After writing 8,798,457 words about them to date (probably), last night I finally got to experience the Babyshambles phenomenon first hand. And I really feel that I got the true experience too. I mean, Pete didn't show up, and you don't get much 'truer Babyshambles' than that.
Bass player Drew McConnell and drummer Adam Ficek did make it to the NME Awards 2008 launch party, however, and despite seeming confusion over and genuine embarrassment for Doherty's no show (they're a bit out of practice on the no shows, Pete being slightly more reliable of late), McConnell offered to the audience "we could have a go at doing some songs ourselves if you want" and so he did, and, you know, I thought the duo put on a pretty good show, offering a fine conclusion to an otherwise lacklustre launch bash.
And no more so than when McConnell asked if anyone in the audience knew lead guitar on any Shambles tunes. Step forward one Jamie Dell from Newcastle who put in a rather fine performance of 'Carry On Up The Morning' from the band's most recent album. And good on him. He was ushered off stage after his impromptu four minutes of fame, hopefully thanked by the Shambles crew in the usual way - a shot in the arm... no, a pat on the back, that's it.
Josh Hubbard of The Paddingtons also joined McConnell on stage for the makeshift show which actually went down quite well, despite the AWOL frontman (apparently he was ill).
The whole shebang in the IndigO2 bit of the The O2 in East London was designed to officially launch the NME's rather extensive awards activity for 2008, which includes tours, shows, parties and all sorts of other stuff, plus the small matter of persuading the NME readership to vote. Voting has now begun on NME.com, and four new categories have been confirmed - Best Band Blog, Best Music Blog, Best Album Artwork and Best Dancefloor Filler. Shortlists will be announced on 28 Jan with the actual awards taking place back at IndigO2 on 28 Feb.