If you open Wikipedia, you will find the following chapters for THE LIBERTINES, in this order: early history, first album, problems. Again, this is quite accurate. In the Cynická obluda diary, there is a section where you can write the names of famous people who you think will leave this world in the upcoming year. I won’t say who I put there this year – I wasn’t right about any of them, anyway – but Pete Doherty wasn’t one of them.
Because for many years, he was at the top of such lists. And rightly so. When Wikipedia writes about problems, they mean that Pete Doherty was taking all the drugs he was able to get his hands on – and that was all of them. For a while it seemed that he wouldn’t even make it to the famous Club 27; he was a great object for the British tabloid press that was just basically waiting for him to die. Just like so many people before him.
THE LIBERTINES wouldn’t exist without Pete Doherty, but Pete Doherty wouldn’t exist without Carl Bârat. Their relationship is said to resemble first love: it’s full of jealousy and interdependency. The photo on the cover of their second album is said to be symbolic. Doherty looks at least somewhat socially tired, Bârat holds him like an older brother who knows he should protect him.
The Libertines are, above all, about great music; the world would be much poorer without Carl Bârat and Pete Doherty. They were the band that put raw, unpolished rebellion back into British rock’n’roll and swept up an entire generation in their wake
The Guardian
They released their third album Anthems for Doomed Youth in 2015. Eleven years passed since the previous record, during which they lived through all kinds of things. The reviews were enthusiastic all around, Evening Standard wrote that it was worth the eleven years of waiting. So it’s not like we’re going to be looking at old gentlemen who have their best years behind them.
First of all, they are not old at all, they just have been through quite a lot; and second of all, they finally grew up. It’s not that Pete Doherty’s problems are over, but today, THE LIBERTINES are probably in their best shape – The fact that they’re going to come to Trenčín is great news!