Yesterday (August 17), legendary indie-rockers The Libertines briefly took over Margate’s The Oval Bandstand. With all the band’s original line-up still intact – despite having splintered off to do their own solo ventures over the years – the quartet celebrate 20 years of their iconic debut, ‘Up The Bracket’, this October. You can’t argue with NME’s assessment that it “fuses wide-eyed, Albion-dreaming escapism with back-alley London scuffles and a rowdy us-against-the-world gang mentality”. If you didn’t get to make it down to the glorious small gig, which saw the band achieve something similar in their adopted hometown of Margate, here are some pics to revel in.
Down in the Albion Rooms
How fitting is it for The Libertines to crash at their own hotel?
Going for green
We think our beloved Gary Powell missed the button-up and tailored pants memo…
Up close and personal
Packing out the quaint Oval Bandstand, you can see the team still have it.
Grabbing that shot
One thing about fan-girling – proved by the beautiful lady in the navy dress – is that it never dies down… ever.
Shredding it!
Yep – that’s confirmed by those big smiles in the front row.
What a bracer!
The Doherty-Barât double act is a mesmerising one even after all these years.
“Don’t look up at the sun…”
…because it’s nothing but clouds up there.
Suave and sophisticated
The Men in Black have nothing on John Hassall.
20 years and they’ve never been closer
They’re still doing that cool ‘share a mic’ thing… so social distancing has definitely been abandoned.
Seaside superstar
Carl Barât may be a Hampshire boy at heart, but Margate gets some love too!
Can’t Stand Sea Now
Pete Doherty belts his heart out for the crowd.
The setlist of success
Look at this setlist of utter cult bangers. Stick it in the Louvre.