Following the last-minute cancellation of live dates last week, the Libertines have issued an official statement explaining that Pete Doherty had suffered a serious anxiety attack before their London show.
The band’s scheduled gig at the Electric Ballroom in London on 10 September was called off two hours after the band were meant to be on stage, with a Manchester gig and an appearance on BBC Radio 1 also scrapped.
In a statement published on Doherty’s website Albion Rooms, the band say that the decision to cancel the shows came from management “who felt it important to ensure Peter’s welfare is a priority in line with any other ongoing treatment”.
Peter suffered a serious anxiety attack during the hours leading up to the scheduled performance at the Electric Ballroom last Thursday. The ideal coping mechanism in this situation is to lock yourself away from the source of the anxiety and in this case he headed to a hotel near Coventry in the early hours of Friday morning, in order that he be close to friends in his support network.
As well as providing more information surrounding the condition and how to seek help, they added: “Obviously the time away from the spotlight enabled the band to meet their existing commitment in Berlin and the Albion sails on course….
“Look out for an announcement very soon regarding the rescheduled dates as the Libertines are keen to make it up to anyone who felt disappointed.”
The indie group had been playing a series of small-scale club gigs in support of their current album, Anthems for Doomed Youth – their first for 11 years. They had already played in Glasgow, Nottingham and Bristol, with London and Manchester due to be the final shows of the tour.
