Babyshambles Are No Longer Tabloid Fodder

The media scrutiny that has followed the career of Brit rockers Babyshambles, in particular frontman Pete Doherty, appears to have eased, according to their bassist.

When asked whether the constant tabloid focus was a distraction, Drew McConnell had this to say.

“Well if you'd asked me that question seven years ago I would have said, 'Yeah, it's terrible! It's a massive distraction and I'm hugely exasperated with it. But to be honest it's been years since the tabloids have paid us much attention at all, beyond the occasional cursory mention in the gossip pages which everyone gets. Thankfully they've cooled off from putting Peter on the front pages, and that's no longer part of our lives anymore, so it's not really a distraction at all. It's so good to be able to just concentrate on the music and leave all that behind us.”

While McConnell didn't say whether the media spotlight and Doherty's well-documented problems hindered the band's ability to make music, there was one serious incident that put their recording and touring plans on the backburner.

“We were hampered by the fact that I was in a pretty serious accident a bit over a year ago. I was hit by a car and basically almost died – my spine was broken in three places, and about fifteen bones in my body were broken, so I was out of action for a while. I'm still in the process of doing all the physio and rehabilitation and stuff, but I'm about eighty per cent back to full health. I'm out the other side now, and I've got some good songs as a result.”

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