WHEN Babyshambles last played this neck of the woods in April lead singer Peter Doherty was a member of The Libertines who, after just one album, were touted as the finest British band of their generation.

Since then Doherty's addiction to crack has seen him ejected from the group and become a tabloid regular with self-pitying tales of drug abuse - all before the band's second album last month went straight to number one.

The events of the last six months have only served to push the 25-year-old's fame to mythic proportions and the public's thirst for "all things Peter" was no more evident than at last Tuesday's gig, a world away from the brief and chaotic April show at Telford pub The Wrekin View.

The weight of expectation was massive - the crowd was older and the numbers were bigger, the security was tight and the stage crowded by technical boffins eager to get the sound just right. It could have been a disaster but for the first time Babyshambles stopped being a freak show for fans to see their fallen idol and became a band with a clear identity of its own.

They may have only released one single but the hour-long set of songs shone through with a drive which undoubtedly matched the thrill of hearing new Libertines material - even though versions of The Libertines' What Katie Did and The Man Who Would Be King showed Doherty wasn't yet ready to sever all links with the past. OE