For a bloke that performs yearly in the Love Music Hate Racism festival–which “uses the positive energy of the music scene to fight back against the racism being pushed by Nazi organisations like the BNP”–Pete Doherty sure could use a few lessons in multicultural sensitivity. Over the weekend, the Babyshambles frontman took a break from breaking various English laws to dabble in pissing off his German audience. In Munich, concertgoers were aghast when Doherty broke into a rendition of the 1st verse of the German national anthem. Perhaps Doherty thought this would be a sweet gesture, but he should have sung only the 3rd verse, for the 1st verse has been outlawed in Germany since the end of WWII. Oh, bollocks:

An obviously intoxicated Pete Doherty shocked his audience at the on3 music festival in Munich over the weekend, by suddenly singing “Deutschland ueber alles,” the first line of the Song of Germany.

During the Nazi period, the first verse of the song was used as a national anthem.

The crowd responded with boos and shouts, according to the Munich daily tz. Radio broadcaster Bayerischer Rundfunk said the festival organizers immediately consulted with Doherty’s managers and removed the singer from the stage at the first possible opportunity – after he had sung five other songs.

The live radio broadcast was cut immediately, said Bayerischer Rundfunk.

“To say it like the Brits do: We are not amused,” the festival’s multimedia program director Rainer Tief told tz. “Unfortunately this wasn’t foreseeable; live is live.”

Bloody hell, this is even worse than titling a song “Arbeit macht frei,” not to mention an infamous August 2008 incident, in which Doherty gave the Hitler salute onstage in Spain:

On a slightly more humane note, here’s a Doherty update on last month’s hospital visit, which was then categorized under the “exhausted diva” diagnosis, but we knew better from a guy who could outlast the cockroaches. Sure enough NME spoke with Doherty, who dismissed previous reports and revealed a medical mystery:

“Their [doctors'] immediate thought was that it was to do with drugs but it wasn’t,” he said. “What happened? Well, I don’t know. I don’t remember. I was running into the walls, making steering wheel signs with my hands. And then I just… stopped. My body just stopped.”

Well, it sounds like a classic panic attack coupled with a bit of insanity. Unfortunately, the article goes on to detail something resembling a heart attack and a stint on life support. Perhaps all that drugging is finally catching up with ol’ Pete.

Imagery: Wireimage (photos from London’s Roundhouse theatre)