Carl Barat, Jon McClure, Babyshambles to take Instigate Debate to Oxford Union

The View also set to take part in separate Instigate Debate Edinburgh event

Carl Barat is to take part in a panel discussion at The Oxford Union as part of the Instigate Debate campaign.

The Libertines member will form part of a panel at the April 27 event alongside Reverend And The Makers’ Jon McClure, BabyshamblesDrew McConnell and musician Kieran Leonard, as well as Instigate Debate founder Mark Donne.

The motion debated is titled ‘Is the Party Over’, and the musicians are also expected to stage some sort of performance at one point in the evening.

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Speaking to NME.COM about the prospect of speaking at The Union, McConnell joked that he feels “like Guy Fawkes handing Thomas Knyvet the lit end of the fuse”.

He added: “We’ll be swanning around with dog-eared copies of Ulysses hanging out our pockets, pretending not to notice when The Rev tags Christchurch.”

Speaking more seriously about what he wants the debate to encompass, the bassist said: “At Instigate we all make it really clear that you don’t have to agree with us at all. You can disagree with our opinion. But have an opinion. It is empowering and it matters. If everyone used it, the world would be very different.”

Meanwhile, on April 30 a second Instigate Debate event will take place in Edinburgh‘s Teviot Row House Debating Hall featuring music from The View. Panellists for that event include McClure, Iain Gray MSP (Leader of the Scottish Labour Party), Gail Porter and Nicola Sturgeon MSP (Deputy Leader of the Scottish Parliament and SNP).

Instigate Debate is also set to take over London‘s Union Chapel next Monday (April 26), with a discussion featuring Vivienne Westwood, Harriet Harman MP, Jeremy Hunt MP, Peter Tatchell and Simon Hughes MP. Music will come from The Magic Numbers, Rose Elinor Dougall and SHLOMO, plus special guests.

Tickets for that event are on sale now. See Unionchapel.org.uk for venue information.

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To check the availability of Instigate Debate tickets and get all the latest listings, go to NME.COM/TICKETS now, or call 0871 230 1094.

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