Oh Sh*t! The boys are back
LIBS IN LOVE AGAIN
THE Libertines are barely making a penny from their latest reunion – they’re doing it for the love of the music.
The band return with new single Oh Sh*t this week and follow it up with fourth LP, All Quiet On The Eastern Esplanade, next month.
But getting Pete Doherty, Carl Barât, John Hassall and Gary Powell together is no mean feat.
Pete explained: “Now we all have families and the group is scattered between three different damn countries. If we didn’t believe in our songs, we couldn’t do it. We’re not doing this for the money. If we didn’t believe in ourselves and our songs, all of this wouldn’t be viable.”
Carl added: “These songs deserve to be toured.”
“Yeah,” agreed Pete. “The songs are the centre of everything.”
Ironic then that The Libertines’ latest song Oh Sh*t goes: “Let’s make some money, Just enough to get us by.” Getting by in The Libertines hasn’t always been easy, not just because of Pete’s welldocumented addictions but Barât’s mental health has suffered too.
He said: “I lose my faith regularly, it’s part of the human condition.
“But when I’m with the guys and we’re together and the songs come to us and they’re perfect, I’m able to live in the moment and relax. Ultimately, it’s me who’s in these songs.”
Peter added: “The darkest things we could say or do end up in the songs anyway. Which, when you think about it, may have been a deliberate coping tactic.”
The album boasts rambunctious anthems as well as quieter poetic moments.
It’s clearly a special record for Pete, who told Inrocks: “I’m freaking out about talking about this record. I’m really looking forward to seeing if these songs will touch people as much as they touch me.
“Basically, I like the idea of music being something on the margins of the world. People are more divided than ever, bombs are exploding everywhere. A song is the last place where, for three minutes, politics no longer matters, right?”
All Quiet On The Eastern Esplanade lands April 5.