Throwback of the week (3rd January)

Flags of the Old Regime – Pete Doherty

Recently I have been delving into the pits of Pete Doherty’s backlog of fantastic tunes and it seemed fitting to kick off our first throwback of 2021 with a new favourite of mine, ‘Flags of the Old Regime’.

The 2015 hit an absolutely incredible tune by Pete, which was originally written in 2011 and circulated for a few years before finally being released as part of Pete Doherty’s second solo album.

Compared to the upbeat songs we have become accustomed to in The Libertines and Babyshambles, ‘Flags of the Old Regime’ is a somber tale which pays homage to Amy Winehouse in some of the lyrics. “You have to stand up there, in front of the whole wide world and you don’t feel those songs no more”. But these also apply to Pete himself, when he almost fell out of music all those years ago. 

It has to be said there is a certain grace about this song though. Its stripped back, simple acoustic guitar mellowed even further by delicate vocals and stirngs, it truly is beautiful.

All proceeds of this song went towards the Amy Winehouse Foundation which pays testament to the message behind the song. If you have never heard this song, make sure you do below!

Words by: Dan Smith