The Libertines’ cluttered history could fill volumes of Arcadian bookshelves. The two frontmen — affable lothario Carl Barat and junkie blood-painter Pete Doherty — never could make it work, largely in part to Doherty’s addictions. In 2004, Barat and Doherty kept punching each other during recording sessions as the group struggled to complete their second album. Rough Trade hired security to keep the two apart in the same room.
The band kicked Doherty out, and he retaliated by robbing Barat’s flat. Years of prison visits and failed rehab stints plagued Kate Moss’ ex-boyfriend. The two men formed offshoot bands, but Doherty wouldn’t stop taking potshots at Barat. The band would occasionally reunite for one-off gigs but nothing permanent until last year. They recently performed at Glastonbury, and Pitchfork reports that The Libertines have a new record and release date:
The Libertines ended 2014 by announcing their return. They signed a record deal and announced intentions to release a new studio album — their first since their 2004 self-titled album. That album is called Anthems For Doomed Youth and it’s out September 4 via Harvest. The album’s deluxe edition comes with four bonus tracks recorded live at Karma Sound Studios on May 20 of this year.
Bloody hell, the “Boys in the Band” went back to the studio without killing each other. I suppose someone will claim Doherty is clean and sober too. One of the album’s tracks will be “Gunga Din,” which the band performed at the Best Kept Secret festival.
