It's nearing 30 degree heat, suncream is being layered on and shade is being rationed. A man in the packed Glastonbury crowd turns around, squinting against the sun’s rays. His mate grins and throws out the perfect line: “Don’t look back into the sun!”
It lands just right: The Libertines are about to hit the stage.
Back on Worthy Farm, fresh off the success of their long-overdue first UK Number 1 album All Quiet on the Eastern Esplanade, the boys in the band are here for their fourth Glastonbury outing. They’ve graced the festival's stages before, in 2004, 2015, and 2022, and while the years have passed, their chaotic charm hasn’t dulled one bit.
The set is classic Libertines: rough around the edges, scrappy, and all the better for it. They power through crowd favourites such as What Became of the LIkely Lads, Run Run Run, and What Katie Did. Is it polished? Not at all. Is it unforgettable? Without question.
Having endured their fair-share of news headlines, Pete Doherty and Carl Barât, the iconic frontmen, remain the heart of the show, swaggering and stumbling their way through the chaos like only they can. But it’s drummer Gary Powell who anchors it all, his relentless rhythms the heartbeat that holds the whole show together. While the others spiral in the beautifully messy way they always have, Powell makes sure it all doesn’t fall apart completely.
Despite the slightly slowed tempo from what you’d hear on their records, the band somehow feel just as alive. They sing, “I’ll confess all my sins after several large gins,” and it feels less like a performance and more like a drunken heart-to-heart with old friends.
Dressed in sharp monochrome, they still look the part. Between tracks and constant puffs on cigarettes, Doherty jokes about Rod Stewart being on next, even breaking into a wobbly rendition of Da Ya Think I'm Sexy?, hips shaking, doing his best Rod impression.
It’s clear the British public's appetite for The Libertines isn’t fading. Not even close. As they sing “If you've lost your faith in love and music, the end won’t be long,” it’s obvious: the faith is still very much alive, for both the band, and for the sea of believers gathered before them.
