The iconic 2005 debut album returns as an expanded double vinyl edition featuring session tracks, B-sides and hand-drawn artwork by Peter Doherty.
Babyshambles are marking two decades since Down In Albion with a remastered 20th anniversary edition, released via Rough Trade Records on 12 December. The expanded double vinyl package includes five archival tracks alongside the album’s original 16 songs, with several rarities receiving their first official release.
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Available in limited edition cream-coloured vinyl and a blue variant exclusive to Babyshambles and Rough Trade webstores, the reissue pays tribute to late guitarist Patrick Walden, who passed away earlier this year. His portrait, photographed by Hedi Slimane, has been embedded within the sleeve using special UV gloss. A very limited number of copies will also feature hand-drawn artwork personally recreated by frontman Peter Doherty, replicating the sketches from the album’s original release.
“A beloved and beautiful man, and a rare and remarkable musical talent, Down in Albion is perhaps Patrick Walden’s finest hour as a guitarist and composer,” says Doherty. “Let it ring out!”
Produced by The Clash’s Mick Jones and featuring a vocal cameo from Kate Moss, the album captured lightning in a bottle when it arrived in November 2005. Tracks like the nihilistic ‘Fuck Forever’, the anthemic ‘Albion’, and the romantically charged ‘In Love With A Feeling’ showcased the band’s ability to navigate between vivid storytelling and raw emotion.
The anniversary edition adds ‘Gang Of Gin’ and ‘352 Days’—both recorded during the album sessions but never officially released—plus ‘Why Did You Break My Heart/Piracy’ from the ‘Albion’ single. Rounding out the bonus material are ‘Do You Know Me’ and ‘My Darling Clementine’, taken from the band’s October 2004 BBC Radio 1 session with Zane Lowe.
Pre-orders are available now here.
