Babyshambles live

Sunday 09/10/05 Babyshambles @ Academy, Liverpool

by Louise Bell

JUNKIE PETE IN KATE BURNING SHOCKER!

Junkie rocker Pete Doherty stunned fans in Liverpool on Sunday night by burning a picture of his girlfriend Kate Moss on stage.

The Babyshambles frontman set alight the picture after being thrown it by a member of the audience at the city’s Academy venue.

Doherty, 26, is currently estranged from the supermodel as she undertakes drugs rehabilitation in America after pictures of her taking cocaine at the troubled singer’s recording studios were published in the British press.

A source says, “A fan threw a rolled up picture of Moss onto the stage for Pete. However, when he unrolled the piece of paper – which looked like it had been torn from a glossy magazine – and saw it was his ex-girlfriend, he immediately set fire to it with his lighter.”

The former Libertines star, who has had two top ten hits with his new band, has also put on weight following treatment for his heroin addiction.

When Babyshambles returned to the stage after an half an hour break to play an encore, Fat Pete showed of his new rotund frame by appearing topless.

Sources close to Pete explained the long break before the encore by stating, “Pete’s a lot better than he was before. He’s off the smack - but he’s still on the crack.”

A Gigwise reviewer noted, “The last time Pete played Liverpool, his band had refused to come with him, he turned up over two hours late and was too wasted to string a song together.

“This time he seemed relatively compus mentus, and played to a sold out crowd. The band seemed pretty tight, and you could even say it was a pretty professional show which gave most of the audience what they wanted.

“However, the songs were very disappointing, and Pete seemed more interested in picking up the gifts constantly thrown onto the stage from fans, rather than singing.

“Most of the songs were pretty indiscernible from each other, and even 'Fuck Forever' – which picked up a flagging crowd towards the end of the set seemed just a little too like a Nirvana rip-off.

“Despite laudably managing to get through this British tour without any major mishaps - apart from getting sued by the odd security guard – Doherty’s performance and songs seem to have had the spark and creativity dripped out of them by his lifestyle.”