BABYSHAMBLES BRING THE GHOSTS OF PAST AND PRESENT TO CAMDEN AS REUNION TOUR COMES TO AN END
Babyshambles (Tom Jenkinson/Northern Exposure)
LIVE REVIEW | BABYSHAMBLES | KOKO, CAMDEN | 15th December 2025 by Tom Jenkinson
Last month, Babyshambles performed the final night of their 2025 Reunion Tour at Camden’s Koko. Having previously reformed on stage during a Pete Doherty gig earlier in 2024, the band announced they would come together again to mark 20 years since the release of their debut album ‘Down In Albion’, performing a sold out tour up and down the UK.
Their set dug deep into the archives. Opening the night with an electric performance of “Killamanjiro” followed immediately by “Delivery”, Doherty’s choices into the setlist highlight his diverse career and appreciation for music. With covers of “Waterfall” by The Stone Roses paying tribute to the recently departed Mani, and The La’s “There She Goes” played for his friend and former Camden neighbour, Amy Winehouse. A chilling rendition of his own “Unstookie Titled” highlighted Doherty’s ability to not only write a great, soulful tune, but to also have the presence and command of his craft to perform it live with the same punch and clarity found on the recording.
If this gig were a Dickens’ novel, then it was visited by ghosts of past and present: there is undoubtedly a chill in the air tonight, not least because of the mid-December cold, but tonight is played without Patrick Walden, who passed away in the summer. Paying tribute to his friend and collaborator, Doherty shares that Patrick was giving guitar lessons to another longtime friend, Hak Baker.
Baker then stepped on-stage to then play a touching tribute to the Babyshambles guitarist, and the song is enough to draw pin-drop silence from the audience. Hak does well to hold what feels like a vigil in memory of his friend against the backdrop of more raucous moments in the night, particularly as the gig descends into chaos later during “Fuck Forever”.
Carl Barat also made a surprise appearance for a slowed-down “What Katie Did” in one of the many highlights of the night, followed later by original Babyshambles drummer Gemma Clarke making an appearance for the band for the first time since 2005, ending the night in chaos for “Wolfman”.
In amongst the joyfully-sung choruses of “Down in Albion”, “Killamanjiro”, and the reggae-vibes of new single “Dandy Hooligan” it feels that tonight is a reconciliation of sorts for the once-troubled frontman. The last couple of years of Doherty (in all his forms – Babyshambles, Libertines, and solo) have been arguably some of the most important in his career: he has shown the mature songwriting craft that he has within him with new material which in the last couple of years has been very strong. Tonight’s performance with Babyshambles marks an important milestone in revisiting some of his formative work, all the while showing that the best is still to come.
