Indie bad boy Pete Doherty is paying a surprise visit to Carlisle later this month.

The frontman of The Libertines will be appearing solo when he performs at The Old Fire Station on January 30.

The gig is one of just four that he has just announced - other dates will be in Liverpool, Newcastle and Glasgow.

Doherty has had a career that has spanned over 17 ramshackle and headline-hitting years.

From The Libertines and Babyshambles to his solo career he is one of the most recognisable faces of the modern British indie scene.

He is a regular and hugely popular visitor in Cumbria, appearing in Carlisle and at Kendal Calling where he played a secret solo gig in 2016 and then reappeared with the Libertines as headliners last year.

He launched the first tour of Babyshambles at The Brickyard in Carlisle in 2005 and made national headlines with the event and his ability to bring the city centre to an almost standstill.

After the bitter split of the Libertines in 2004 as a result of Doherty's drugs addiction and his failing relationship with fellow songwriter Carl Barat, few expected a reunion.

But the band made a slight return in 2010 and then reformed in 2014 to the surprise of many.

Although this is a solo acoustic tour by Doherty, there is no suggestion that he has again split from The Libertines.

Described as an "intimate" tour, it promises a mix of old and new material with tracks from his latest solo record Hamburg Demonstrations and his 2009 collection Grace/Wastelands.

After headlining a string of festivals last summer, The Libertines are currently working on their follow up to their 2015 album, Anthems For Doomed Youth, their first since 2004s self-titled second album.

For more information, go to www.oldfirestation.carlisle.city