Controversial Brit rocker confirms his famed band will be performing in Australia for the first time in seven years… but not all fans are impressed

Controversial British rocker Pete Doherty has confirmed he is bringing his famous band The Libertines to Australia, but some fans were not impressed with the news.

The 45-year-old singer announced that the London band will make their long-awaited return to Australia in April 2025 for three exclusive shows.

It’s the first time The Libertines have performed on Australian soil in seven years and it’s their second tour Down Under, but some fans were furious about the announcement.

Australians on the west coast were shocked to learn that the band would only visit three major cities on the east coast: Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane.

The Libertines will debut at Sydney’s Enmore Theatre on April 12, followed by The Forum in Melbourne on April 17 and Fortitude Music Hall in Brisbane on April 17.

Many fans took to Instagram to express their disappointment that the hugely popular band will not be visiting Adelaide, Western Australia or New Zealand.

“There’s a West Coast of Australia, you know…” one disgruntled fan commented, while another said: “Adelaide. Adelaide. Adelaide. Please.”

A third wrote: ‘No Perth show, shame’, and a fourth shared: ‘Come on guys add a Perth slot.’

A fifth commented: ‘You might as well come and see us in New Zealand,’ while another said: ‘A gig in Adelaide would have been amazing.’

Other fans, however, shared their excitement for the series of shows. One fan enthused: ‘Ahhhhhh, that makes me so happy!!! Finally again!!!!!’

Another wrote: ‘You drop dead gorgeous, the best news of the whole year!! Never thought I would ever experience this, thank you!’

A third said: “I’m going to have a nervous breakdown,” while another added: “Oh my god HOORAY. This is the best news since the last Aus tour announcement.”

They are not the first global stars to cause controversy with their Australian tours. Dua Lipa was also criticized for skipping Brisbane and Perth during her upcoming 2025 tour.

The Libertines, consisting of Pete, Carl Barat, John Hassall and Gary Powell, last visited Australia in 2018. That was also the band’s first time Down Under.

The rockers performed at the Sydney City Limits festival and also headlined shows in Brisbane and Melbourne.

In 1997, Pete and Carl formed The Libertines in London, but it wasn’t until 2002 that they achieved major success with the release of their debut album Up the Bracket.

Pete left the group in 2004 due to a public battle with drug and alcohol addiction and internal quarrels between the members. However, in 2010 the members reunited and that year they headlined the Reading and Leeds festivals.

In April 2014, The Libertines announced that they would once again perform at London’s Hyde Park.

Earlier this year they released their fourth album, All Quiet On The Eastern Esplanade, which gave the garage rockers their second number one hit in the UK.

In the 2000s, when Pete was at the height of his career, he attracted national attention when he dated supermodel Kate Moss.

The couple met on Kate’s 31st birthday in January 2005. Shortly afterwards, he declared that he had “truly found love”.

Their turbulent romance ended briefly when Pete failed to complete a stint in rehab in Arizona, at which time Kate said she had “several personal issues that she needed to address.”

In 2005, he even drew a portrait of himself and Kate in crayons and his own blood. Pete also scrawled ‘I love Kate 4 eva’ on the windscreen of his Jaguar after leaving court for a drugs offence.

In 2007, the couple finally split after a series of violent arguments.

Pete previously revealed that there was “not really one specific incident that caused their split,” explaining that “our worlds weren’t really compatible at the end of the day.”

At the height of his career, the star was constantly in trouble and was frequently arrested, including a six-month prison sentence for cocaine possession.

However, since December 2019, Pete has been clean and lives with his wife Katia and their one-year-old daughter Billie-Mae in northern France.

Speaking with Sunday Times HomePete said he didn’t make the “smartest financial choices” during the worst of his addiction and is now “paying the price.”

He said: ‘Moving to rural Normandy probably saved my life.

‘When I first moved to France, I lived in cities like Marseille, Paris, Lille and Perpignan, but the traders could find me all too easily.’

Pete continued: ‘Even when we had Number 1 albums and I was making good money, I never saved or invested.

‘The more money I made, the more I spent. Unfortunately, I’m paying the price for that now — I’m still trying to sort out tax bills from ten years ago.

“You have to remember that you’re not making the smartest choices when you’re in the middle of an addiction.”

Pete has since made an impressive comeback and announced last year that he is a millionaire again.