It was a time for heroes in Southampton when rock and roll icons The Libertines played one of their most intimate gigs for decades.
The four-piece returned to the city for the first time in 21 years to promote their new album All Quiet On The Eastern Esplanade.
But some things don’t change, and this gig held at the 800 capacity Engine Rooms was promoted by The Joiners, the Southampton new music venue who first hosted The Libertines in 2002 on the eve of their breakthrough as one of the country’s most renowned and sometimes turbulent acts.
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And while this was an unusually small venue for Pete Doherty and Carl Barat, bassist John Hassall and drummer Gary Powell, the show confirmed their status as one of the biggest acts around and their place as storytellers and entertainers in the rich tapestry of English life.
The set list included new singles Run, Run, Run and Shiver, plus all-time favourites Can’t Stand Me Now, What Became of the Likely Lads and electrifying versions of Time for Heroes and Don’t Look Back into The Sun, before the chaos of What a Waster wrapped things up.
It was also a memorable night for main support act and local rockers The Dead Freights who were warmly introduced on stage by Pete Doherty before thrilling a large early crowd with a shock and awe performance.
Drummer Louis Duarte told The Echo: “We have toured with The Libertines all over the country and in Europe, but it meant a lot to play a gig with them here in Southampton. We also wanted to show our home crowd what we could do.”
Fellow city musician Calum Lintott also shared a stage with the headliners when, along with singer Tom Bright, he opened their afternoon acoustic session held at the same venue by Vinilo Records.
The gig was local for drummer Gary Powell, whose wife is from Southampton, and Carl Barat who is Hampshire born and grew up in Whitchurch and attended what is now Andover College.
Despite getting together in the late Nineties, All Quiet on the Eastern Esplanade will only be The Libertines fourth album when it is released next month.
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