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An awesome and ridiculous film that leaves you thrilled beyond the point of your natural endurance
2012
Theatre
The show has suddenly become quite wonderful, and the galvanising factor is the terrific stage debut of Melanie C
Blood Brothers
Music
The British pop music industry may be eating itself but if Muse are the pick of what it can offer the world in 2010 then British music is in rude health indeed
Muse
I was smitten by both Gilberts enormous luxuriant moustache and the intelligence and nuance of this highly entertaining play
I totally recommend Babbo to anyone who is looking for really good and traditional Italian food
Always been a fan but never seen them live. I was ecstatic to be part of this epic event. WOW!
London,
Evening Standard rating
Reader rating
Phone: 020 7589 8212
Trains: Tube: High Street Kensington 
, Tube / Bus: 9, 10, 52, 360 
Salutary show: Pete Doherty on his best behaviour at the Royal Albert Hall.
This year, the Albert Hall expressed plans to appeal to a younger, more boisterous crowd. After Pete Doherty's performance on Saturday night, though, it'll be longing for the hushed reverence of the Proms again.
For once, Doherty wasn't to blame for the commotion. Appearing on stage in a sharp suit, trademark trilby nowhere in sight, he hadn't looked this smart since his last court appearance. Doherty was lucid between songs, smiled throughout and sipped from the least rock'n'roll of drinking vessels: the tea cup.
At times, he sounded good, too. Time For Heroes and Can't Stand Me Now, both taken from Doherty's days in the jangly indie group The Libertines, worked well as stripped-down acoustic ballads. Newer songs such as There She Goes, from his current band The Babyshambles, pushed his voice into new territories, with soaring high notes that he hit and held convincingly.
Whether Doherty has the wealth of great material needed to pull off this kind of solo slot is debatable. To my ears at least, he has written a handful of catchy, vaguely poetic pop tunes, which fare much better in a band set-up. He does score highly, however, for braving the stage alone. A couple of years ago, Doherty's gig-dodging activities were such that fans would turn up to his show in hope rather than expectation. Here he was, sober, on time and, occasionally, on form.
Doherty dedicated What A Waster to the father who told him to give up music and find a real job. While it lacked the visceral punch of The Libertines version, the song could boast the first instance of the lyric "two bob c*nt" at the Albert Hall, which must surely make his father proud.
A 20-minute interval heralded a mass exodus to the venue's bars. Indeed, many of the crowd hadn't returned by the time Doherty appeared again for a gorgeous version of For Lovers, in which he was joined by his poet friend Wolfman.
One suspected that Wolfman was a better poet than singer but the rousing rendition left no doubt as to why it won Doherty a nomination for an Ivor Novello Award for songwriting.
Exiting to Down In Albion and returning for I Wish, Doherty was mobbed by a sea of fans. For some, this will symbolise the ultimate punk ending; for others, it will be seen as the final nail in the Pete Doherty coffin.
It seemed a crying shame that Doherty would be making the headlines again after the weekend for something other than his music.
Details are correct at the time of publication - please check with venue before booking.
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I wonder if Helen has ever actually listened to Doherty's music? The concert was absolutely brilliant, from a fan's point of view who was actually there, and didn't arrive with an unfounded prejudice against one of the most talented songwriters and performers of our generation (I think the Evening Standard's 3 star review says it all really: if Doherty hadn't had a history of abuse critics would be hailing the concert as one of the best of the year so far; when it fact the review had probably already been written before Doherty had even sung his first note). A shame really, that an inspiration to so many people, who could inspire so many more, doesn't get the recognition he deserves as a songwriter due to the media's inability to keep an open mind.
Highlights for me were Death On The Stairs andAlbion, and the anarchic stage invasion, at least in my opinion, never seemed as if it would rise above anything other than a bit of fun; in fact it was the perfect spectacle to cap a wonderful performance.
5 stars. No, really.
- Chris, London
Pete was magic.
I was in awe.
It reassured me that the long wait for his return from the scrubs was worth it.
He is the most talented, true music writer around.
- Rosy De Wolf, UK
I was present at the Peter Doherty concert, R.A.H london,
with my husband, we are both in our 40's and have seen Peter, on 3 other occasions, and met him twice, where we found him to be a polite and charming person. I was so looking forward to seeing him in London,
I was a bit apprehensive, quite rightly about the atmosphere, some of his fans, ought to know better, it could have been a fabulous occasion, but booze and thuggish behaviour ruined it, luckily we left before the encore, but driving along past the Royal Albert Hall 15 mins later, we saw all the police presence,
Peter writes some clever, and lovely songs, he is a unique talent.
- Barbara Fearn, Shefffield, England
As far as that goes, not only is Pete talented in music but he is a very smart person who brings songs to life with his clever and deep lyrics, I really think you should listen to some of his words. Maybe your can learn something from them.
-"cheers"
- Ros, us
An overrated, self-aggrandising, sack of horse-poo. Stop giving this pathetic excuse for a person an unlimited platform from which to parade his non-entity.
- Helen, London, UK
