Peter Doherty 'Anywhere in Albion' Tour

Peter Doherty

It has been nine years since indie icon Peter Doherty released his last solo album 'Hamburg Demonstrations', and whilst there has been several released from Doherty's bands like 'The Libertines' and 'Peter Doherty & The Puta Madres' in this time, it is often Doherty's solo albums where he can really go on journeys of experimental excellence following his own creative path. This is why so many music lovers rejoiced so greatly in January when Doherty announced he would be releasing a brand new solo LP on May 16th 2025 called 'Felt Better Alive'. As a pre-release treat Peter also announced the 'Anywhere in Albion' tour, which is seeing him travel around the UK playing a host of shows in intimate grassroot venues. These shows are providing supporters of Peter Doherty's music a rare chance to be up close and personal with the star whilst he showcases the new music alongside acoustic re-imaginings of favourite tracks from throughout his career.

If going above and beyond to play these grassroots venue doesn't show Doherty's commitment to the UK grassroots scene, then his choice of support acts for the tour certainly does. Throughout the tour Peter is being joined by several incredible upcoming artists, many of whom are signed to, or involved with, Peter Doherty's own record label Strap Originals. Monday night saw the Anywhere but Albion tour roll into Bedford's Esquires, on a night where the privilege of opening would be given to the sensational Charles Bueller and incredible alt-folk artist Junior Brother. Both acts did stellar jobs at getting the crowd well and truly warmed up, whilst definitely earning themselves new fans in the process. What made these supports even more special (and acts as further testament to Doherty's commitment to upcoming artists), was the personalised introductions Peter Doherty gave them, coming to the stage before both support acts to tell the audience just how great they were.

After two incredible openers we then arrived at the time for our headliner Peter Doherty to take to the stage. In a bigger venue or on a full band tour there may have been some grand introduction, dramatic music building tension, but not tonight. This incredibly intimate opportunity to see one of the country's greatest musical mind started with Doherty walking on stage and recalling a story about meeting a woman at a bus-stop who demanded he played 'Kilimanjaro' tonight, with peter happily obliging, opening his set with the Babyshambles hit. It only one word being sung for Esquires to find their voice, with a rapturous sing along starting, bringing energy levels that would only increase as the night went on. Despite telling the audience he is struggling with losing his voice, Peter Doherty sounded vocally near-perfect to the record, with a raw acoustic styling being the perfect accompaniment for such a night. This was followed by the night's second Babyshambles song, 'The Man Who Came to Stay', which gave an early tease of what this night would be. A spellbinding journey through Doherty's exceptional back catalogue, but within this a preview of what the future has in store.

It didn't take long for this future preview to come around, as Doherty transitioned from the Babyshambles opening-duo to a duo of his own solo work. Being joined on stage by guitarist and tour manager Andy Newlove, Peter Doherty would introduce his new album, before transitioning into a truly magnificent rendition of the albums' lead single and title track 'Felt Better Alive'. Newlove, who would join Peter on stage for a variety of songs throughout the night, offered skilled guitar work and presence on stage, making what was already a special evening even better.

The album's first single was swiftly followed by it's second, 'Calvados'. Tech issues hampered a first attempt at playing the song, but like a true professional a quick guitar change allowed the song to be restarted and the audience to enjoy what will undoubtedly be one of the LP's best songs.

By this point we had enjoyed offerings from Peter's time in Babyshambles, his solo work, so it was only right we then had a trio completed through the songs that Doherty as perhaps become best known for, The Libertines. A riotous sing along accompanied the first Libertines track plated 'What Katie Did', in what must have been one of the loudest crowd experiences Esquires had experienced for some time. The singalongs would not stop there however as 'What a Waster' and 'Shiver' followed, giving the capacity audience a chance to really strain their vocal chords to the fullest. To their credit the audience were on top form all night, most notably on show during a playthrough of another Babyshambles' classic 'Albion'. There are multiple sections in the song were Peter begins listing different places "we could go to", and every time this section happened the crowd would chant Bedford louder and louder. Like the true showman he is Doherty waited until the very last name said to mentioned Bedford, at which point the Esquires crowd humorously erupted in what genuinely may have been the night's loudest reception.

The setlist on the night was relentless, with 22 songs being played in full through an hour 20 minutes set time. I was worried when seeing this in advance of the show that it would mean certain songs would be almost brushed over, but this was impressively never the case. Later Libertines tracks like 'Run Run Run' and 'Music When the Lights Go Out' were blended perfectly amongst Babyshambles favourites like 'Fuck Forever' and infectious upcoming tracks like 'Fingee'. The later of which received one the most positive receptions from the crowd on the night, proving that the new record 'Felt Better Alive' may just feature some of Peter Doherty's best work to date. In fact not only was the setlist perfectly crafted, but there were even opportunities for ad lib performances, notable an impressive performance of 'Sheepskin Tearaway' at the request of one rather vocal crowd member.

Whilst much of the set featured either Doherty stood alone with an acoustic guitar, or stood side by side with Andy Newlove who was also playing stripped back, nothing ever felt like it was missing. Many of these songs which we have heard thousands of times before, but yet though skilled acoustic playing and well-controlled showmanship this felt like they were always meant to be played in this way. The occasional harmonica playing would add another fun dynamic to certain songs, with the most well-received being one of The Libertines' biggest tracks, 'Can't Stand Me Now'. The song is originally a duet between Doherty and Libertines co-vocalist Carl Barât, but obviously Doherty playing solo could not fully duet with himself. To counter this he would sing some of Carl's parts, before impressively switching to the harmonica to play alongside other sections as the crowd became his duet partner.

By the time set closing songs 'Don't Look Back Into the Sun' and 'Time For Heroes' finished rining out, it was clear one of the most special nights in Esquires history had just ended. Peter Doherty is truly a legend of 21st century British music, and the hero like reception he received throughout the night is all the proof you need of this. But he is also someone who has music running through their veins, and is extremely passionate about ensuring the continuation of great grassroots music, and that for me was one of two big takeaways I took from a night that will live long in memory. The other takeaway is that for all his support of others new music, Doherty's own new music may be some of his best yet, and 'Felt Better Alive' is showing early signs of being an album of the year contender.