Pete picks Betika (From Bournemouth Echo)

Pete picks Betika

6:24am Wednesday 24th September 2008 in

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"At school he was a bit cheeky and always took things too far," says Emily Baker about her childhood sweetheart Pete Doherty.

The rock star was in Bournemouth on Friday night to pick a local band for the bill of his An Evening With...' show at Boscombe's Opera House on Wednesday.

But it was also the setting for a surprise reunion for Pete and his old flame Emily.

In recent weeks, the musician has shown an unprecedented level of support and commitment for the not-for-profit organisation, Dorset Music Forum.

Sitting with a bottle of rum and a laptop computer in the Opera House, Pete spent several hours painstakingly listening to different local acts.

With a click of his fingers and a tip of his famous pork pie hat, it was decided that Betika would be his support band.

Listen to Pete calling Betika

Asked why he had chosen the eight-piece band from Bournemouth, Pete told me: "From what I've heard they've got good old-fashioned song writing. You know, structure, melody and lyrics. Plus the name sounds like a Spanish football team."

As we carried on chatting about music, Pete produced a blue feather from a pocket in his jacket and theatrically mused on his selection: "The proof will be how they perform live, there's a big difference in sounding good on record and actually playing on stage."

Another young hopeful is 23 year-old local singer-songwriter Zara Sophia. "I missed the deadline to audition, but someone saw me perform at the Pointy Field festival at the weekend and here I am with my guitar and a demo!" she said.

Strolling down Boscombe high street with Pete, Zara and his colourful entourage, we pulled in to an alleyway where a surprise lay in wait. Pete told the Daily Echo last week of his fond memories of a classmate from St Leonards School in Blandford, who he hadn't seen since he was 11.

"My God, you've grown!" said Emily, as she appeared behind a startled Pete Doherty. After a brief catch up, Pete was then whisked away into the night.

"Peter hasn't changed all that much. I remember him being an incredible dancer and really good at chess and football. My mate's still got one of his QPR football scarves," Emily later told me.

Having played in a school band together, Emily will be bringing her guitar to Wednesday's show at the Opera House. Who knows what might happen?