Twelve years since their last official release, Babyshambles have made a characteristically sharp return with a brand new single, “Dandy Hooligan,” out now via Strap Originals.
The track is a genre-bending ode to a real-life anti-fascist style icon — Bob Morris — who has long orbited the Babyshambles camp. A brash cocktail of reggae, ska, and classic pop, “Dandy Hooligan” lurches forward with a rolling groove and swagger to spare, with Peter Doherty delivering lines like “He’s rude in temper, rude in style / Him a wicked and a wild” with a wink and a shove.
“It’s a well turned-out, elegantly crafted; reggae-ska-pop song… with a sweet melody to bowl along to with your sharpened walking cane,” Doherty says. “Word from the ‘shambles camp is that it’s a homage to a legendary National Front basher.”
The single marks the band’s first new material in over a decade and was recorded between Normandy and Manchester. Production duties were handled by Mike Moore (Baxter Dury), while Ross Orton (Arctic Monkeys, M.I.A., The Fall) handled mixing duties up in Sheffield. The song arrives alongside a Soho-shot video by longtime collaborator Roger Sargent, featuring the dandy himself, Bob Morris.
Dandy Hooligan Tour Kicks Off in November
To support the new single, Babyshambles are hitting the road across the UK this winter. The Dandy Hooligan Tour brings the band to cities across England, Wales, and Scotland — with several dates already sold out. Tickets are available via TEG Europe.
Tour Dates:
NOVEMBER
13TH THU – Coventry – HMV Empire
14th FRI – Norwich – The Nick Rayns LCR
16th SUN – London – O2 Academy Brixton SOLD OUT
24th MON – Oxford – O2 Academy
25th TUE – Stoke – Keele SU
26th WED – Birmingham – O2 Academy
27th THU – Cardiff – Tramshed
29th SAT – Liverpool – Mountford Hall
30th SUN – Manchester – O2 Victoria Warehouse
DECEMBER
1st MON – Middlesbrough – Empire
2nd TUE – Newcastle – O2 City Hall
4th THU – Glasgow – O2 Academy SOLD OUT
5th FRI – Glasgow – O2 Academy
7th SUN – Leeds – O2 Academy
8th MON – Nottingham – Rock City
9th TUE – Bristol – O2 Academy
15th MON – London – KOKO
Down in Albion Turns 20
Capping off the year, Babyshambles will also reissue their 2005 debut Down in Albion in a newly remastered, expanded 20th anniversary edition. Out December 12 via Rough Trade Records, the special release includes session tracks, rarities, and B-sides — all pressed on limited edition cream-coloured double vinyl.
A very limited number of blue vinyl copies will be personalised by Peter Doherty himself, recreating his original hand-drawn artwork from the first pressing. Pre-orders for these collector’s editions are open now at Babyshambles’ shop and Rough Trade.
With “Dandy Hooligan” in the air and Down in Albion ready for a re-spin, the Babyshambles comeback is not only stylish — it’s timely.
Stream/purchase Dandy Hooligan HERE
