Pete Doherty’s band Babyshambles should be on stage Sunday in Moscow after the singer escaped with a fine in Britain for being found guilty of possession of 4 grams of heroin.
Babyshambles are to play B1 Maximum, but there were fears that Doherty’s latest problems with the law could have scuttled the concert. The concert is one of the New Year’s most awaited, following Doherty’s storming solo concert last year.
The singer, whose drug taking in recent years has often overshadowed his music, was fined £750 ($1,200) on Wednesday after 13 wraps of heroin fell out of his pocket as he was leaving court — just before Christmas — where he had just been fined for careless driving, BBC news reported.
Doherty, who is currently on treatment for heroin addiction, had forgotten that the drugs were in one of his coats from when he was on drugs, his lawyer said. In summing up, the court judge Joti Boparai said he accepted that Doherty wasn’t “mickey taking,” news agency Press Association reported.
Organizers will be hoping that Doherty checks all his pockets before he flies into Moscow. Last year British banker Tig Hague released a book describing the three years that he spent in jail after he was arrested at Sheremetyevo Airport when he was found with a tiny piece of hash in his pocket.
Babyshambles play B1 Maximum on Jan. 31 at 9 p.m. 11 Ulitsa Ordzhonikidze. Metro Leninsky Prospekt. 648-6777.