Although his main duties lie in playing bass with Pete Doherty’s Babyshambles, Drew McConnell has recently been busy creating the second album of his side-project Helsinki. Ahead of his St Albans gig at The Horn, the 36-year-old talks to Hannah Worrall about The Beatles, skateboarding, and his new album, A Guide for the Perplexed.

What can your fans expect from Helsinki’s upcoming gig at The Horn?

I’ll be playing songs from both Helsinki albums and one or two swerve balls too. I like to allow for spontaneity.

Do you enjoy being on tour?

Yes I love it – there’s a comfort to the routine. When I’m home after a tour I feel quite lost for a week or two.

How did Helsinki come about?

Helsinki was an old nickname I used to have, but since I started playing out under that name people call me it less and less. It’s been something that’s been coalescing for years, though this is album two, so I guess it’s kind of a real thing now.

Where does inspiration for the music you make come from?

I find it therapeutic to play acoustic guitar when something is bearing heavily on me: relationships, politics, anxiety, or confusion. Sometimes I just sit and play, and sometimes words come out too.

Tell me about your latest album.

I managed to blag two days in a studio called the Pool Room in Bermondsey. I have a pool of musicians that play with Helsinki, and it just so happened that most of them were in town those days.

How did you get into music? Who inspired you to start playing?

It sounds obvious but I can trace it back to the first time I heard The Beatles. I Wanna Hold Your Hand was playing one day when I was three and it just had this insane effect on me. It has always been what I wanted to do, I suppose I’m lucky in that sense.

Where do you live now and what do you do in your spare time?

I live in north London. I’m just getting back into skateboarding after a three-year hiatus due to a car accident.

Is there any chance Babyshambles will be working on anything new in the future now Pete is out of rehab?

Yes I reckon so, though I hope he makes a Libertines record first – that’s been long overdue and I feel next year should be given over to that. I love the Libs and really want to hear a new album! But when that’s done hopefully we’ll make some more music together.

Helsinki are at The Horn, Victoria Street, St Albans, Thursday, April 23, 8pm. Details: 01727 853143, thehorn.co.uk