"Albion" is a song by English band

Babyshambles Babyshambles were an English rock band established in London. The band was formed by Pete Doherty (lead vocals, rhythm guitar) during a hiatus from the Libertines. As of 2013 the band includes Mick Whitnall (lead guitar), Drew McConnell (bas ...

. It was released as the third

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

from ''

Down in Albion ''Down in Albion'' is the debut album by Babyshambles, Pete Doherty's post-The Libertines, Libertines band. ''Down in Albion'' was released on 14 November 2005 on Rough Trade Records, although it was leaked on to the Internet on 19 October 200 ...

'' on 28 November 2005 in the UK. The single was released in Japan on 8 March 2006 by

Reservoir Records Reservoir Records is jazz record label founded in 1987 by Mark and Kayla Feldman, with special attention given to a piano series. Its catalogue includes music by Kenny Barron, Nick Brignola, Steve Kuhn, Hod O'Brien, Claudio Roditi Pepper Adams, ...

EMI EMI Group Limited (originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records Ltd. or simply EMI) was a British Transnational corporation, transnational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate founded in March 1 ...

. "Albion" deals primarily with the concept of Albion, thought of as a mythical

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

(or

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It i ...

), the landscape and life of which is referred to throughout the song. This idea was central to

The Libertines The Libertines are an English rock band, formed in London in 1997 by frontmen Carl Barât (vocals/guitar) and Pete Doherty (vocals/guitar). The band, centred on the songwriting partnership of Barât and Doherty, has also included John Hassall ...

and still is to

. The song was the first acoustic song

released. The song had been used in The Libertines live sets, and thus there was some controversy from fans when it was released. It is always one of the highlights of Babyshambles live shows. The "Albion" is also a recurrent theme in Pete Doherty's music and poetry. A lot of songs contain the word "Albion" in their lyrics: in

' "Love on the Dole", "Bucket Shop" (both from the Legs 11 Session), "The Good Old Days" (from their debut album ''

Up The Bracket ''Up the Bracket'' is the debut album by English indie rock band The Libertines, released in October 2002. It reached #35 in the UK Albums Chart. The album was part of a resurgence for the British indie/alternative scene and received widespread ...

''), and in

' "Merry-Go-Round" (from their debut album ''

Down In Albion ''Down in Albion'' is the debut album by Babyshambles, Pete Doherty's post-The Libertines, Libertines band. ''Down in Albion'' was released on 14 November 2005 on Rough Trade Records, although it was leaked on to the Internet on 19 October 200 ...

''). Most of The Libertines fans discovered the song "Albion" in the 2003 Babyshambles Sessions. The song's lyrical quality is a reflection of its origin, a poem penned by Doherty when he was 16 (according to Babyshambles bass player Drew McConnell's remark in the 5 November 2005 NME track-by-track guide to ''

'', it was the first song Doherty wrote). The lyrics were praised on an episode of ''

Newsnight Review ''The Review Show'' was a British discussion programme dedicated to the arts which ran, under several titles, from 1994 to 2014. The programme featured a panel of guests who reviewed developments in the world of the arts and culture. History ' ...

'', when critics were reviewing Babyshambles' debut album ''Down In Albion''. The single version differs from the album cut, where the song proper is preceded by a minute-long noise (thought to incorporate the sound of a Hammond organ warming up).

Music video

The promotional video for "Albion" has been directed by Roger Pomphrey and features a variety of live,

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and backstage footage of the band. Some of the footage shows Pete Doherty and former manager, James Mullord, together. However, due to Doherty's alleged grievances against him, the record label ordered that Mullord be digitally erased from the video, hence when he and Doherty are shown arriving in

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for the

Love Music Hate Racism Love Music Hate Racism (LMHR) is a music-oriented antiracism campaign based in Britain. The campaign aims to bring people together and promote unity through the power of music. LMHR was born in the tradition of the Rock Against Racism (RAR) move ...

gig in May 2005, Mullord's face is pixelated. At the end of the video, Doherty is seen walking into the distance with his former manager. Other footage shows glimpses of Kate Moss with Doherty, embracing on the edge of a river bank, as seen previously in the ''Who the Fuck is Pete Doherty'' documentary. Doherty is also seen standing up, attempting to thumb a ride from a passing speed boat.

Track listing

*CD Single RTRADSCD260 # "Albion" (single version) # "Do You Know Me" *CD Maxi Single RTRADSCDX260 # "Albion" (single version) # "My Darling Clementine" # "Why Did You Break My Heart/Piracy" # "Albion" (Video) # "Bonus Footage" (Albion Acoustic) *7" RTRADS260 # "Albion" (single version) # "Wolfman" *Japanese Maxi CD TOCP-66533 # "Albion" (single version) # "My Darling Clementine" # "Why Did You Break My Heart/Piracy" # "Wolfman" # "Do You Know Me" # "Albion" (Video) # "Bonus Footage" (Albion Acoustic)

Chart performance

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Albion (Song) 2005 songs 2005 singles Babyshambles songs Songs written by Pete Doherty Song recordings produced by Mick Jones (The Clash) Rough Trade Records singles UK Independent Singles Chart number-one singles