Tag: the libertines

I was so defeated by the demise of the Libertines in 2004 that I was a sombre self-medicated mess. We had been due to play the Isle of Wight festival that year, under [David Bowie], and of course, owing to what seemed to be the final implosion of the band, we had been forced to pull out. I went along for the ride, and to see what I could’ve won, with my dear friend Tim Burgess of the Charlatans, and as they played a storming set, I sat at the side of the stage and wept. A big fat tear rolled down my cheek, and I felt a hand on my shoulder. I turned around to see a very innocuous-looking fellow in a brown baseball cap, and within moments I realised I was looking into the eyes of David Bowie himself. “You alright?” he asked. “Yeah,” I replied. “Cheers.” And we watched the Charlatans for a bit, and then he disappeared. But I was sure the look he’d given me was a knowing one – my Uncle Dave. I didn’t need for him to come and see my squat, or to be my friend, any more than he would’ve wanted to. But then he didn’t need to either – our relationship was as strong as it ever had been, in my mind.