Pete Doherty, shockingly, not only possesses the ability to brush his teeth, but our antihero has also proven that, somewhere deep within, he has the unfortunate condition of a functional heart. Over the past year, Pete had forged a special bond with Daniel Squires, a 16-year old fan that had expressed the wish to meet Doherty, who welcomed him backstage after a Babyshambles show. On July 4th, Daniel lost his ill-fated duel with bone cancer, and made good on the friendship:

Doherty, 28, attended the wake at the Golden Lion pub in Jarrow, South Tyneside, and spent an hour with the family. He took to the stage with his guitar, teaming up with one of Daniel’s friends for an emotional tribute following the funeral at South Shields Crematorium.

Pub manager Lynette Gale said: “He was here for around an hour and a half. It went very well, there were a lot of people here. He was on the stage at the back of the pub and everyone was crowding around him. I think he said that he wanted to come up as a tribute and it’s such a lovely gesture. It was special.”

Unfortunately, Pete went on to miss that evening’s gig at the Cluny in Newcastle because he claims no knowledge of the gig ever being officially booked. That’s sort of what happens when one changes management as often as one brushes their teeth — that is — every fortnight:

“This was a hoax,” he told NME.COM. “I was in Newcastle for a funeral but was never booked to play the Cluny. I don’t quite know how you can book a show without informing the artist concerned. Apologies to any fans that turned up to this but I never know anything about it. I did, however, play in the Johnny’s Bar in Newcastle for the Teenage Cancer Trust.”

However, the venue’s manager tells a different tale:

The Cluny - keen to defend its reputation and ward off criticism from the 200 disappointed fans who turned up - has put the record straight. A spokesman said: “We were contacted at 2pm yesterday by Pete’s booking agent, Matt Bates of Primary Talent International, who had been instructed by Pete to book a show for him that night, as he was in the area. We agreed to this, on the condition that we would get a 100 per cent guarantee that the gig would definitely go ahead, along with an official contract. It was not until after 6.30pm that we finally got in touch with Pete’s manager, who claimed to know nothing about the gig …. Pete’s quotes to NME imply that it was all a ruse on our part – this could not be further from the truth.”

Bloody hell! It sounds like Pete needs another new manager, especially if he ever finishes chipping away at recording his first solo album.