The Libertines
The Libertines are an English rock band, formed in London in 1997 by frontmen Carl Barât (vocals/guitar) and Pete Doherty (vocals/guitar). The band, centred on the songwriting partnership of Barât and Doherty, has also included John Hassall (bass), and Gary Powell (drums) for most of its recording career. The band was part of the garage rock revival and spearheaded the movement in the UK.
For other uses, see Libertine (disambiguation).
The Libertines
The band gained some notoriety in the early 2000s, due to Doherty's use of illegal drugs and conflicts between Barât and Doherty.[1] Although their mainstream success was initially limited, their profile soon grew, culminating in a No. 2 single and No. 1 album on the UK Charts. In December 2004, their self-titled second studio album was voted the second best album of the year by NME magazine. The first two of their studio albums were produced by Mick Jones, co-founder of the punk band the Clash.
In spite of their critical and commercial success,[2] the band's music was often eclipsed by its internal conflicts, stemming from Doherty's addictions to crack cocaine and heroin, which eventually led to the break-up of the band. Doherty has since stated that the break-up of the band was due to relationship difficulties between Barât and himself that were not related to his drug addictions.[3] The members of the Libertines went on to form new bands with varying degrees of success.
In August 2010, the four members of the Libertines reunited to play a series of shows, including slots at the 2010 Reading and Leeds Festivals. The reunion shows received a highly positive response from the press and fans.[4][5] In April 2014, the Libertines announced they would again reform for a show at London's Hyde Park.[6][7] In November 2014 the band signed a recording contract with Virgin EMI Records, and released their third studio album, Anthems for Doomed Youth on 11 September 2015.[8]
All Quiet on the Eastern Esplanade is their fourth studio album, released on the 5th of April 2024.
History[edit]
Early history (1997–2001)[edit]
The founding members of the Libertines, Peter Doherty and Carl Barât, met when Barât was studying drama at Brunel University in Uxbridge and sharing a flat in Richmond with Amy-Jo Doherty, Peter's elder sister. This lasted until they realised their collective creative capabilities and forged a bond over their shared passion for songwriting.[9]
Barât abandoned his course two years in; Doherty left his English literature course at Queen Mary, University of London, after only a year, and they moved into a flat together on Camden Road in North London, which they named "The Albion rooms."
They formed a band with their neighbour Steve Bedlow, commonly referred to as "Scarborough Steve," and named themselves "the Strand", later discarded for "the Libertines" after the French writer Marquis de Sade's unfinished novel Lusts of the Libertines ("the Albions" was also considered, but rejected; Albion is an archaic name for Britain). They later met John Hassall and Johnny Borrell, who played bass with the Libertines for a short period. Many of their early gigs took place in the flat shared by Doherty and Barât.
They had booked themselves into the Odessa studios and played at Filthy Macnasty's Whiskey Cafe in Islington, where Doherty was working as a barman. Roger Morton thought they had potential and offered, with a friend, to manage the Libertines. Despite a separate offer from an experienced member of the music industry, John Waller, the band accepted Morton's services as manager. However, Morton would eventually give up the job after an unsuccessful six months.
In March 2000 the Libertines met Banny Poostchi, a lawyer for Warner Chappell Music Publishing. Recognizing their potential, she took on an active role in managing them. They recorded "Legs XI", a set of their best 8 tracks at the time (and later a popular bootleg recording among fans). However, by December 2000, they had still not been signed and this caused Dufour, Hassall and Pootschi to part ways with the Libertines.[10][11]
The subsequent success of the Strokes, a band with a similar style, caused Pootschi to reconsider her position. She formed a plan (dubbed "Plan A") to get the Libertines signed to Rough Trade Records within 6 months. In this period, Barât and Doherty wrote many of the songs which ended up on their debut studio album. Gary Powell was recruited to play drums, as Paul Dufour was deemed by Pootschi to be 'too old'. On 1 October 2001, Barât and Doherty played a showcase for James Endeacott from Rough Trade. After Borrell failed to attend this important rehearsal, they telephoned him to discover he was on tour "living the high life." Endeacott's support led to them playing for the heads of Rough Trade, Geoff Travis and Jeanette Lee, on 11 December. They were told they would be signed, and the official deal took place on 21 December.
The Libertines were in need of a bassist, so Hassall rejoined the band at their request, but was informed he would have to stay in the background, as the band would be focused on the partnership of Doherty and Barât. After signing with Rough Trade, Doherty and Barât rented a flat together at 112a Teesdale Street in Bethnal Green which they named "The Albion Rooms", a venue that became a location for many of their Guerrilla gigs.
Success (2002–2003)[edit]
Now with a firm line-up, they began to play more gigs alongside the Strokes and the Vines in quick succession.[12] This succeeded in spreading their name around the music press, with the NME taking a particular interest in them (an interest which continued throughout their career).
Their first single was a double A-side of "What a Waster" and "I Get Along", produced by former Suede guitarist Bernard Butler. It was released on 3 June 2002 to highly positive reception but received little airplay due to its liberal use of profanities. A censored version appeared as BBC Radio 1 DJs Mark and Lard's single of the week. On the week the single came out, the Libertines featured on the cover of the NME for the first time. The single reached No. 37 in the UK Singles Chart.
Their debut studio album was recorded and produced by Mick Jones, formerly of the Clash and Big Audio Dynamite.[13] Entitled Up the Bracket, it was recorded at the RAK studios in St John's Wood, with mixing taking place at Whitfield studios. During this time, the band were playing as many gigs as possible (over 100 in 2002 alone) including support acts for the Sex Pistols and Morrissey of the Smiths.
Their second single and title track from the album, "Up the Bracket", was released on 30 September and charted at No. 29. This was soon followed by the release on 21 October of the album, which charted at No. 35. They won Best New Band at the NME Awards for that year and Barât moved out of The Albion Rooms.
Problems (2003)[edit]
During the recording of Up the Bracket and in the subsequent touring, Doherty's drug use had increased greatly (he was using both crack cocaine and heroin by this time) and his relationship with the rest of the band deteriorated. The band had become fractious, and some of this tension was visible in their performances. Doherty expressed himself in the "Books of Albion", his personal collection of notes, thoughts and poems, and also more and more frequently on the libertines.org fan forums. His posts and writings at this time were unpredictable: at times, he seemed distressed and angry; at others, he came across as calm and happy.
Relationship between Barât and Doherty[edit]
Roger Sargent (a close friend and photographer of the band) described their relationship as like "first love, and all the jealousy and obsessiveness that comes with that" – adding "I think there's, y'know, obsession and jealousy on both of their sides. They bitch about each other to each other or to other people. They have a bond, intellectually and spiritually, like nothing I've ever seen ... but sometimes, you know, you just think, God, why don't you just get a room?!"[57] In the same interview, a Radio One documentary, upon being asked just how close their relationship was, Doherty responded "I love him. Wouldn't go, um – certainly not on Radio 1 – go into too much detail, but... we had lots of wonderful times together, yeah."[57] Barât, when questioned similarly, steadfastly denied that the relationship had involved anything "physical".[58] Barât has insisted that "people are really into conjecture",[59] however in a 2011 interview when asked if the two had ever had a physical relationship, he replied "There have been moments in our relationship where physicality has ensued."[60]
The volatility and ardency of Barât's relationship with Doherty formed a significant, if not essential, aspect of their music and live performances. Doherty frequently posted about Barât on the Libertines forum; in one post from 2003, referring to an incident in 1997 in which Barât had wanted to form a suicide pact, Doherty wrote: "let's keep going i love you i love you so much." Speaking of his separation from Doherty in 2004, Barât revealed, "There was one point where I very very nearly, just to be close to him, started taking full on heroin."[28]
In a March 2009 interview with NME Radio, when discussing a potential Libertines reunion, Doherty revealed, "He [Carl] was saying, 'Well, look, what if it's all gonna happen again?' and I said, 'One thing: maybe it will, maybe it won't, but one thing that's going to help me not fuck up again is you, and doing all that together.' Because he means a lot..."[61] Referring to their relationship in a January 2010 interview, Barât said: "...it's a deep love. Deep love does funny things to people".[62]
In a February 2024 interview with The Guardian, Doherty said, "Maybe I’m not thinking it when I write the song, but the first thing I think afterwards is, ‘I wonder what Carl will think of that?’, whoever I’m writing the song with. The honest answer is, everything I write is for Carl.”[63]