then, comes a special moment for all fans of Babyshambles and The Libertines as Carl Barat joins his long term bandmate and friend on stage for a rendition of The Libertines song ‘What Katie Did’. This will be a special moment for so many, as years gone by the possibility of the pair being in the same room, let alone being involved in projects outside of The Libertines seemed like a sweet memory of the past, but here they both were in 2025 and have still been strong throughout 2026.
As the set and album reached its conclusion, the chaos ramps up. This is something you can feel feedbacks from the crowd throughout ‘8 Dead Boys‘ and ‘Baddie’s Boogie‘. The latter of which was dedicated to “Anybody who wants it” and introduced with the Button Moon theme tune.
As the set builds towards its climax, Doherty introduces the crowd to the band before playing ‘Lost Art of Murder‘. The crowd were then transported back into life with the raw angst and aggression in ‘Pipedown‘.
After that fiery performance, the night ended on probably the biggest anthem and one that was eluded to earlier ‘Fuck Forever‘. This is the sort of performance you known Doherty thrives on as the crowd sing the guitar melody back, he screams and roars above the guitars, dictating the room through the chorus.
It’s important to highlight that it sounds like Doherty is having fun with the song, enjoying himself and attempting to create pure chaos in the room. Before they round the night off, there’s one more treat in store. Original drummer, Gemma Clarke, takes position behind the drum kit and the rest of the band roar into ‘Wolfman‘. Named after Doherty’s long time friend and collaborator, which was originally released as a B-side to ‘Albion‘.
Ultimately, ‘Live At Koko’ isn’t a follow up to studio albums ‘Down In Albion’ and ‘Shotters Nation’, and instead serves as a reminder as to why so many people fell in love with Babyshambles. It’s comforting to hear that these great songs are still resonating with younger audiences and seeking fanbases to this day.
The songs might not be new, but they had a renewed sense of energy at the live shows, which has been perfectly captured in ‘Live At Koko’. Whether you wanted to relive the reunion tour or hear what you missed, this will certainly be a treat.
There are 2 different track listings due to the vinyl size:
Vinyl Tracklist
- Introduction by Bill Bailey / Killamangiro
- Delivery
- I Wish
- Sedative
- Beg Steal Or Borrow
- There She Goes
- Unstookie Titled
- 8 Dead Boys
- Baddie’s Boogie
- Pipedown
- Fuck Forever
CD & Digital Tracklist
- Introduction by Bill Bailey / Killamangiro
- Delivery
- I Wish
- Sedative
- Beg Steal Or Borrow
- There She Goes
- La Belle et la Bête
- Unstookie Titled
- What Katie Did (Ft. Carl Barat)
- 8 Dead Boys
- Baddie’s Boogie
- Lost Art Of Murder
- Pipedown
- Fuck Forever
- Wolfman (Ft. Gemma Clarke)
The album will be available digitally, on CD and limited edition Sky Blue, Tangerine or black vinyl.
Written by Brad Halcrow for The Songbird HQ