ON TOUR WITH THE LIBERTINES | THE CLUB SHOWS

THE ‘BIGGEST’ SMALL TOUR OF THE YEAR SO FAR | BY HOLLY PIMLOTT & ANNE KELLY

2024 has and will continue to be all about the return of The Libertines. Wild and frenzied, the Margate quartet took to the intimate stages of sweaty club venues across the UK in what has woken a generation of dormant nostalgia. Raising the curtain of The Albionay Tour in Stockton last month, the next stop was Liverpool, fitting in both an acoustic in-store with Jacaranda Baltic before plugging in for a full performance at the legendary Cavern Club.

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MILTON KEYNES

Keeping the momentum flowing into night three, it was Milton Keynes turn to be fired upon by the once notorious quartet. Support for the evening included collaborative duo PREGOBLIN (aka Alex Selby and Jessica Winter) who are set to officially release their debut album PREGOBLIN II this Friday 23rd February 2024. Signed to Peter Doherty’s Strap Originals label, the man himself joined the duo on the MK11 stage to perform their collaborative single ‘These Hands (aka Danny Knife)’.

Choosing to open the set with 2002’s ‘Up The Bracket’ the crowd wasted no time welcoming back this iconic band back to their rightful platform. Mixing up a packed 17 track set list less than two hours, the band ensured equal measures of popular singles such as ‘Can’t Stand Me Now’, fan favourites like ‘The Boy Who Looked at Johnny’ with new releases from the forthcoming album All Quiet on the Eastern Esplanade. The show even delivered the tour debut of currently unheard song from the new album, ‘Merry Old England’. Closing with an encore of ‘Gunga Din’, ‘The Good Old Days’ and ‘Don’t Look Back Into The Sun’, it was evident that The Libertines still have their fans right where they want them.

Completing the first leg of The Albionay Tour with stops Cardiff and Derby, fans experienced similar levels of frenzy, with spectators of all ages travelling across the country to catch this iconic band in such an intimate setting which sold out in seconds. From seasoned punters to the skeptical fast fingered individuals, curious to see if the reality really matched the hype.

Round two of The Albionay Tour kicked off last week (11/02) in it’s most southernly host of Falmouth. Working their way north throughout the week, The Libertines stopped at Southampton, Stoke and Leeds before concluding the exclusive tour in Glasgow on Friday (16/02).

LEEDS

The penultimate night of the tour was just as wild and frenzied as the rest with the Margate quartet hitting Wardrobe in Leeds. Support on the night came from Bear Park and Von Vella with the latter also sharing Doherty’s Strap Originals Label. The Leicestershire duo, also known as Izzy Davis and Dan Cunningham, released their self titled debut album ‘Von Vella‘ in July last year.

With what can only be described as untamed chaos, the duo of Doherty and Barât brought nothing but life and light to a room full of what seemed to be life-long Libertines’ fans. Showcasing some of their latest musical offerings such as ‘Run Run Run’ and ‘Shiver’, the set felt widely nostalgic, like a toast to the years of Up The Bracket (2002) and their self-titled The Libertines (2004). Doherty and Barât’s stage presence was to be considerably noted as the chaotic energy of the crowd was matched seamlessly by the band throughout their entire set. Within the first 5 seconds of ‘Up The Bracket‘ (the chosen set-starter) both pints and hands were thrown into the air, with not a single ounce of the energy being lost throughout the whole night.

GLASGOW

As the final day of the illustrious club tour kicks into motion, The Libertines make the deeply anticipated announcement they will return to the road once again this year with a 16 date UK/Ireland tour in the autumn. Giving fans – especially those who missed out on these golden tickets – a chance to see the band back on the top form that they are. Presale begins Wednesday 21st February for anybody who pre-orders the new album here with general sale on Friday 23rd February.

Glasgow’s dark Oran Mor basement serves as host to the tour finale, with the party continuing until the very small hours with a special DJ set from the band afterwards. Absolutely fit to burst, you could literally feel the moisture in the air from the riotous sweaty and already far-gone crowd. The room is filled with pure joy – people dancing on tables, drinks being thrown in jubilance and friends united in intoxicated shared euphoria.

The set list didn’t differ from much of the other dates on the tour, however, we were invited to celebrate the birthday of John (Hassall), Libertines enduring bassist with the entire room joining in on a rendition of ‘Happy Birthday’. Doherty teases the Glasgow crowd with a Celtic football team style teddy bear – gifted by a fan for Peter’s newest family member – met with an audible roar of both cheers and boo’s but it seems he enjoys the old-firm wind up. Complete with a compulsory ‘F**k the Tories/Seven Nation Army’ audience participation moment, The Albionary Tour ends once again with ‘Don’t Look Back Into The Sun’.

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In anticipation of their latest record, All Quiet On The Eastern Esplanade out on the 5th April- this largely intimate UK tour has reopened the ears to the industry on just how good The Libertines are and with a matured, refined new sound, they are back for good.

BY HOLLY PIMLOTT & ANNE KELLY

PHOTO CREDIT MILES HUMPHRIES, HOPE SIMMERS AND HOLLY PIMLOTT

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