The band's first single, Babyshambles, was released in April 2004 on High Society Records. Fewer than 1,000 copies of the CD and 7" were released and both can now be found changing hands for more than £50 on internet auction sites such as eBay.
During September and October 2004 Babyshambles embarked on a UK tour culminating in two sold-out shows at the London Scala. Despite claims that the band were only touring to raise money to support Doherty's drug habit the tour sold-out and received critical acclaim. The band's second single Killamangiro was released November 29 2004 on Rough Trade Records and reached number 8 in the UK charts. The band embarked on another tour in December amid increasing concern about Doherty's drug use. During a gig in Blackpool the band walked off stage as it became clear Doherty was too intoxicated to perform and a riot broke out at the London Astoria when Doherty failed to turn up for a gig.
In January 2005, Gemma Clarke quit the band, citing disagreements with the management who she considered irresponsible for failing to address Doherty's obvious drug problem. She was replaced with Adam Ficek, Patrick Walden's former bandmate in The White Sport. In February 2005 Doherty, along with fellow musician Alan Wass, was arrested on suspicion of assault and blackmail. It was alleged that Doherty assaulted Max Carlish, a documentary maker, in a London hotel, a charge he strenuously denied. Carlish had made a documentary about Doherty, from which clips were used for the channel 4 documentary 'Stalking Pete Doherty'. After allegedly assaulting Carlish, Doherty spent several nights in prison until £150,000 bail could be raised. After being released on bail Doherty spent several weeks in a recording studio in Wales working on Babyshambles' debut album. All charges against him were dropped in April 2005.
On October 1, 2005, the Babyshambles tour bus was raided by police. Doherty was charged on suspicion of possession of class A drugs and bailed until December, although Doherty claims that the substances were related to his Naltrexone implant.
Work on Babyshambles' debut album continued throughout April and May 2005 with Mick Jones, who worked with Doherty on the producing of The Libertines' albums. The album, Down in Albion was released on 14th November, having been leaked onto the internet on 19th October. It came 10th in the Radio 1 Album Charts. The single Albion was released on the 28th November and came 8th in the Radio 1 Single Charts. Another single Fuck Forever was released on August 15th, reaching #4 on the UK Singles Chart.
Peter Doherty appeared on Newsnight at the end of 2005, and played a few secret and personal gigs to fans at the end of the year. At the start of 2006 the band announced that they would play 3 small club shows in London, Sheffield and Stoke. To fans' surprise, Babyshambles performed at the first of the London dates without guitarist Patrick Walden. Instead of Walden, Doherty played guitar at the London date. The band have since made an announcement that Walden quit the band to pursue other projects. Walden was replaced by Mick Whitnall.
December 2006 saw the release of a new EP, featuring The Blinding EP, the July single 'Beg, Steal & Borrow' and new single 'I Love You (But You're Green)'.
On January 18th, 2007 it was announced that the band signed a "long term" album deal with Parlophone.
Babyshambles released their 2nd album, Shotter's Nation, on October 1, 2007. It was produced by Stephen Street (Morrissey, Blur) and features Bert Jansch on guitar on the last track Lost Art Of Murder.
Merry-go-round
Babyshambles Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
You're in love and you don't know what to say
But I saw her at the fair and she feels the same way
She was married by the merry-go-round
The merry-go-round
How merrily we go round
How merrily we go round
He was the first one of the day
He was the last one of the night
Oh hold me tight, hold me tight
They said you were wrongened
But I can see in your eyes
How you are gentle and wise
And you had the good stuff
Oh there's a parade of girls outside
That boy's so shy
Why'd you punch out his lights?
He was the first one of the day
He was the last one of the night
Oh mop it up, she'll be alright
Mop it up, she'll be alright
There's a parade on the hall outside
Come on and feel the air outside
In Babyshambles’s song “Merry Go Round”, the lyrics portray a story of unrequited love, mixed with feelings of confusion and desperation. The singer is desperately in love with someone, but he cannot bring himself to tell her. Despite his hesitation, he discovers that she feels the same way, and they were married by the “merry-go-round”. The merry-go-round symbolizes the cyclical nature of life, and how events of life can repeat themselves.
Furthermore, the lyrics convey a sense of tragedy as the couple’s happiness is cut short when the singer notices a boy being bullied. In an attempt to show his bravery and defend the boy, he is beaten up and the girl is left to watch helplessly. The lyrics bring out a sense of helplessness and despair as the singer pleads for help to no avail. The repeated phrase, “he was the first one of the day, he was the last one of the night”, highlights the futility of the singer’s attempt to save the boy, who is a victim of the vicious cycle of violence.
Overall, the lyrics in “Merry Go Round” paint a picture of love, violence, and the harsh realities of life. Through the use of repeated phrases and symbolisms, the lyrics convey a sense of drama and tragedy that the singer cannot escape from.
Line by Line Meaning
You have always thinking of her
The person singing the song knows that someone is in love with a particular woman.
You're in love and you don't know what to say
The person in love is unable to express their feelings to the woman.
But I saw her at the fair and she feels the same way
The person singing the song saw the woman at a fair and believes that she may also have feelings for the person in love.
She was married by the merry-go-round
The woman had a wedding ceremony near a merry-go-round.
The merry-go-round
The merry-go-round represents the cycle of life and love.
How merrily we go round
The cycle of love and relationships may seem joyous initially.
How merrily we go round
The cycle of love and relationships may seem joyous initially.
The merry-go-round
The merry-go-round represents the cycle of life and love.
He was the first one of the day
The person singing the song is talking about someone who had an encounter with a woman early in the day.
He was the last one of the night
The person singing the song is talking about someone who had an encounter with a woman late at night.
Oh hold me tight, hold me tight
The song is expressing a desire for physical intimacy.
They said you were wrongened
The person singing the song knows that someone has been falsely accused of something.
But I can see in your eyes
The person singing the song can tell from the expression in the other person's eyes that they did not do what they were accused of.
How you are gentle and wise
The person in question has qualities that do not align with the accusations.
And you had the good stuff
The accused person is in possession of something valuable.
Oh there's a parade of girls outside
There are multiple women outside waiting for someone.
That boy's so shy
The singer knows that a boy is particularly timid.
Why'd you punch out his lights?
The singer is curious as to why someone would hit the timid boy.
He was the first one of the day
The person singing the song is talking about someone who had an encounter with a woman early in the day.
He was the last one of the night
The person singing the song is talking about someone who had an encounter with a woman late at night.
Oh mop it up, she'll be alright
Someone needs to clean up a mess, and the situation will eventually be resolved.
Mop it up, she'll be alright
Someone needs to clean up a mess, and the situation will eventually be resolved.
There's a parade on the hall outside
There are multiple people outside waiting to interact with someone.
Come on and feel the air outside
The person singing the song is inviting someone to go outside and experience the surroundings.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: PETER DOHERTY
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind