The Libertines reunite for Glasgow Barrowland show

The band played a whopping 25-song set

The Libertines played their first gig together in four years on Saturday night (June 28), taking to the stage at Glasgow Barrowland to play a 25-song set ahead of next weekend’s 60,000 sell-out gig at London’s Hyde Park – watch footage below.

Pete Doherty, Carl Barat, John Hassall and Gary Powell walked onstage together at 9.30pm, as the venue PA played ‘I Belong To Glasgow’ by 1930s Scottish comedian and singer Will Fyffe. They then kicked into traditional set-opener ‘Horrorshow’, the track being received ecstatically by the crowd, many of whom threw drinks and clothes in the air and filmed the moment on phones.

The Best Photos From The Libertines’ Epic Comeback Gig

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After airing early B-side ‘The Delaney’, Barat – who was wearing a red guards jacket – led the band into ‘Vertigo’, which saw him and Doherty share the same microphone for the first time. Again, this elicited huge cheers from the audience.

Stage chat was minimal at the start of the set, with the first real acknowledgement coming from Doherty after the band finished ‘Death On The Stairs’. “Well we’re a band from England, we’re called The Libertines,” he told the audience. “We played up here years ago – I don’t think any of you were born to be honest.”

After playing ‘Campaign Of Hate’, Doherty threw his guitar to a roadie at the side of the stage, mimicking the same trick Joe Strummer often did at Clash gigs, before running off and returning a few seconds later. He and Barat then shared a cigarette onstage before Doherty was handed another instrument and the band resumed their set with ‘Begging’.

Elsewhere, they had to restart ‘Time For Heroes’ – which Doherty had dedicated to the Guildford Four’s Gerry Conlon, who died this week – after Powell missed the start of the track. “It’s not working, it’s not working. We fucked it up,” Doherty said to the audience, tongue-in-cheek. The second version of the song was finished without incident.

‘Music When The Lights Go Out’ began with Doherty, Barat and Hassall all sharing vocals akin to the early, pre-Rough Trade version of the song rather than the one from their second, eponymous album. They later aired another track from that early period, ‘Love On The Dole’ – the first time the song has been played by this incarnation of the band.

The band took onstage breaks throughout the show, and at several points they were served cocktails by a friend, who was also dressed in a red guards jacket, from the side of the stage.

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A more tense moment came when Doherty led the crowd into chanting the opening of ‘I Wish’ by his other band, Babyshambles. After considering whether to play that song, the four-piece instead went into the Libertines track ‘Radio America’. However, the song was given an extended intro when Doherty spotted an iPhone which had been thrown onto the stage. After taking a selfie with Barat on the device, he tried to find the owner – but failed due to the loudness of the audiences screams.

The end of the track saw Doherty hug and kiss bassist Hassall, before the band played one of the punkiest songs of the night, ‘Up The Bracket’.

Following a short break, where they went offstage after ‘The Good Old Days’, they returned to play ‘What Katie Did’, ‘France’ and a frenetic version of ‘I Get Along’. The end of that track saw Doherty imitate shooting Barat with his guitar, who took the gesture good-naturedly. The band then played their final two songs of the night, ‘Can’t Stand Me Now’ and ‘Tell The King’.

After finishing the latter, all four members came together for the last time of the evening to salute the crowd, with Doherty taking the microphone and saying they’ll be back for their next gig at Barrowland tomorrow evening. “Same time tomorrow, yeah?” he said, adding: “And if you’ve got a Libertines tattoo you can watch the soundcheck for free.”

The band then hugged before leaving the stage.

Speaking to NME after the gig, fan Stacey Briggs from Paisley said: “It was the best gig of my life. I never saw them before because I was too young so to see them in such a small venue is incredible!”

The Libertines are due to play a second show at Barrowland tomorrow night (June 29), before playing Hyde Park on July 5.

The Libertines played:

‘Horrorshow’
‘The Delaney’
‘Vertigo’
‘What Became Of The Likely Lads’
‘The Saga’
‘Last Post On The Bugle’
‘The Ha Ha Wall’
‘Don’t Look Back Into The Sun’
‘The Boy Looked At Johnny’
‘Death On The Stairs’
‘Boys In The Band’
‘Campaign Of Hate’
‘Begging’
‘Time For Heroes’
‘Love On The Dole’
‘Music When The Lights Go Out’
‘What A Waster’
‘Radio America’
‘Up The Bracket’
‘The Good Old Days’
‘What Katie Did’
‘France’
‘I Get Along’
‘Can’t Stand Me Now’
‘Tell The King’

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