Babyshambles banned

Wednesday, 20 August 2008

Pete Doherty's band Babyshambles have been banned from performing at a music festival.

The rock group were due to perform at the Moonlight festival in Wiltshire, Britain, later this month but police decided their appearance could cause rioting among fans.

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Divisional commander of Wiltshire Police Chief Superintendent Julian Kirby said: "We carried out an analysis of what Pete Doherty and his band does.

"What he does as part of his routine is to excite the crowd. They speed up and then slow down the music and create a whirlpool effect in the crowd.

"The crowd all get worked up and then they start fighting."

Babyshambles' drummer Adam Ficek branded the decision a "farce" and said the band were trying to organise an alternative event to avoid letting their fans down.

He said: "The whole thing is a farce, it's almost comical.

"The organiser of the festival is now on the verge of bankruptcy. Why? Because we intentionally speed up and slow down the tempo of our songs. We're now in the process of trying to make it happen in a different venue. Watch this space."

North Wiltshire Magistrates ordered the band's appearance be cancelled after seeing the findings of the police.

Although only 150 of the festival's 5,000 tickets have been sold, police argued the 10 stewards in place to oversee the event would not be able to cope if a large-scale fight broke out.

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