Monday 21 September 2009

PETE DOHERTY'S ROUNDHOUSE SHOW

Pete Doherty kicked-off his UK tour on Saturday night (19.09.09) with a two-hour show at The Roundhouse in Camden, North London.

Pete Doherty kicked-off his UK tour on Saturday night (19.09.09).

The former Babyshambles and Libertines frontman wowed his army of loyal fans as he performed a two-hour set at The Roundhouse in Camden, North London.

His playlist mainly consisted of tracks from his solo album 'Grace/Wastelands' but also included some huge crowd pleasers including 'For Lovers', 'Delivery' and Libertines numbers 'Don’t Look Back Into The Sun' and 'Time For Heroes'.

Dressed in his trademark hat and jacket Pete – who has previously not turned up for shows – looked to have put his personal problems behind him and looked every inch the star.

Following his well-received set, Pete came back for an encore, which included a cover of The Specials' hit 'Message To You'.

He continued his small tour with a concert in Lemington Spa last night (20.09.09) and he will play Manchester Apollo tonight (21.09.09) and finish in Glasgow Barrowlands on Wednesday (23.09.09).

Wry beautiful and bizzare

Musician and DJ Adam Ficek is best known for his day job as drummer in the notorious British rock act Babyshambles.

As a member of the Peter Doherty-fronted band, Adam has seen the best and worst of life at the casualty-laden core of the music industry.

What many people don't know is that he is an artistic talent in his own right. Adam was born in Bletchley, Milton Keynes and over the years has amassed an impressive repertoire of musical skills.

He plays the guitar, piano, vibraphone, accordion, flute, trumpet, harmonica, tin whistle, recorder, and – of course – drums.

He knew Babyshambles' former manager James Mullord and ex-guitarist Patrick Walden from the time the three spent together in and around London's Old Street area.

Much of what followed (the albums, the gigs, the arrests, the tabloid scandals, the burnouts and triumphs and tragedies) is already modern pop history.

Roses Kings Castles is the moniker under which Adam performs and records his own unique catalogue of quixotic, chiming, and astute acoustic pop songs.

Lost somewhere between Belle & Sebastian's pastoral warmth and the hallucinatory six-string invocations of Syd Barrett, a typical Roses Kings Castles track is buoyed by the finest elements of classic British song writing; by turns wry, beautiful, and bizarre.

Originally conceived as an outlet for Adam's 'need to create my own ideas when Babyshambles were on holiday,' Roses Kings Castles quickly became something more than a means of occupying himself whilst on hiatus.

He says: 'I continually write, whether it's big band arrangements, electro riffs or folk-pop songs. I just needed an avenue to walk down.'

PETE DOHERTY'S FLIGHT OF FANTASY

PETE DOHERTY'S FLIGHT OF FANTASY

Babyshambles rocker Pete Doherty says he once took so many drugs he thought he was an air hostess.

Pete Doherty once took so many drugs he thought he was an air hostess.

The Babyshambles rocker began hallucinating after injecting horse tranquiliser ketamine while he was working on the band's 2007 album 'Shotter's Nation'.

Pete said: "Snorting it is bad enough but injecting it is the equivalent of... well, there is no explanation. One minute you're a perfectly sane human being working on what should be an album you're proud of and committed to - the next you're an air hostess on an airplane bound for Portugal."

Pete, 30, was dating British supermodel Kate Moss at the time, and claims the incident was one of the reasons for their split.

He explained to Britain's Elle magazine: "Imagine, there's millions of you inside a little tube which is going up a dog's ear. And your producer Stephen Street is carrying you from the toilets. And then your girlfriend turns up and starts shouting at Stephen Street, 'What's all this? What are you doing?' Stephen's like, 'Oh f***ing hell, we've got a vocal to do.' And I'm like, 'Do you want another drink?' Because I thought I was an air hostess."