The Libertines biography
The Libertines were a British 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 Barat and Doherty, 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.
The band gained some notoriety in the early 2000s. 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 album was voted the second best album of the year by NME magazine. Both of their full-length LPs were produced by Mick Jones, of the British punk band The Clash.
In spite of their critical success as well as decent commercial success, 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 breakup of the band. Doherty has since stated that the breakup of the band was due to relationship difficulties between Barât and himself that were not related to his drug addictions. The members of The Libertines went on to form new bands with varying degrees of commercial and critical 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.
Early history (1997-2001)
The founding members of The Libertines, Peter Doherty and Carl Barat, met when Barat 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 realized their collective creative capabilities and forged a bond over their shared passion for songwriting. Barât abandoned his drama 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 Delaney Mansions."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 Marquis de Sade's 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 studiosan play at Filthy Macnasty's Whiskey Cafe in Islington where Pete was working as a barman, 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.
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