British rockers Babyshambles are back with “Dandy Hooligan,” their first new song in 12 years.
The new track arrives as Babyshambles gear up for their 2025 UK reunion tour, which will serve as the band’s first proper outing in over 10 years. “Dandy Hooligan” is a warm reggae tune with tender, occasionally playful vocals from singer Pete Doherty. Throughout, he pays homage to Bob Morris, a friend of the band and anti-Nazi who also stars in the song’s official video. “He loves an old hat shop/ And a good punch up/ He never punch down,” sings Doherty.
“It’s a well-turned-out, elegantly crafted; reggae-ska-pop song… with a sweet melody to bowl along to with your sharpened walking cane,” Doherty said of the new song. “Word from the ‘shambles camp is that it’s a homage to a legendary National Front basher.” Watch the song’s video below.
Doherty and his fellow Babyshambles are set to commence their 2025 UK tour on November 13th. Though they have not confirmed a new album to follow up 2013’s Sequel to the Prequel, Doherty told NME, “When we do the bigger shows, it’d be nice to release a single and a couple of B-sides… I’ve got a couple of ideas and when we get in a room, we’ll try them out.”
The band also mourned the loss of founding guitarist Patrick Walden this year, who was in talks to rejoin the band on their reunion tour before his death at the age of 46. Calling Walden’s death “a real trigger to get it done,” Doherty explained, “My first thought was of just seeing his face up there while we’re playing and that’ll be an important part of it.”
Still, the group is energized and excited to return to the stage. “There was always talk about it; there was always a desire to play those songs again,” Doherty said to NME, “but the centrifugal point of it was addiction really, and the danger that me and Mick would be an unhealthy influence on each other. So it was people around us not wanting to meet up and probably us both knowing that it wasn’t a good idea.”
Check out Babyshambles’ tour dates below and get tickets here.
Babyshambles 2025 Tour Dates:
11/13 — Coventry, UK @ HMV Empire
11/14 — Norwich, UK @ The Nick Rayns LCR
11/16 — London, UK @ O2 Academy Brixton
11/26 — Birmingham, UK @ O2 Academy
11/29 — Liverpool, UK @ Mountford Hall
11/30 — Manchester, UK @ O2 Victoria Warehouse
12/01 — Middlesbrough, UK @ Middlesbrough Empire
12/02 — Newcastle, UK @ O2 City Hall
12/04 — Glasgow, UK @ O2 Academy
12/05 — Glasgow, UK @ O2 Academy
12/07 — Leeds, UK @ O2 Academy
12/08 — Nottingham, UK @ Rock City
12/09 — Bristol, UK @ O2 Academy
12/15 — London, UK @ KOKO
