Pete Doherty offers to support Oasis just for “travel expenses” and tickets for his in-laws
Pete Doherty has offered to support Oasis for free in a bid to try and secure some tickets for his in-laws.
The Libertines and Babyshambles frontman discussed the upcoming reunion shows of the iconic Britpop band during a new interview with i Paper, and said that he is willing to put their long-running feud to one side if it means he can bag some tickets for family members.
While discussing his upcoming solo album with the outlet, Doherty also shared his experience of the ticketing debacle that came when Liam and Noel Gallagher announced their reunion last summer.
According to the singer-songwriter, his in-laws are fans of the group but, like countless others, found themselves unable to secure tickets due to the extensive demand. Now, in a last-minute plea to get admission for them, Doherty has said he wants to take part in the shows.
“If Noel or Liam are reading this: maybe a 10-minute acoustic slot?” he quipped. “Even before the doors open?”
He continued: “Because I’m famous and in a band, [my family] all presume I can get tickets… I said, to hold [them] at bay: ‘Oh, I might have a support slot at one of the gigs.’ Which, of course, isn’t true. But that’s bought me some time…”
“I’ll only charge travel expenses,” he added, trying to make the offer more tempting for the Gallaghers. “I won’t even take a fee!”
While neither Liam nor Noel Gallagher have yet to publicly address Doherty’s PSA, it doesn’t seem likely that the Libertines’ frontman will be able to secure a slot. Not only have the Britpop band already announced that support will be coming from Cast and The Verve’s Richard Ashcroft, but the plea also comes following a long-running feud between the two bands.
Two decades ago, Liam Gallagher famously slammed Doherty – telling NME in 2005: “What does the word Libertine mean? Freedom! He’s in the corner doing smack with a helmet on his head. There’s nothing free about that. It’s nasty.”
More criticism came in 2017, when Liam accused Doherty of not embodying what he thinks a rockstar should be. “He’s not a rockstar though is he?” he said. “There are a lot of people that think ‘rockstar’ is a dirty word these days. ‘Ooh, I’m not rock n’ roll, I’m a poet’. Fuck off mate, when you joined a band when you were 17/18, you wanted to be like Keith Moon or Keith Richards.”
Two years later, Doherty reignited the grudge by suggesting that he and Liam should settle it in the ring. “I think we should have a sponsored boxing match and the loser gets Drew,” the singer said.
That same year, a clip of Doherty queuing outside HMV in 1997 to buy a copy of Oasis’ ‘Be Here Now’ resurfaced online, and Doherty revealed that he was only there to be photographed and to appear on TV, and actually wasn’t interested in the record at all.
While the feud has made headlines over the past two decades, recent years have seen Doherty change his stance on the band and even say that he now thinks they are “brilliant”.
On top of that, the two also have a lot of overlap in their respective careers. For his upcoming solo album, Doherty has enlisted help from guitarist Mike Moore – who also worked with Liam as part of his solo work.
Elsewhere, Babyshambles bassist Drew McConnell left the band to join Liam’s solo backing band.
Last year, it was also announced that Doherty’s son Astile had formed a tribute act dedicated to the Oasis frontman. Astile is not just the son of the Libertines star, but has a very personal connection to Liam too, as the former Oasis singer is also the father of Astile’s half-sister.
Oasis’ reunion tour dates are set to kick off this summer in the UK and Ireland, before heading overseas later in the year.
For The Libertines, the band shared their latest record: ‘All Quiet on the Eastern Esplanade’ last year. It went on to top the UK charts and came nine years after their last record, ‘Anthems For Doomed Youth’.
Doherty’s new solo album ‘Felt Better Alive’, is set for release in May via the singer’s own Strap Originals label. Speaking to NME about the tracklist last week, he said: “[The songs] all just sit well together. They were all written around the same time; around the time I was working on The Libertines’ new album, but they didn’t seem right for it.
“It’s not that they were rejected by the band, but in order for it to be a Libertines song, it has to be really me and Carl [Barat]. These are songs that are me, really.” Find that full interview with Doherty here.
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Liberty Dunworth
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