This was meant to be the one. The song that was whispered about by those 'in the know'. "Ah yes, the scandals and drugs may have overshadowed Pete's talent, but wait till F**k Forever's released", they said. And here it is.
After all this hype, Babyshambles' new single had better be the epoch-making epic that we'd been promised. Inevitably, it's not. It starts off fantastically, with a guitar riff that drills into your head, but the overall feeling is one of anti-climax. The chorus is catchy enough, but Doherty's slurred vocals let the song down badly. Then there's the lyrics. Doherty is a great lyricist, but here he's reduced to cliches such as "how do you choose between death and glory". Even worse, he pronounces on the state of modern politics by asking us "how can you choose between Labour and Tory". Guess what folks, they're "one and the same".
After Kate Moss, crack, prison and more tabloid exclusives that you can shake a stick at, it's good to hear Doherty making records again. F**k Forever is....well, it's ok. And sadly, that's not quite good enough for a man with Pete Doherty's profile.