The Libertines: The Life Story Behind the Up the Bracket Band

The Libertines are a band that people love not just for their songs but for the story around them. They were a group of young men from London who wrote bright, romantic songs about friendship and the city, and they became famous almost as quickly as they fell apart. Their music was full of energy and feeling, and their lives off stage were full of drama that the newspapers followed every day.

The band was formed in London in 1997 by singer and guitarist Pete Doherty and singer and guitarist Carl Barat, with bassist John Hassall and drummer Gary Powell completing the best-known line-up. Doherty and Barat were the heart of the band, two young men who shared a flat, shared songs, and shared a dream of being a great British band. Their friendship was the source of the band’s best music, and it was also the source of its biggest problems.

What makes The Libertines worth telling is the way their story moves between hope and chaos. They made two brilliant albums, they split up, they reformed, they made more albums, and they are still playing together today. Through all of that, their songs have kept their power, because they were written with honesty and with love for music. This is the story of a band that nearly destroyed itself and then found a way to carry on.

London Beginnings and Two Friends

The Libertines began in London in 1997, when Pete Doherty and Carl Barat met and started writing songs together. They were young men in their early twenties, living in a flat in London, and they shared a love of British music, poetry and the romantic idea of a band as a gang of friends. They wrote songs about London, about friendship, and about the feeling of being young and free in a big city.

In the early years the band struggled to get noticed. They played small shows, recorded demos, and tried to find a record label that believed in them. Doherty and Barat were the main songwriters, and they wrote together in a close and intense way. They would sit in their flat for hours, working on songs, arguing about words, and dreaming of the band they wanted to be. That closeness made their songs special, and it also made their friendship fragile.

The band’s early line-up changed several times before it settled with John Hassall on bass and Gary Powell on drums. Hassall and Powell gave the band a solid rhythm section, and the four of them began to play shows that people remembered. Their live performances were rough and exciting, with Doherty and Barat sharing the singing and playing guitars that seemed to argue with each other as much as they played together.

By 2001 the band had signed to Rough Trade Records, a label known for working with independent bands. They released their first singles, including What a Waster and Up the Bracket, and music papers began to write about them as one of the most exciting new bands in Britain. They were not a polished band, and they did not want to be. They were a band that sounded like a gang of friends playing for their lives.

Up the Bracket and the First Album

The Libertines’ debut album, Up the Bracket, was released in October 2002 and was produced by Mick Jones of the Clash. The record was full of short, bright songs like Time for Heroes, Up the Bracket and What a Waster, and it sounded like a band that had captured the energy of London in the early 2000s. The album reached the top thirty in Britain, and it was praised by critics as one of the best debut albums of the year.

The songs on Up the Bracket were about friendship, about nights out, and about the city the band lived in. Time for Heroes was written about the May Day protests in London, and it became an anthem for young people who felt that the city belonged to them. The album’s cover, which showed the band in a flat, fitted the music perfectly. It was a record about ordinary life, made extraordinary by the band’s energy and feeling.

The band toured the album widely, playing in Britain and in America, and their live shows became famous for their chaos and excitement. Doherty and Barat would often climb on each other, share microphones, and play with a wild energy that made every show feel different. Audiences loved it, and the band’s reputation grew quickly. They were not just a band. They were a story that people wanted to follow.

The success of Up the Bracket also brought pressure. The band were suddenly famous, and the newspapers began to write about their lives as much as their music. Doherty in particular became a figure that the press followed, and his problems with drugs began to affect the band. The friendship between Doherty and Barat, which had been the heart of the band, began to strain under the weight of fame and addiction.

The Second Album and the Break-Up

The Libertines’ second album, The Libertines, was released in August 2004, and it was made during a difficult time for the band. Doherty had been in and out of the band, and his drug problems had led to arguments with Barat and to time in prison. The album’s songs, including Can’t Stand Me Now and What Became of the Likely Lads, were about the friendship between Doherty and Barat, and they carried a sadness that the first album did not have.

Can’t Stand Me Now was a direct and honest song about the two men’s relationship, and it became one of the band’s most loved tracks. The album reached number one in Britain, which showed how much people cared about the band, even as it was falling apart. But the success did not save the friendship. The band’s live shows became more chaotic, and Doherty’s behaviour became harder for the others to manage.

In late 2004, the band split up. Barat, Hassall and Powell decided that they could not carry on with Doherty in his condition, and Doherty went on to form a new band, Babyshambles. The split was painful for everyone, and it was followed by years of public arguments, missed reunions, and speculation about whether the band would ever play together again. For many fans, it felt like the end of something special.

The break-up was also a moment that defined the band’s story. The Libertines had always been a band about friendship, and their split was a story about friendship breaking down. That made their music feel even more honest, because the songs were not just about friendship in theory. They were about a real friendship that had been tested and had broken. The band’s fans kept listening to the two albums, and the songs became even more loved as time passed.

Babyshambles, Dirty Pretty Things and the Solo Years

After the split, Pete Doherty formed Babyshambles, a band that made its own albums and toured widely. Babyshambles released Down in Albion in 2005 and Shotter’s Nation in 2007, and Doherty became a solo star in his own right, with his own fans and his own following. His music with Babyshambles was looser and more ragged than The Libertines, but it had the same romantic feeling and the same love of words.

Carl Barat formed a new band, Dirty Pretty Things, with Gary Powell, and they released two albums, Waterloo to Anywhere in 2006 and Romance at Short Notice in 2008. Dirty Pretty Things were a more straightforward rock band than The Libertines, and they toured widely. Barat also worked on solo material and acted in films, and he kept writing songs that showed his talent as a songwriter.

The years apart were not easy for either man. Doherty’s drug problems continued to make headlines, and he spent time in prison and in rehab. Barat also faced his own struggles, and the two men spoke about each other in interviews with a mix of love and anger. They were like two brothers who had fallen out, and everyone could see that they still cared about each other, even when they could not work together.

During these years, The Libertines’ reputation grew. Their two albums were seen as classics of British indie rock, and new fans discovered them every year. The band’s story became a legend, and the question of whether they would ever reform became one of the most asked questions in British music. The answer would come in 2010, when the band played together again for the first time in six years.

The Reunion and Anthems for Doomed Youth

In 2010, The Libertines reformed to headline the Reading and Leeds festivals, and the shows were a huge success. The band played to vast crowds, and the atmosphere was emotional, because fans had waited years to see them together again. Doherty and Barat shared the stage, sang together, and seemed to enjoy being in a band again. The reunion shows were a reminder of what the band had been, and a sign that they might have a future.

The band did not rush into a new album. They played more reunion shows, toured, and took their time. In 2015 they released their third album, Anthems for Doomed Youth, which was recorded in Thailand and produced by Jake Gosling. The album reached the top three in Britain, and it showed that the band could still write songs that mattered. Singles like Gunga Din and Heart of the Matter were welcomed by fans, and the album proved that the reunion was not just about nostalgia.

Anthems for Doomed Youth was a more mature record than the first two albums. The songs were longer, the sound was fuller, and the band sounded like men who had been through a lot and had come out the other side. It was not a copy of Up the Bracket, and it was not trying to be. It was a new chapter, and it showed that the band could grow up without losing what made them special.

The band toured the album widely, playing in Britain, Europe and America, and their live shows were more stable than in the early years. Doherty and Barat were older, and they had learned how to work together without the chaos of the past. The reunion had given them a second chance, and they seemed determined to make the most of it.

All Quiet on the Eastern Esplanade

The Libertines’ fourth album, All Quiet on the Eastern Esplanade, was released in April 2024, nearly twenty years after their second album. It was recorded in Margate, a seaside town in Kent where the band had set up a hotel and studio, and it reached the top ten in Britain. The album’s title came from a line about the quiet of the seaside, and the songs had a calmer and more reflective feel than the early records.

The album showed a band that had grown up. The songs were about getting older, about friendship, and about the places that shape a life. Singles like Run Run Run and Night of the Hunter showed that the band could still write energetic songs, but the album as a whole felt more settled and more thoughtful. It was the work of a band that had survived a lot and had found a new home by the sea.

The band’s life in Margate became part of their story. They had bought a hotel, the Albion Rooms, and turned it into a place where fans could stay and where the band could record. It was a new kind of home for a band that had once lived in a flat in London, and it showed how much they had changed. They were no longer young men in a hurry. They were men who had found a place to belong.

The fourth album was welcomed by fans and critics, and it gave the band a new reason to tour. They played shows in Britain and Europe, and their live performances were full of the energy that had always defined them, but with a new sense of calm. The band that had once been known for chaos was now known for its survival, and that was a story that many people found inspiring.

Friendship, Chaos and the Legacy

If there is one thing that defines The Libertines more than any song, it is the friendship between Pete Doherty and Carl Barat. Their partnership was the source of the band’s best music, and it was also the source of its biggest problems. When they were together, they wrote songs that no one else could write. When they were apart, the band fell apart. That is the heart of their story, and it is why their music still matters.

The band’s influence can be heard in many younger British groups who write about friendship, about cities, and about the feeling of being young. The Libertines showed that a band could be romantic and rough at the same time, and that a song could be both clever and full of feeling. Their two early albums are now seen as classics, and their later albums show that the band can still write songs that connect.

The band’s legacy is also about survival. Many bands that split up in the way The Libertines did never play together again, but The Libertines did, and they made new music that was worth hearing. They did not just rely on nostalgia. They kept writing, kept touring, and kept finding new ways to work together. That is a rare thing, and it is why their story is still being told.

In the end, The Libertines are a band that made great songs out of a great friendship, and that friendship survived even when it seemed broken. Their music is about London, about youth, and about the people who shape our lives, and it will be listened to for years to come. Whatever happens next, they have already left a mark on British music that will be hard to forget.

The Libertines on Screen, in Print and in Memory

The Libertines’ story has been told in more than just their songs. A documentary film, There Are No Innocent Bystanders, was released in 2011, and it followed the band’s reunion shows and the friendship between Pete Doherty and Carl Barat. The film showed the band as they really were, with all their warmth, their humour and their difficulties, and it became a favourite among fans who wanted to understand what had happened to the group.

Books have also been written about the band, and Doherty and Barat have both spoken about their lives in interviews and in print. Their story has become a legend in British music, and it is told and retold by fans, by journalists and by other musicians. That is a sign that a band’s story has moved beyond the music itself, and that it has become part of the wider culture. The Libertines are not just a band. They are a story that people tell each other.

Their songs have also been used in films and on television, and they have become part of the soundtrack of British life. Time for Heroes has been played at sports events and on the radio, and it has become a song that people associate with youth and with London. When a band’s songs are used in this way, it is a sign that the music has a life of its own, and that it speaks to people who have never seen the band live.

The band’s visual style has also been important. Their early photographs, which showed them in a flat in London, in old clothes and with guitars, became famous, and they gave the band an image that was both romantic and real. Their record sleeves, their videos and their stage designs were all made with a sense of romance, and they fitted the music perfectly. A band that cares about how its music looks as well as how it sounds is a band that respects its audience.

The Libertines have also been recognised by the music industry in ways that go beyond chart positions. Their two early albums are now seen as classics, they have been praised by other musicians, and they have been listed among the greatest British albums of all time. Other bands have said that The Libertines are one of the most important groups of their generation, and that praise matters, because it comes from people who know how hard it is to write songs that feel honest. It is one thing to be loved by fans, and another to be respected by your peers, and The Libertines have earned both.

Their songs have also found new listeners through streaming, where a playlist can bring a band to someone who has never heard of them. A young listener today might find Can’t Stand Me Now on an indie playlist, or Time for Heroes on a London playlist, and then go back to hear the whole catalogue. That is a new way for music to travel, and it has helped The Libertines reach people in countries where they have never toured. Their music now belongs to a wider world than the London scene where it began.

The band’s life in Margate has also become part of their story. They bought a hotel, the Albion Rooms, and turned it into a place where fans could stay and where the band could record. It was a new kind of home for a band that had once lived in a flat in London, and it showed how much they had changed. They were no longer young men in a hurry. They were men who had found a place to belong, and that place became part of their music.

In the end, the wider story of The Libertines is a story of a band whose music and whose friendship became part of British culture. They did not just write good songs. They wrote songs that people use to remember their youth, their friends, and their city. That is why their fans are so loyal, and why their music still matters. A band whose songs are sung by crowds at festivals has done something that few bands ever do, and The Libertines have done it again and again.

In 2014 The Libertines returned to the biggest stage of their career so far, when they headlined a show in Hyde Park in London as part of the British Summer Time festival. It was their first show together in four years, and it was watched by tens of thousands of people in the park. The set included their best-known songs, and the crowd sang along to every word. It was a powerful moment, because it showed that the band’s audience had not forgotten them, even after years apart, and it proved that their songs still mattered to a whole generation of fans.

The band’s third album, Anthems for Doomed Youth, arrived in 2015, and it was their first record in eleven years. It was recorded in Thailand, far away from London, and it had a warmer and more relaxed sound than their early work. The single Gunga Din became a favourite with fans, and the album showed that the band could still write songs that mattered. It was not trying to repeat the past. It was a record about the present, about getting older and about staying friends, and that honesty made it special.

In 2024 the band released their fourth album, All Quiet on the Eastern Esplanade, which was recorded in Margate, the seaside town where they now live and work. The album’s first single, Run Run Run, was bright and energetic, and the record as a whole showed a band that was settled and happy. They toured the album in Britain and in Europe, and their audiences included both old fans who had followed them since the start and young listeners who had found them through streaming. To still be making records in 2024 is an achievement, and it shows how much the band still enjoy playing together.

My Take:

When I think about The Libertines, the first thing I feel is the power of friendship. I have had friendships that shaped my life, and I know how much it hurts when a close friend and I fall out. The Libertines wrote their best songs about that feeling, and I think that is why their music still moves people. Can’t Stand Me Now is not just a song about two men in a band. It is a song about any friendship that has been tested, and I think everyone who hears it can feel something of their own life in it.

I also admire the way they wrote about London. I think a great band should be able to make a city feel alive in a song, and The Libertines did that. When I listen to Time for Heroes or Up the Bracket, I can feel the streets, the flats, the nights out, and the feeling of being young in a big city. I think that is a gift, because it takes a city that many people know and makes it feel like it belongs to the listener. I have never lived in London, but their songs make me feel like I have walked those streets.

There is something I find moving about Pete Doherty and Carl Barat as a pair. I think they were like two brothers, and I think their story is a warning about how fame and drugs can break even the strongest friendship. I do not want to judge Doherty, because I do not know what it is like to live with addiction, but I do think about how hard it must have been for Barat to watch his friend struggle and not be able to help him. I think that pain is in their music, and it is what makes their songs feel honest.

I also think about the break-up, and how sad it must have been for the fans who loved the band. I imagine being a young fan in 2004, hearing that The Libertines had split up, and feeling like something special had ended. I think that is a feeling many music fans know, and I think it is why the reunion in 2010 meant so much. When a band comes back after years apart, it feels like a second chance, and I think The Libertines earned that second chance by being honest about what had gone wrong.

What I find hardest in their story is the way the newspapers treated Doherty. I think the press followed his drug problems like a story, and I think that made it harder for him to get better. I do not think it is fair to turn a person’s struggle into entertainment, and I think The Libertines’ story shows the harm that can do. A band is made of real people, and when the cameras follow every mistake, it becomes harder to heal. I wish the press had given him more space, and I think the band’s survival is even more impressive because of that.

I also admire Carl Barat, because I think he is the quieter hero of this story. He kept writing, he formed a new band, and he kept going even when his best friend was struggling. I think it takes a lot of strength to do that, because it would have been easy to give up or to blame Doherty for everything. Barat did not do that. He kept the door open, and when the time was right, he welcomed Doherty back. I think that is a generous and brave thing to do.

The reunion album, Anthems for Doomed Youth, is the part of their story I keep coming back to. I think it was a brave record, because it did not try to copy the early albums. It sounded like a band that had grown up, and I respect that. A lot of reformed bands just play the old songs and make a record that sounds like a copy of the past, but The Libertines made something new. I think that shows they still care about music, not just about money or nostalgia.

I also think about their fourth album, made in Margate, and how much it says about growing older. I like the image of a band that once lived in a chaotic flat in London now running a hotel by the sea and making music in a calm place. I think that is a hopeful image, because it shows that people can change. A band that was known for chaos can find peace, and a friendship that was broken can be repaired. I find that very moving, and I think it is the best part of their later story.

There is a lesson in The Libertines for anyone who has a close friend. The lesson is that friendship needs care, and that fame, drugs and pressure can break it if you are not careful. I think Doherty and Barat learned that lesson the hard way, and I think their music is a record of that learning. I would tell a young person to listen to their songs and think about the people who matter most to them, and to take care of those friendships before they break.

I also feel sad that the early years of the band were so short. I think about the first album, when everything was new and the band were playing small rooms and dreaming of the future, and I wish that time could have lasted longer. But I also think that the shortness of those years is part of why the music is so powerful. The band knew, even then, that the moment would not last, and they put all of their feeling into the songs. That is why the songs still feel urgent today.

When I listen to their later work, I hear a band that is at peace with itself. The songs are calmer, the voices are older, and the feeling is different, but it is still honest. I think that is a good place for any artist to reach, where you are no longer trying to be young and wild and you are just making the music that fits your life now. I hope they keep that feeling, because it is the feeling that makes their later work worth hearing.

In the end, I think The Libertines teach us that a great band is not just about songs. It is about people, about friendship, and about the hard work of staying together. They made two brilliant albums, they fell apart, they came back, and they made more music. That is a story of survival, and it is a story that gives hope to anyone who has lost a friendship and wants to repair it. I would tell anyone who loves music to listen to The Libertines, not just for the songs, but for the story of two friends who found their way back to each other.

I will remember The Libertines as a band that made me feel the city and the friendship in their songs. Their music has a warmth to it, a sense that life is better when it is shared with friends, and I think that is a wonderful thing to give people. They made songs that still make me want to sing along, and they kept going when it would have been easier to stop. For that alone, they deserve to be remembered as one of the most important British bands of their time.

I also think about the documentary film about the band, and how much it must have meant to their fans to see them as they really were. I imagine watching Pete and Carl on screen, seeing their friendship, their arguments and their laughter, and feeling like you understand them a little better. I think that is a gift, because it turns a band from a name on a record into real people. The Libertines gave their fans that gift, and I think it is why their story is still told today.

I also admire the way their songs have been used in films and on television. I think it is a sign that a song has a life beyond the band when other people want to use it to tell their own stories. Time for Heroes has that life, because it is a song about youth and about London, and it works in many different settings. When I hear it in a film, I feel the same lift I felt when I first heard it on record, and I think that is a mark of a great song.

There is something I find hopeful about the band’s life in Margate, because it shows that people can change. I think about a band that was once known for chaos now running a hotel by the sea and making music in a calm place, and I find that very moving. It tells me that a friendship that was broken can be repaired, and that a life that was chaotic can become peaceful. I think that is the best part of their later story, and it is the part that gives me hope.

I also think about the books that have been written about the band, and how much they say about the way people remember them. I think it is rare for a band’s story to be told in books, and it is a sign that their story matters beyond music. The Libertines are not just a band. They are a story about friendship, about youth, and about London, and that story will be told for years to come.

What I find most impressive about their story is the way they have kept their friendship alive. I think about Pete and Carl, two men who fell out badly, and who found their way back to each other. I think that takes a lot of generosity, because it would have been easy to stay angry. They chose to forgive, and they chose to play together again. I think that is a brave and beautiful thing to do, and it is why their reunion means so much to their fans.

I also think about the younger bands who have been influenced by The Libertines, and how much that must mean to them. I imagine a young songwriter in London hearing The Libertines for the first time and thinking that a band can write about friendship and about the city in a way that feels honest. That is a powerful idea, and I think The Libertines have given it to a whole generation of musicians. Their influence is not just in their songs. It is in the permission they give other bands to be romantic.

There is a sadness in the way their early years ended, because those first albums were so good and their time together was so short. I think about the band in 2004, at the top of the charts, and then splitting up, and I wish that story could have ended differently. But I also think that is true of many great bands, and it is not really a sadness. It is just the price of being young and intense. The band gained a legend, and they lost some of the time they could have had together, and that is a fair trade.

In the end, I think the wider story of The Libertines is a story of friendship that became part of British culture. They wrote songs about their friendship, they lost that friendship, and then they found it again. That is a story that gives hope to anyone who has lost a friend and wants to repair it. I would tell a young person to listen to their songs and think about the people who matter most to them, and to take care of those friendships before they break.

I also think about the Hyde Park show in 2014, and how much it must have meant to the band. I imagine walking onto a stage in front of tens of thousands of people, after four years apart, and wondering whether they still remember your songs. Then the crowd starts singing, and you realise that they never forgot. That must feel wonderful, and it must also feel like a relief. I think that show was the moment when the band knew they could come back, and I am glad they did, because their later records are some of their best work.

I also admire the decision to record Anthems for Doomed Youth in Thailand, because I think it shows how much the band wanted a fresh start. I remember hearing Gunga Din for the first time and thinking that this was a different Libertines, warmer and more relaxed than the band I knew. But the more I listened, the more I liked it, because it showed that the band were not afraid to grow. I think that is a lesson for any artist. Do not be afraid to change, even when people love what you already do.

There is something I find hopeful about All Quiet on the Eastern Esplanade, because it is a record from a band that has been going for more than twenty years, and it still sounds fresh. I think about a band that once lived in a flat in London now making music by the sea in Margate, and I find that very moving. It tells me that people can change, and that a life that was chaotic can become peaceful. I would tell a young musician to listen to that album and notice how hope can be a creative decision, not just a feeling. The Libertines chose hope, and their music is better for it.

Frequently Asked Questions

When were The Libertines formed and who started the band?

The Libertines were formed in London in 1997 by Pete Doherty and Carl Barat. The best-known line-up also included bassist John Hassall and drummer Gary Powell, who joined as the band’s sound took shape.

What are The Libertines’ most famous songs?

Their best-known songs include Time for Heroes, Up the Bracket, What a Waster, Can’t Stand Me Now and What Became of the Likely Lads. Gunga Din from their reunion album is also well known to fans.

Why did The Libertines split up in 2004?

The band split up in 2004 after Pete Doherty’s drug problems led to arguments with Carl Barat and to time away from the band. The remaining members decided they could not carry on in those circumstances, and Doherty went on to form Babyshambles.

When did The Libertines reunite?

The Libertines reformed in 2010 to headline the Reading and Leeds festivals, six years after they had split up. The reunion shows were a huge success, and the band later recorded new albums together.

What is The Libertines’ most recent album?

Their fourth album, All Quiet on the Eastern Esplanade, was released in April 2024. It was recorded in Margate, where the band had set up a hotel and studio called the Albion Rooms.

Are The Libertines still together?

Yes, The Libertines are still together and continue to tour and record. Pete Doherty and Carl Barat lead the band, with John Hassall and Gary Powell, and they play both their early songs and their newer material live.