To add to their existing list of gigs planned for the year, The Libertines have confirmed that they’re also putting in a series of 2014 European tour dates giving their fans the biggest opportunity to see the much loved band since their previous split in 2004. Calling in on just five stops along the way, it’s not exactly a mammoth series, but considering the fact that you’ll have to go back to 2010 for their last set of revival gigs, it’s definitely a step forward for the band and their fans.
Despite the fact that no new material has been produced by the Barât Doherty writing partnership since their second, self-titled LP back in 2004, their legacy has held pretty firmly, along with their appreciation in music press. Having picked up a fair few positive reviews for their 2010 comeback, and with their Glasgow Barrowlands gig selling in just 5 minutes, we’re expecting their European tour (see dates below) to be just as frenetic from start to end.
The Libertines 2014 European tour dates:
- Zenith, Paris, France – 30th September 2014
- Forest/Vorst National, Brussels, Belgium – 1st October 2014
- Amsterdam’s Heineken Music Hall, Amsterdam – 2nd October 2014
- Berlin’s Columbiahalle, Germany – 4th October 2014
- Mitsubishi Electric Halle, Düsseldorf, Germany – 5th October 2014
Speaking as big fans of The Libertines’ music, for anyone that missed the guys the first time around, they’re probably not going to be quite as raucous and equally messed up as they were back in the day in all fairness. And while there’s probably a little that will be lost as a result, the reality is that we’d definitely prefer a fully functioning band to the one that led to gigs being cancelled and Doherty going AWOL towards the end of their initial stint in the early 00s.
As well as their series of European tour dates for 2014, The Libertine’s will also be playing a huge Hyde Park gig on the 5th July, which was announced back in April. The good news for anyone that missed it is that tickets are still available at a price of £55 with a £6.50 booking fee. Why they don’t just say tickets are £61.50 is beyond us, but it makes us hate the organisers a little bit just looking at it, f-ing marketing tonks!
On a brighter note, and to ease your value-for-money meter a little, the Hyde Park gig is an all dayer, featuring the brilliance of The Pogues, Spriritualized and Maximo Park, along with the more median output of The Enemy, Reverend And The Makers and The View. It looks like an impressive day all told, so we’ll be surprised if it doesn’t sell out pretty sharpish, especially with the fact that it constitutes the only remaining UK gig for The Libertines with tickets available.
The European tour also comes on the back of the band’s previous announcement to play a couple of Euro festival dates. They’re already confirmed to play at both Benicassim in Spain on the weekend of the 17th July, and Optimus Alive in Lisbon, Portugal on the weekend of the 10th July.
There’s still no word on any new material, but with the time differential between reunions starting to narrow, surely it can’t be too long before we start to get the murmurings of a third album from them. Tickets for the EU tour go on sale on Friday 20th June 2014.
