Sheffield's O2 Academy announces shows by The Libertines, The Lathums and Wolf Alice

The tour includes two gigs at London’s O2 Forum, the scene of the band’s legendary shows in December 2003.

They took place at the end of a tumultuous year for band members Pete Doherty and Carl Barât, with problems partly caused by Doherty’s well-documented drug addiction.

The gigs were staged shortly after he’d served a six-month prison sentence for burgling his bandmate’s flat.

One of their best-known songs, Can’t Stand Me Now, came out of that time.

The Libertines are Peter Doherty and Carl Barât on vocals/guitar, John Hassall on bass guitar and drummer Gary Powell.The band have released three albums – Up The Bracket in 2002, The Libertines two years later and Anthems For Doomed Youth in 2015.Following the release of the last album they toured extensively, playing to more than a million fans worldwide.

Tickets for these up close and personal shows, for what is The Libertines’ first tour in two years, go on sale at 9am on Friday (April 16) and are available from: http://gigst.rs/Libertines

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Their Sheffield O2 Academy appearance is the final date on the tour, taking place on December 16.

The Albion Rooms, the band’s residence, bar and studio, overlooking the sea in Margate, Kent, opened to much fanfare in early 2020. It will reopen on Monday, May 17. Book here: www.thealbionrooms.live

Meanwhile, hotly-tipped band The Lathums play the O2 Academy in Sheffield on October 11. Many of the dates, now rescheduled from a cancelled spring tour, have already sold out and others have been moved to bigger venues.

The Wigan indie four-piece released singles All My Life and I See Your Ghost last year and made their UK album chart debut with the vinyl-only EP compilation, The Memories We Make.

They were also guests on TV show Later… With Jools Holland and made the BBC Radio One Introducing playlist, which highlights exciting new talent.

Their stated influences are wide ranging to say the least – The Housemartins, The Ramones and Patsy Cline.

In addition to their own tour, The Lathums are also looking forward to rescheduled support dates in the UK and Europe with Blossoms and domestic engagements with Paul Weller.

Tickets are on sale at www.gigsandtours.com, www.ticketmaster.co.uk and www.thelathums.com

Looking ahead to 2022, alternative rockers Wolf Alice play the O2 Academy on January 14 as part of a UK and Ireland tour.

The tour will see the band performing songs from their eagerly-anticipated third album Blue Weekend, including evocative new single The Last Man on Earth.

The album is the follow-up to the 2018 Mercury Prize-winning Visions of A life and is set for release on June 11 via Dirty Hit.

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Creating a follow up to Visions of a Life proved a daunting task. The record was a huge success which subsequently led to many months spent on tour.

Their publicity says: “The band decamped to an Airbnb in Somerset, and it was here that they reconfigured who they were together, far away from festival stages, tour buses, awards shows and fans. They cemented their friendship and set to work on some fledgling demos in a converted church.

“These demos evolved into Blue Weekend, a record produced by Markus Dravs (Arcade Fire, Bjork, Brian Eno, Florence and The Machine) who has aided the band in refining their sound to an even sharper point.

“Ellie Rowsell’s personal storytelling is at the core of Blue Weekend, an album that sees Wolf Alice embrace a newfound boldness and vulnerability in equal measure.”

Ellie said: “This album is for other people.” She added that the songs were written with the hope that they “might make people feel listened to if they are going through something”.

They are described as tales of love and break-ups and close bonds and disillusionment.

“I remember feeling blue about something, and thinking ‘I wonder what songs I can listen to that will be about what I’m feeling right now’,” said Ellie. It was almost as if I was desperate to feel better about something, and I would go down any path to feel not alone in something, or to understand it more.”

The band formed in 2010, as a duo made up of Rowsell and guitarist Joff Oddie, later expanding to a four-piece with drummer Joel Amey and bassist Theo Ellis.

Ticket are available from wolfalice.co.uk

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