2004 was a turbulent year for The Libertines. They released their second and last album - a confrontational and tragic tale of the relationship between front man Carl Barat and guitarist Pete Doherty - and later that year The Libertines were no more. Pete's drug addiction had left him frozen out of the band and in December Barat broke up what was left of the band stating that there wasn't much point in continuing without Doherty.
Ten years on and the London quartet play their biggest show in the heart of the capital. As a build-up they played two nights at The Barrowlands - one of Glasgow's greatest venues - where reviews were generally positive. However, there's a difference between playing an intimate gig to performing in front of 65,000 people in one of the most famous parks in the world - so would they pull it off?
But there was one question that was more important - would Pete turn up/perform well/be taking heroin?
Well he did turn up, God knows if he took heroin prior to the show, but if he did, he definitely masked it better than he usually would. As an individual, Pete performed well. However, if we compare him to 2003 Pete he was fairly average, but can you ask for much from a smack addict? I was satisfied with his energy and interaction even if his vocals were a little below par. So yes, I believe he performed well. In some ways I think his fans mean more to him than Pete is to his fans. He seemed desperate to get back out to do an encore after the encore and despite looking worse for wear, looked almost rejuvenated.
As for the rest of the band, they have all matured. John Hassall gets his job done quietly and tries to settle the crowd with drummer Gary Powell to get things a little stable again. Yet, you can see throughout the performance that Hassall does not care for over-the-top pushing and tensions seem to be high due to that. Who could blame him?
Gary Powell is a little less reserved. In times where the crowd are out of control he screams down the microphone pleading to fans to move back and when he's not being a huge personality he's battering away at his drums - showing that he hasn't lost it despite only playing four shows in ten years. Powell is a rare type of drummer. The fans absolutely love him as an individual and if it wasn't for the spotlight constantly being focused on Barat and Doherty, you would assume he would get quite a bit of press. His humour is rare and has always been approachable to fans. It would almost be a waste if The Libertines didn't stick around a bit because he's the unsung hero of the band.
Front man Carl Barat looks as if he has came straight out of 2004. He has hardly aged and he sings just as well as he did in the band's prime, but he isn't as wild as he once was. He has since - as mentioned above - matured and quietly performs. There's not a lot of stage banter until nearer the end from Barat, but that may be thanks to the negativity radiating from the audience. He seems stressed at the start, but seems to ignore it as the set goes on.
As the band come on at 9.30, there is pandemonium in the air. For locals, they already know (as of half past eight) that The Libertines will play two dates at Alexandra Palace in September, but the focus returns to tonight. A ten minute montage of the band, featuring snippets of their songs, plays before they walk on stage. The crowd are jumping around already and a note hasn't been played. They start off with Vertigo their opener to their debut album "Up the Bracket" and is quickly followed up by fans favourite Boys In the Band. But there is already trouble brewing.
Due to excitement/obsession/drunk fans/dickheads in general a number of fans are on the floor already because of excessive pushing. Barat and Hassall are asking the crowd to calm it down a bit, but their plead falls on deaf ears. Unfortunately, the band are powerless in controlling the crowd this evening. Boys in the Band is interrupted twice with the second plea coming from Pete Doherty. If a man who has been carefree on heroin tells you to calm down, he's probably got a point.
B Side The Delaney comes next and crowd surges soon cause a third interruption. During Time For Heroes they have to stop once again, bringing a little irony to their lyric "Did you see the stylish kids in the riot?" as a bunch of "LADs" crushed those in front of them into the barrier. Begging seems like a cry for help from some members of the audience as the Barat looks disengaged after all the pushing. Music When the Lights Go Out on paper would have been a beautiful moment (everyone I spoke to said that they couldn't wait to hear this) but not even a slow song could tame the fans and one of their best overall songs was wasted.
The Boy Looked at Johnny, Can't Stand Me Now and The Last Post on the Bugle all go down well due to their high energy. However, arguably their biggest hit doesn't stand out much. Can't Stand Me Now - a song which focuses on the friendship of Carl and Pete - doesn't stray from the norm which is a little disappointing. Death on the Stairs is one of the highlights of the night as the crowd turn a little friendlier for this riotous track.
As the night comes near the end, next up is Radio America which yet again, despite its low tempo, includes a lot of pushing. Even though the pushing has become the talking point the song is still well played and well received. Up the Bracket keeps the tempo high after Tell the King as they reach the end of their set. The crowd by this point are exhausted but continue jumping around like mad. They finish on What a Waster to a delighted 60,000 people as it sparks a sing-along, which again caused it to be stopped as some fans climbed the PA tower. Some are relieved that that's that, but the majority want more music.
As they return to the stage for their encore, a projection stating "Please get down from the delay tower" is slapped on the background of the band's set. Doherty encourages them to get down before playing a duet with Barat as the crowd go silent for France. A cover of Babyshambles' Albion then proceeds before more familiar territory is found in I Get Along which ultimately finishes off the 24 song set - if we don't count the 30 second chant of the Hokey Cokey. At the end, Pete and Carl recite "Suicide in the Trenches", a poem by Siegfried Sassoon as everyone watches in awe as they get to see how close these two individuals are. Their friendship is borderline romantic and they are in kissing distance of each other as they talk down the mic. When they finish they embrace in a hug and they leave. Some may call it an underwhelming way to end, but it was pretty unorthodox and special too.
What was not to love though? Oh right, the attitude of a minority of the crowd.
I am all for moshing, pushing, forming human pyramids, even punching people in the face (as long as they are cool with that) at gigs, so what made this different?
Well, many lives were at danger. I managed to stay on my feet quite a lot - my balance has some purpose - and yet I came out of Hyde Park with multiple bruises, a swollen toe, a sore knee and a strain on my achilles. I witnessed a teenage girl of around the same age as me (17/18) being trampled on and a guy having trouble breathing because he sort of had ten people piled on him. Another dislocated his bloody arm. Sure you could say "Fans were going to react like that when a band makes a comeback gig" but that doesn't excuse some fans' actions. On multiple occasions I was too busy trying to survive that I missed the performance. On multiple occasions people were on the ground, yet some knowingly continued to push despite pleas from those around them. I thought the flares were a pretty good touch if I'm honest, but those climbing the delay tower were just idiotic. They didn't know how to work that thing or how much weight it could take. That could have ended up with people dying.
The organisers were awful too. Why have such a huge VIP area at a gig that celebrates being working class? Why was it a fiver for a pint? Why were only 700 people out of 65,000 allowed to see bands like Swim Deep and Blur legend Graham Coxon? The layout was awful, but I have to give G4S a round of applause. They done all they could up the front - including giving out drinks to the dehydrated. Top lads.
As for the band, they hardly put a foot wrong. Sure the glaring omission of What Became of the Likely Lads? and Good Old Days could be criticised, but that was partly down to the stupid half ten curfew.
What can be said? The band were pretty great and it was amazing seeing them live, but a couple of hundred fans ruined this momentous occasion with utter stupidity and a lack of humanity for others. I did not expect to come back from London and think "that was a 3 out of 5 performance". Oh well, they can't always be great I guess.
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If you have your own opinions about Saturday night, feel free to share.
