Doherty makes grand return to stage

5:21am Wednesday 14th May 2008

Singer Pete Doherty was greeted with a roaring reception when he returned to the stage after spending 29 days in prison.

The troubled star and his band Babyshambles wowed fans at The Forum in Kentish Town, north London - and Doherty appeared sober and back on form.

The band raced through their hits including crowd-pleasers Delivery and Kilimangiro, with the crowd singing along to every word.

Doherty began the show by thanking "everyone who wrote a letter over the last month" before the band opened with 'Pipe Down'.

Doherty, 29, who wore a suit and his trademark trilby hat, told the audience he was "a bit rusty" after his spell in jail.

The singer also told fans how much he was looking forward to the show but joked that he had developed a "massive spot" on his face.

Fans were in an excitable mood throughout the show, which saw Babyshambles mix new songs with hits from their previous two albums.

At one stage he was joined on stage by another notorious musician, Pogues singer Shane MacGowan, for a version of folk legend Ewan MacColl's Dirty Old Town.

Paul Roundhill, Doherty's self-styled literary agent, who made headlines by selling some of Doherty's "blood paintings", watched the gig and said it was good to see the singer back in action.

Doherty, who claimed he cheated drugs tests before he was jailed at Wormwood Scrubs in west London, claims to have kicked his drug habit during his sentence. He received a certificate before he left prison for staying clean.

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