Latest news with #FeltBetterAlive
Daily Mirror
02-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mirror
Pete Doherty hints at huge plans just weeks after death of Babyshambles star
Pete Doherty has teased there are plans in place for The Libertines to release new music after their successful performance at Glastonbury at the weekend Fans of the Libertines rejoice - the band is ready to make new music. The news comes just weeks after the heartbreak of Babyshambles star Patrick Walden's death. The tragic news saw Libertines frontman and former Babyshambles bandmate Pete Doherty pay tribute. Pete had previously created Babyshambles when he was driven out of The Libertines due to his drug habit. But now, after returning to the Libertines, Pete and fellow band mate, Carl Barat, have teased they ready to share new tunes with the world. Despite releasing new music as a solo act earlier this year, Doherty admitted there could be original Libertines songs thrown out there too after a successful Glastonbury. When Speaking to NME, Pete was asked about any future tunes, and he admitted: "We did have quite a strong idea". When he was then probed on any plans to release new music soon, in his unique way, he joked: "I just released an album ['Felt Better Alive'] a month and a half ago, man! What do you want? Blood?' He went on: "Anyway, I have to say all in all, it's a game of two halves. At the end of the day, you're either chuffed as a lad or sick as a parrot." And he added his delight at one moment in Glastonbury. "Did you see that fan with The Simpsons flag?," he said. "It had Carl and me really fat with a 'tasch playing the guitar. The f***? Happy days, man." He then joked that he would always be ready for an appearance in the iconic cartoon. During their sat on the Pyramid Stage on Saturday, the band tried to start a 'Free Palestine' chant during their performance. However, they failed as the microphone wasn't on. The band was met with a huge crowd on the day as they performed a number of their biggest hits, including Can't Stand Me Now and Don't Look Back into the Sun. But as they waved goodbye to the vast crowd, Gary Powell decided to stay on and hold up a Palestine flag that was on stage during their performance. And as he attempted to get a chant going, his efforts were foiled as the microphone was off, which meant Gary's chant wasn't heard by fans. A source told the Mirror at the time: "The camera was zoomed in on his mouth so everyone could clearly see he was mouthing the phrase 'free free Palestine' but the mic was muted. "Those at the front tried to get the chant going on his behalf, but it fizzled out, and he gave up and left the stage. Fans leaving debated if it was intentional as he picked up and waved the flag before heading to the mic."
Extra.ie
23-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Extra.ie
Pete Doherty on fatherhood, crack houses and his thoughts on Kneecap
Resplendent in his Xmas jammies, Pete Doherty welcomes Stuart Clark onto his tour bus. Up for discussion are his cracking new album Felt Better Alive, parenthood, religion, his love affair with traditional Irish music and The Libertines' holographic adventures. Michael Stipe's nipples, Dolores O'Riordan's bellybutton, Mike Oldfield's wine cellar, Stephen Tyler and Joe Perry having a wheelchair race, Layne Staley astride a giant blow-up penis, Peter Hook getting his highlights done, Shaun Ryder nodding off mid-question and another legendary Mancunian musician's ganja bag… To the list of Things I Didn't Expect To See During An Interview can now be added Pete Doherty's The Simpsons Christmas pyjamas. It's a shade after 3 pm and Pete has just crawled out of his tour bus leaba ahead of his gig in Oldham, Lancashire, where he's being supported by Kerry's very own Junior Brother, more of whom anon. Cosied up to him on the sofa is his dog, who's made several on-stage appearances as his human treats his fans to a pre-release earful of Felt Better Alive, which continues Mr. D's run of must-have solo albums. 'This is Gladys, who's six this year,' he says, introducing me to the gorgeous pooch in question. 'I've got a litmus test, which isn't entirely foolproof because some people have a genuine, valid reason to not like dogs – but if we're out and about and somebody reacts positively to Gladys, I know I'll like 'em. She can't really do Libertines gigs because she's got very sensitive ears and they're overly loud, but when it's a bit more chilled – like it has been on this little tour of places I don't normally get to – she'll watch from the side of the stage and sometimes wander on and sit there like she did the other night in Camden. I tell you who she loved last year when they were playing some of their quieter songs – The Mary Wallopers. They were supporting The Libertines in Brighton and, fuck me, they were great. One of them broke a string, but the guitar tech was too busy stroking Gladys to notice. I think he might have got sacked that day! 'The baby's on board as well, as is the missus, so it really is the Doherty family on tour!' Speaking of his toddler, Billie-May, how is fatherhood treating Pete the third time round? 'It's testing every faculty I have,' he admits. 'All of your parental instincts are needed to keep this person alive and fed until they're ready to fly the nest. Selflessly being there for someone is a whole new way of living. I think I've always had it in me, but even though I've two other amazing children, this is the first time I've felt, 'Yeah, I'm doing this right.' It's hard work, but I love it and wouldn't have it any other way.' One of Felt Better Alive's numerous standouts, 'Pot Of Gold', finds Pete sweetly intoning: 'Hush my darling, no don't you cry/ Daddy's trying to write you a lullaby/ And if that lullaby is a hit/ Dad can buy you loads of cool shit.' Does Billie-May approve? 'Yeah, she loves it,' her proud father beams. 'When I wrote it, it was just me and her there. It grew out of the 'Mockingbird' lullaby that we were all sung when we were kids. She's 22 months now and does this sweet little dance. She keeps her back straight and bends her legs – but only to that song.' Felt Better Alive goes from a whisper to a scream courtesy of 'Poca Mahoney's', the tale of a nefarious crack house manager and all the characters who hang out – and get strung out – there. 'It's a real place I used to frequent but which the manager won't let me visit anymore,' he says a tad wistfully. 'All I'll say is that it's a place with a little horror and tragedy associated with it.' Adding to the rowdiness is Cavan native Lisa O'Neill. 'When The Libertines played the Olympia last year, she jumped on stage and did 'Night Of The Hunter' with us, which was a glorious moment. I knew about Lisa from her Rough Trade album, All Of This Is Chance. The 'My little soul was five-years old line' line – which is really dark – comes from her telling me this horrible story about a priest and a girl. I did a little spoken word thing on her song, 'Homeless In The Thousands (Dublin In The Digital Age)' and she repaid the compliment on 'Poca Mahoney's'.' O'Neill also pointed Pete in the direction of the aforementioned Junior Brother, who – cue fanfare – has just become the latest signing to his Strap Originals record label. 'She might see it differently, but I think we became firm friends and soulmates in a short space of time,'he resumes. 'Trusting her musical taste implicitly, when Lisa said with some urgency, 'Ya have to get on to this, boy, he's the dog's!', I knew I had to check him out on his home soil. I forget the name of the pub (It was upstairs at The Hut in Phibsboro, Stuart), but it's the sort of place all Englishmen dream of visiting in Ireland. Y'know, loads of characters and road signs to Ballybunnion hanging on the wall. We walked in on this – how do I describe it? – landscape of pagan psychedelia with belts of Irish folk lyricism and yet a very modern, possibly post-modern sensibility. There's something really fractured and itinerant about Ronan, AKA Junior Brother's lyrics. 'That's if you can work out what he's saying,' Pete adds with a grin. 'One of the things I like about his live act, aside from the songs obviously and his musicianship, is the warm way he talks to the crowd. It's not just, 'Thank you, this next one's called…' I've no idea what he's talking about half the time, but you can tell it's sincere. When he speaks to English crowds and they don't reply, it's not 'cause they're being rude or ignorant, they just haven't got a clue what he's on about.' Junior Brother and Peter Doherty (Photo: Strap Originals) The Mary Wallopers, Lisa O'Neill and Junior Brother join a long list of folk-minded Irish artists – The Pogues and The Wolfe Tones being at the top of it – that Pete greatly admires. 'I love the stories, the wisdom and the passing on of songs from one generation to the next,' he enthuses. 'They're the chains that hold it all together. Everybody's talking about AI, but something that can't be replicated digitally is the human soul and the warmth of human contact.' Curiously, 'Baron's Claw' from the last Libertines album, All Quiet On The Eastern Esplanade, is reworked on Felt Better Alive as 'The Day The Baron Died'. 'The reworking is actually the Libertines' one,' Pete informs me. 'I wrote and recorded it first, then Carl heard it and wanted us to do it as a band. We had to change the name for publishing reasons, but otherwise it's the same song done absolutely brilliantly by me and quite well by The Libertines!' It's not the only Felt Better… track which has a touch of the Fab Fours about it. Quick pop quiz: favourite Beatle and favourite Beatles album? 'Hmm, yeah, wow… It's an almost impossible question because it completely depends on the mood and time of day,' he complains. 'The contenders would be Sgt. Pepper's because it's just life-changing song after life-changing song; The White Album because 'Back In The U.S.S.R.' is on it; Revolver similarly because it has 'Taxman' and 'Helter Skelter'; and there's a case too for Let It Be. You're setting me up here, but I'm going to go for The White Album. 'As for favourite Beatle, that's an even meaner question. There's a case to be made for John Lennon towards the end of his life when he did those legendary American TV interviews and was writing nonstop again. The teenage George Harrison was absolutely hilarious, and the cranky old man Ringo has become is fantastic, too. 'And Paul… I like that he never really lets his guard down. He's one of the most public figures in the world, yet I don't think anyone really knows him. I love that he took his kids off to a farm in Scotland when he was really in the limelight and the tabloids were doing their thing. So, gun to my head, I'll pick Paul.' That small matter resolved, let us turn our attention to the Felt Better Alive title-track, which borrows its 'Dredging the mouth of the Humber' refrain from Pete's favourite funnyman, Tony Hancock, and its country twang from Texas outlaw Townes Van Zandt. 'I discovered Townes about 15 years ago, maybe longer. 'Pancho And Lefty' is one of my favourite songs of all time. I love those Americana/bluesy/folk stories, which namecheck cities, characters and the weather. 'Tangled Up In Blue', 'Clay Pigeons' by Blaze Foley and 'Me And Bobby McGee' being some others. Weighty, earthy, western songs.' Earthy is also a term that applies to 'Prêtre De La Mer', the Felt Better Alive track that Pete wrote partly as a homage to The Coral and which features a guest turn from his parish priest. 'His name is Didier. He married us and baptised our daughter. He fancies himself as a singer, has a cordless mic, jumps on the keyboard, and bursts into hymns. Once a year, he does this benediction where he marches from the church to the sea, whips off his robes and dives in. Last year, he kept swimming out, and James Bond-style was picked up by a speedboat, which disappeared around the cliffs. Talk about showmanship! 'In order for me to be married in a church, we had to sit down and do bible studies with him,' Pete continues. 'So he's been with me on these journeys and helped me reconnect a little bit with the church.' So is Doherty now a regular church-goer? 'When I'm there, I go, yeah,' he nods. 'It's a bit of a lynchpin for the lovely Normandy village I'm in. It's an ageing population, so the priest, shall we say, is kept busy. The church is a place where you catch up with people. I was brought up believing in God's love and being taught it properly as opposed to getting dragged behind the vestry and the priest bumming you, which is what 'Poca Mahoney's' is about. Y'know, the evils of what's happened with the Catholic Church. ''Prêtre De La Mer' is the opposite of that. It's the vision of the church and of God which gives me hope and strength.' 'My missus, who wouldn't be having 'The Recorded Works Of Peter Doherty' as her specialist Mastermind subject, can immediately tell listening to his songs whether he was on or off drugs at the time. There, she reckons, being 'a sparkle about his records now.' 'I think I know what you're saying,' he reacts. 'I can hear sometimes where my voice is… I mean, I can't necessarily tell, but definitely people who are close to me can. Um, I don't know, I haven't really thought about it.' Peter Doherty. Photo: Roger Sargent Pete bigged up both Fontaines D.C. (''Starburster' is just a belter of a tune') and Kneecap ('They're really talented') after catching them before Christmas at the Brixton Academy Gig For Gaza. Have they met yet? 'I've seen Kneecap at the airport, but disappointingly, DJ Provaí didn't have his balaclava on,' Pete recalls. 'I saw some footage from the Dublin Olympia show they did, which just looked like a rave. When they played 'H.O.O.D.', it was absolutely bonkers. I haven't seen the film, but have it lined up here on the bus to watch. 'It's a very different type of music, but we've also signed a guy from Antrim, Thomas Urwin, whose take on reality is similar to Kneecap's. He's a folk singer that I met while he was busking. Unfortunately, he's fallen out with label management, but he's a great lyricist and a great songwriter. Have a listen to 'Belfast Is Gonna Burn' and 'Man In The Arena', which is one of Roosevelt's wartime speeches put to an acoustic guitar.' Not content with making albums, touring and being a record company mogul, Pete has just released the first issue of his On Strap fanzine, yours for a tenner at his shows. 'There's Gladys and the Normandy Lion,' he says, holding up a copy. 'Here's Thomas Urwin; a play I wrote and never finished called Ed Belly And The Curse Of Paddy Coltrane, which is like a gun fight except with guitars; Real Farmer, who are another band we've signed and love; and a little story I wrote about a pub in Ireland.' Talking of quality prose, can he recommend any good books for my summer holidays? 'I seem to be reading a lot of Raymond Chandler short stories,' he says, switching into literary critic mode. 'He writes in a very particular way that's kind of seduced me. There's a book by the American novelist, John Williams, that's dragged me in. It's called Stoner, which isn't what you think it's about. Stoner is the name of a university professor who's struggling with his career. And I'm reading A Furious Devotion: The Life Of Shane MacGowan again, which I've about four bloody copies of and is really great.' Two more quick questions before we let Pete change into his eveningwear. Are rumours of a 20th anniversary Babyshambles reunion true? 'It looks like it's on the cards for later this year,' he confirms. And what about The Libertines doing an ABBA and performing in holographic form this summer in Camden? 'Yeah, I know what you're talking about because I was there,' he concludes. 'I'm not exactly sure what it is. An AI-programmed thing, maybe, which means you'll be able to watch us long after we're dead. It'll be as big a surprise for me as it is for you when I see it!'
Daily Mail
03-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Pete Doherty appears to be in good spirits as he takes to the stage in Berlin for his European tour after 'wake-up call' from shock health scare
Pete Doherty appeared to be in good spirits as he took to the stage in Germany during his European tour after revealing his recent health scare was a 'wake-up call'. The 46-year-old Libertines frontman took to the stage Huxleys Neue Welt in Berlin on Friday night for the latest stop on his Felt Better Alive European tour. He cut a casual figure in a shirt and jeans, which he styled with a black blazer and his trademark fedora hat as he sang out his hits for his fans. He was back on his feet singing and dancing after recently being forced to perform form a chair amid some serious health woes. In March, he revealed he is at risk of having his toes amputated after being diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes last year. In a video obtained by The Sun at his gig in Munich, Germany, Pete provided his fans with a health update. He said: 'I saw the doctor today and he said you need to stay off your feet as much as you can otherwise you'll lose your toes.' He apparently didn't notice the sores on his feet until two of his toes went black in January. 'It was touch and go,' he told The Times of whether or not he would be able to keep his feet, having lost feeling in them. Those who suffer from diabetes carry the risk of foot-related complications as high blood sugar levels can damage blood vessels, in turn effecting the flow of blood to feet and legs. He admitted it 'was a real wake-up call' and he has 'basically not been drinking' since finding out. Pete continued: 'Now I allow myself a gin and tonic once a week, but I've basically not been drinking and have got my blood sugar to a good level, so my toes are healing.' The artist has been very open about his health over the years, previously claiming in 2023 that he felt 'death was lurking' due to the toll that years of drugs and alcohol abuse had on his body. He told documentary maker Louis Theroux that he was a 'very sick man… I've battered it haven't I, I've f***ing caned it.' 'The heroin and the crack… I surrendered to that, and then it was the cocaine and the smoking and the alcohol, and now it's cheese and the saucisson, and the sugar in the tea.' Last spring, Pete confirmed his diagnosis, saying: 'I've been diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes. And at the moment, I'm lacking the discipline to tackle cholesterol.' It seems Pete has worked on his lack of discipline after receiving some harsh words from his doctor. The star previously told the Evening Standard that his doctor had told him he had to change his diet immediately. He told the publication: 'I have seen a liver doctor who says I need to change my diet - too much cheese, too much milk. 'But the cheese is so good, that's part of the reason I stay here… It's a cholesterol and diabetes thing now, but there are tablets, it makes a big difference.' The rocker has previously admitted that his larger figure is the result of tucking into his guilty pleasure. In 2021, Pete said he had ditched drugs and was instead indulging on cheese on toast and enjoying long lie ins after staying up for six days straight during his wildest years.
Scotsman
02-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Scotsman
Album reviews: Peter Doherty Mark Pritchard & Thom Yorke
Sign up to our Arts and Culture newsletter, get the latest news and reviews from our specialist arts writers Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... Peter Doherty: Felt Better Alive (Strap Originals) ★★★ Mark Pritchard & Thom Yorke: Tall Tales (Warp) ★★★★ Rebecca Vasmant: Who We Are, Becoming (New Soil) ★★★★ Whether Camden Town or Clerkenwell, Margate Pier or coastal Normandy, Libertines/Babyshambles frontman Peter Doherty hoovers up influences from his 'hood and imports them straight into song in gonzo reportage style. His latest solo album, Felt Better Alive, is awash with songs written but rejected for the most recent Libertines album, All Quiet on the Eastern Esplanade. He's not bitter - he simply uses them more appropriately under his own name, including The Day The Baron Died, which is essentially All Quiet track Baron's Claw as he hears it. Peter Doherty | Bridie Cummings Home life just across the English channel has inspired a number of tracks. Doherty's location has changed but his eye for the man on the street/country road remains the same on Calvados, a holistic hymn to brandy-making, while he samples the sound of the sea and the voice of his local priest to create end-of-the-Normandy-pier number Prêtre de la Mer. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad But the old country makes its presence felt on Ed Belly, a breezy pub rocker which adds a touch of Dixieland jazz, skiffly drums and characterful sax to the mix. There is a spaghetti western saunter to the title track. Even better, irrepressible guest vocalist Lisa O'Neill, a vaudeville singer for our times, conjures dark mischief in London's historic Irish community on Poca Mahoney's. Doherty, of course, is a villain or at least anti-hero in his own romantic story and doesn't even pretend to varnish the truth on Pot of Gold, a candid lullaby for his daughter, which assures her that 'we'll forget about the time when they always tried to run me out of town'. Thom Yorke and Mark Pritchard | Pierre Toussaint Radiohead frontman Thom Yorke and electronica composer, producer and remixer Mark Pritchard collaborate on a suite of songs inspired by Pritchard's archive of analogue synthesizers. Pritchard has some adjacent form here, scoring a Top Ten hit in the early Nineties (as Shaft) with a rave version of the Roobarb and Custard theme. Tall Tales triggers some nostalgia for kids' TV themes and the work of the BBC Radiophonic Workshop but it is far from kitsch. A Fake in a Faker's World is closer to the lo-fi soundworld of post-punk synth pop with bonus celestial organ coda. Bugging Out Again is a very Radiohead title for a glacial, almost proggy soundscape with Yorke at his most fragile and desolate. Back in the Game is a flintier proposition with minimalist modulation, while The White Cliffs is a serene yet dark synth odyssey. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad In contrast, Gangsters features a cheeky synth riff and Happy Days emasculates the language of financial scams using perky piano and terse drum fills to create a toytown march. Visual artist Jonathan Zawada has made an accompanying feature film to be screened pre-release in cinemas. Rebecca Vasment | @elliekoepke_photography Glasgow jazz maven Rebecca Vasmant is equally adept at creating an immersive soundtrack, though she tends to find her featherlight spiritual jazz style and stick with it across her second home-recorded album Who We Are, Becoming. Home-recorded doesn't mean lo-fi. This is a sumptuous, silky suite with breathy vocal incantations, percussive shimmers and brooding brass from a who's who of the grassroots jazz scene, including singers Emilie Boyd, kitti, Terra Kin, Paix and Gaia Jeannot, drummer Graham Costello, saxophonist Harry Weir and new collaborators including flautist GOkU and harpist Amanda Whiting, all in raptures at this fluttering mood music for a sunny spring day. This time it's extra personal for Vasmant, who adds her own spoken word to Mother Earth and Poem for My Grandparents, both Holocaust survivors who have inspired her own prayer of gratitude and defiance. Vasmant is determined to inspire in turn, deploying joyful piano, iridescent harp and dubby brass to contend that Goodness Does Shine Through. CLASSICAL Viadana: 1612 Italian Vespers (CORO) ★★★★ Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad In 1612, Venice was rocked by the death of Giovanni Gabrieli, doyen of the city's signature luxuriant polychoral style. In the same year, one Lodovico Grossi da Viadana issued his own collection of music for the evening service of Vespers. These two composers play a central role in I Fagiolini's liturgical re-creation in which, besides Viadana's sequential psalm settings and Gabrieli's centrefold Magnificat, motets by Palestrina, Barbarino and Monteverdi and plainsong Antiphons contextualise the moment in time. Viadana's own music exudes a fascinating individuality, its rich diversity emphasised through director Robert Hollingworth's freely prescriptive use of his choral and instrumental forces. Where mezzo-soprano Clare Wilkinson offers a sublime solo presence in O dulcissima Maria, fuller voices animate the contrapuntal vocal theatre of Laetatus sum. I Fagiolini's intimate precision is offset by the fullness of Cambridge's De Profundis plainchant choir. Gabrieli's extravagant In ecclesiis provides a thrilling conclusion. Ken Walton JAZZ Jacqui Dankworth: Windmills (Perdido) ★★★★★
Yahoo
22-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Pete Doherty gives shock health update: ‘Body parts were going to have to come off'
Pete Doherty has said doctors warned he would have to have his toes amputated if he didn't make lifestyle changes following his Type 2 diabetes diagnosis. The Libertines frontman 46, has been open about his health struggles in recent years, claiming in 2023 that he feels 'death is lurking' after years of drug and alcohol abuse took its toll on his body. Those with diabetes run the risk of foot-related complications as high blood sugar levels can damage blood vessels, affecting the blood flow to feet and legs. Speaking to Fearne Cotton on her Happy Place podcast, Doherty revealed he had to change his diet and stop drinking to avoid losing his toes. Foot infections and unhealed ulcers are the primary cause of diabetes-related amputations, with the latter preceding more than 80 per cent of amputations. 'They were going to have to come off,' Doherty said. 'They're kind of on the mend now…I'm letting myself have a drink once in a while, like, every 10 days. 'But something has sort of shifted in me,' he added. 'There's not that need [to drink].' Doherty said his close bond with his wife Katia de Vidas and their young daughter Billie-May has helped him develop healthier drinking habits. 'It's just evolved, our relationship,' he said. 'The closer we've got, and the more time we've spent together, the less I've needed to do it. 'It turned out she preferred me not on drugs,' Doherty continued. 'I preferred it when she liked me, and we built a life.' The Libertines frontman said he also felt greater pressure to write his first solo album in nine years, Felt Better Alive, because he thought he didn't have much time left. 'I'd think, 'I'm dying. I've got to write a brilliant song right now'...that would happen a lot,' he said. 'I'm not that arsed really about writing. I love playing music but that need to write and create, it was fuelled by anxiety and darkness,' the musician admitted. Speaking to Louis Theroux in November 2023, Doherty said of his lifestyle: 'I've battered it, haven't I? I've f***ing caned it. [The] heroin and the crack… I surrendered to that, and then it was cocaine and the smoking and the alcohol, and now it's cheese and the saucisson, and the sugar in the tea. "It's all gotta go. They told me a little while ago if you don't change your diet then you're gonna have diabetes and cholesterol problems. Death's lurking, you know what I mean? That's why I carry that stick."
