Peter Doherty suffered “serious anxiety attack,” leading to The Libertines’ gig postponements

On 10th September last week, The Libertines’ show at Electric Ballroom, London, was pulled at the last minute. With fans waiting until 11.30pm on the night, the band’s Peter Doherty was reported to have failed to show up for the gig.

A subsequent date in Manchester was also postponed, and today the band have issued a statement regarding the no-show, saying Doherty suffered an anxiety attack.

The statement reads:

“Peter suffered a serious anxiety attack during the hours leading up to the scheduled performance at the Electric Ballroom last Thursday. The ideal coping mechanism in this situation is to lock yourself away from the source of the anxiety and in this case he headed to a hotel near Coventry in the early hours of Friday morning, in order that he be close to friends in his support network.”

It continues: “The decision to cancel the show in Manchester did not come from Peter it was made by management, who felt it important to ensure Peter’s welfare is a priority in line with any other ongoing treatment. Obviously the time away from the spotlight enabled the band to meet their existing commitment in Berlin and the Albion sails on course…”

The Libertines released their comeback LP ‘Anthems For Doomed Youth’ last week.