Babyshambles replace Pete Doherty with fan for NME show
Drew McConnell and Adam Ficek play unique Shockwaves NME Awards gig
06.Dec.07 11:43pm
Babyshambles performed tonight (December 6) without frontman
Pete Doherty.
As previously reported, the former
Libertine failed to show for the
Shockwaves NME Awards Launch Party at
IndigO2 in
London with
members of Babyshambles explaining that the singer was
unwell.
Instead, bassist
Drew McConnell and drummer
Adam Ficek performed as a duo, although they got some unexpected help during their seven-song set.
After host
George Lamb told the crowd that
Doherty would not appear,
McConnell took the stage, explaining: "Alright, my name is
Drew and this is
Adam, this is quite embarrassing really but it's been a hell of a day.
Adam and I are here, but the other two boys (
Doherty and guitarist
Mick Whitnall) in the band aren't. It's a pain in the a*** really."
He then offered to play for the crowd of 300 competition winners, asking them: "We can try to sing some songs for you, are up for that? OK, sing along if you know the words."
After loud cheers, the duo kicked off with
'I Wish' before
McConnell then said he'd throw the setlist open to the fans.
"Erm, we could do requests," he explained, before speaking directly to one fan at the front. "Do you know how to play? What's your name?
Jamie? Come on, let's get
Jamie up here."
The fan,
Jamie Bell, was then helped over the barrier, taking the guitar from
McConnell, who resumed his bass rolls as the makeshift trio performed
'Carry On Up The Morning', with
Bell singing the song in a
Doherty-esque voice.
"I thought that was f***ing beautiful man,"
McConnell told the crowd after the fan returned to the audience, "he's doing better than I am for f***'s sake!"
The pair then performed
'Beg, Steal Or Borrow' and
'Delivery', before
Josh Hubbard from
The Paddingtons, who was watching the gig from the wings, bounded onstage to play a cover of
The Clash's
'Janie Jones' and
The Vaselines'
'Molly's Lips'.
Ending the set as a duo again,
McConnell thanked the crowded for "bearing with" and "for not killing us", before they wrapped things up with a storming version of
'F*** Forever'.
The
Doherty-free
Babyshambles played:
'I Wish'
'Carry On Up The Morning'
'Beg, Steal Or Borrow'
'Delivery'
'Janie Jones'
'Molly's Lips'
'F*** Forever'
Earlier tonight,
Joe Lean And The Jing Jang Jong and
The Wombats played rousing sets to kick off
NME's first ever awards launch party.