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This article is about the band The Libertines. For the album of the same name, see The Libertines (album) . For the political and social groups see Libertine
The Libertines were an English rock band which gained notoriety in the early 2000s, as part of what was described as the Garage Rock Revival movement of that time. The band was centred on the song-writing partnership and chemistry of Pete Doherty (vocals/rhythm guitar) and Carl Barât (vocals/lead guitar), and was backed by John Hassall (bass) and Gary Powell (drums). Although initially their mainstream success was limited, their profile grew culminating in a #2 single and #1 album in the UK Charts. In December 2004, their self-titled second album was voted the second best album of the year by NME Magazine. However, the band's music was often eclipsed by its internal conflicts, many of which stemmed from Doherty's considerable drug use, ultimately resulting in the breakup of the band. The members of The Libertines have gone on to new bands, with varying degrees of commercial and critical success. HISTORY (1997-2001) Early history Barât abandoned his drama course two years in; Pete left his English literature course at Queen Mary, University of London Queen Mary College after only a year, and they moved into a flat together on the Camden Road in North London. They formed a band with their neighbour Steve Bedlow , commonly referred to as Scarborough Steve, and named themselves The Strand, later renamed to The Libertines after Marquis De Sade 's '' Lust Of The Libertines '' ("The Albions" was also considered, but rejected). They met John Hassall and Johnny Borrell (to leave quickly and later form Razorlight ) through Bedlow, and Hassall joined the band as bassist. At this stage, they had no consistent drummer. They began playing gigs, with many of them taking place in the flat Doherty and Barât shared. Within a few weeks, they had booked themselves into the Odessa studios to record 3 songs, assisted by Gwyn Mathias (who had previously worked with The Sex Pistols ). However, they were disappointed by their scheduled drummer, so Mathias enlisted the help of Paul Dufour at short-notice who, at 54, was considerably older than the others. Despite the age difference, Dufour was impressed enough by the band to join it, and they started doing more recording sessions and playing gigs at venues further afield. Roger Morton, a journalist from the NME , went to see them play in Islington and thought they had potential, so he and a friend offered to manage The Libertines. Despite a separate offer from an experienced member of the music industry, John Waller, The Libertines accepted Morton's services as manager. However, Morton would eventually give up the job after an unsuccessful six months. The success of The Strokes , a band with a similar style, made Pootschi reconsider her position. She made a plan (dubbed "Plan A") to get them signed to the record label Rough Trade within 6 months. In this period, they wrote many of the songs which ended up on their first album. Johnny Borrell and Gary Powell were recruited to play bass and drums respectively. On 1 October 2001 , they played a showcase for James Endeacott from Rough Trade. His support led to them playing for the Rough Trade bosses, Geoff Travis and Jeanette Lee, on the 11 December that year and they were told they would be signed, with the official deal happening on the 21 December . They were in need of a bassist so Hassall eventually rejoined the band but was informed he would have to stay in the background; the band would be focused on the partnership of Doherty and Barât. Doherty and Barât rented a flat together at 112a Teesdale Street which they named "The Albion Rooms" (a venue that would become a location for many of their Guerilla Gig s). (2002-2003) ''Up the Bracket'' 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 to a lukewarm media reaction and received very little airplay due to its liberal use of profanities. A somewhat 'beeped' version occurring as ( BBC Radio 1 Djs) Mark and Lard's single of the week. They featured on their first cover of the NME in the week it came out. The single reached #37 in the UK Singles Chart . Their second single and title track from the album, " Up The Bracket ", was released on 30 September and charted at #29. This was soon followed by the release on the 21 October of the Album , which charted at #35. They won Best New Band at the NME Awards for that year and Barât moved out of The Albion Rooms. (2003) Problems 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 ) 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. They went to the U.S. to promote themselves and work on new material. While in New York they recorded the Babyshambles Sessions . As a mark of their commitment to the band, Doherty and Barât both got tattoos of the word "Libertine" on their arms. The prelude to this seminal moment of Libertines history can be heard on "The Good Old Days" from the Babyshambles sessions, in which, after the lyric "A list of things we said we'd do tomorrow" Doherty yells 'Get a tattoo!' However, Barât became increasingly exasperated with the people Doherty was associating with and the drugs that came with them. Barât quit the sessions in disgust and Doherty finished recording alone. The sessions were given to a fan called Helen Hsu who, allegedly as Doherty instructed, put them free onto the Internet . Tensions grew further back in the U.K. as Doherty organised and played guerrilla gigs, which Barât did not attend. Their new single, ''Don't Look Back Into The Sun'' saw the return of Bernard Butler as producer. The lyrical quality of the song was praised, and this was held as a prime example of Doherty and Barât's songwriting talents. However, Doherty did not work well with Butler and was rarely present, so it had to be pieced together from the vocals he provided with Butler himself recording Doherty's guitar parts. (2003-2004) Second album and the end of The Libertines Banny Pootschi resigned and was replaced as manager by Alan McGee , who was previously the founder and MD of Creation Records (most famous for signing Oasis ) and would later become manager of Dirty Pretty Things . They continued to play gigs and commenced recording of their second album with Bernard Butler. However, the relationship between Doherty and Butler was as unsuccessful as before and the attempts were soon abandoned. In early 2004, The Libertines won Best Band in the NME awards, despite the fact that "Don't Look Back Into The Sun" was their only official release during the preceding year. Meanwhile, The Libertines were still releasing fresh material. The new single " Can't Stand Me Now ", which detailed the breakdown of the ailing frontmens' once seemingly cast iron friendship, and illustrated the love/hate relationship between Doherty and Barât was released on 9 August , and charted at #2. The song included Doherty asking a question which was on many fans' lips - 'Have we enough to keep it together?'. Their eponymous second album was released in late August and topped the album chart. Their final single, the fitting " What Became Of The Likely Lads " reached #9. (2005-present) Post break up careers Pete Doherty See Also: Pete Doherty Babyshambles Doherty continues with his own band , performed at Live 8 with Elton John and been the subject of countless Newspaper headlines. Carl Barât and Gary Powell See Also: Carl Barât Gary Powell Dirty Pretty Things (band) Barât has formed his own band called Dirty Pretty Things (named after his nightclub) which includes Gary Powell on drums. The line-up is completed by Anthony Rossomando on guitar, and former Cooper Temple Clause bassist Didz Hammond . The band released its debut album, '' Waterloo To Anywhere '' on May 8 2006 . The single " Bang Bang You're Dead " preceded it, being released on April 24 . They toured extensively throughout 2006. John Hassall See Also: John Hassall (musician) Yeti (band) Hassall has gone on to front his own band called Yeti . He met bassist Brendan Kersey, lead guitarist Andy Deian Jung, and guitarist Harmony Williams (who used to share a flat with Barât) through mutual friends. The drummer, Graham Blacow, responded to a classified advertisement. Their debut single " Never Lose Your Sense Of Wonder " was released March 2006 and reached number 36 in the charts, and the limited edition One Eye On The Banquet EP was released in October 2006. Reunions |
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