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The Libertines will 'probably be playing new songs for a new record' at next UK gig

Pete Doherty hinted at a forthcoming album at Alexandra Palace last night

Jess Denham
Monday 29 September 2014 17:04 BST
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Pete Doherty sparked excitement among Libertines fans last night after announcing near the end of their Alexandra Palace gig that a new album is coming soon.

The frontman, 35, was playing the last of three sold-out shows at the London venue on Sunday before taking his band to Europe.

But before leaving England, Doherty hinted that the next time they perform here, the group will “probably be playing new songs for a new record”.

The Libertines did not showcase any new tracks over the weekend, choosing instead to stick with classics such as “Can’t Stand Me Now”, “Death On The Stairs” and “I Get Along”.

Doherty did not offer much in the way of on-stage banter, but thanked the crowd for their support and joked: “Don’t forget all the various solo projects are still continuing. There’s copies of my book in the shop on the right.”

The singer is enjoying playing with The Libertines again, admitting that he no longer feels like a “f***ing monster”.

Doherty was asked to leave the band in 2004 after quitting rehab for crack and heroin abuse after just three days. They reunited briefly to play Reading and Leeds Festivals in 2010 and have performed a string of gigs so far this year.

“The last time we played together, Benicassim in Spain, I had the impression something had been put back into place in my life,” Doherty told the Daily Star before the Alexandra Palace gigs.

“I’ve always had a lot of problems before going on stage. Not nerves, I don’t know what it is exactly, a kind of hallucinatory terror, that did not happen at Benicassim.

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“There everything was fine. It had nothing to do with drugs, the crowd, or journalists, nothing to do with heroin, Kate Moss, Lily Allen, or anyone else, but everything was good, and at the next Babyshambles concert it was the same.”

The Libertines are now keen to continue their one-time mission to be a “huge group” and “reach as many hearts and souls as possible”.

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