The year is 1996 and two men in their late teens have relocated to London and begun towork together on some original music. They write many songs and perform them regularly as part of acoustic sets in London pubs. Their names? Carl Barât and Pete Doherty; two men who were about to play a huge part in the world famous British music scene.
It is easy to forget some of the great music that The Libertines produced in their lifetime. Since they split they are mostly mentioned in reference to the tabloid-friendly antics of Pete Doherty, who has since formed Babyshambles. But they had a lasting influence with some memorable songs.
Doherty hailed from Hexham in Northumberland in 1978, whilst Barât has worked his way to London from Basingstoke in Hampshire after being born in 1979. Barât would go on to take the position of vocals and lead guitar with Doherty providing vocals of his own along with rhythm guitar.
By 1997 they were making some headway, but they had a long way to go before they could be crowned the greatest band in the world, as was their ambition. They would soon be joined by John Hassall on the bass and Gary Powell on the drums, before making a huge impression on the music scene by the time the new Millennium had arrived.
Music is often defined by those that spearhead particular movements and pave the way for further bands to follow, which is possibly why The Libertines have since been remembered as a hugely influential and acclaimed band. Their image and notoriety were born from the cult status they had begun to receive for their free secret gigs. They would soon be signed by Rough Trade Records before releasing the single ‘What A Waster/I Get Along’. It landed right in the UK Top 40 and finally the ambitions of these two musicians were being realised.
So naturally the next step was recording their debut album, which hit the shelves in record stores in October 2002 to positive reviews under the name ‘Up The Bracket’. The second album, their self titled 2004 release was voted the best album of that year by the British magazine NME.