Why I Love The Libertines

Last night The Libertines returned to perform their first reunion show in front of fans who had won tickets through a ballot. I had one of these tickets, but unfortunately work commitments prevented me from watching one of my favourite bands in action. This weekend though, thousands will watch as the four men who formed The Libertines: Carl Barat, Pete Doherty, John Hassall and Gary Powell, return to play the main stage at Reading and Leeds Festival.

Now, I don’t expect everyone to agree, but The Libertines were without doubt one of the best bands of the last 10 years. However, unlike NME, who recently proclaimed that: 'the story of The Libertines is the greatest of a generation of British music fans.' It was not the stories about The Libertines that endeared them to me, but the music. Along with The Strokes, The Libertines defined a genre of music for the years that followed. They were The Clash for a new generation.
In fact, both of their full-length LPs, Up The Bracket (2002) and The Libertines (2004), were produced by Mick Jones, the co-founder of The Clash. I didn’t come across The Libertines until way after they had broken up, when a friend introduced me to them. Yet, the moment the intro to ‘Don’t Look Back Into The Sun’ kicked in, I was hooked.



I became as addicted to The Libertines as Doherty was to the drugs that would eventually tear the band apart. Whilst many thought otherwise, for me the band's music was never eclipsed by its internal conflicts. If anything the tensions within the band created some of their best music on the second album, The Libertines. The opening song on the album, ‘Can’t Stand Me Now’, details the breakdown of Carl and Pete’s relationship. It is a truly brilliant song, containing some of the best lyrics either man had ever written such as this beautiful opening lyric: “An ending fitting for the start/You twist and tore our love apart.” The Libertines managed to provide a raw energetic form of garage rock intertwined with the meaningful poetic lyrics of Barat and Doherty.



Of course the prime reason for their reform is the money. In typical fashion, neither Barat or Doherty have pretended that the money doesn’t matter; however, they certainly wouldn’t be back together if they were unable to be in the same room together. Nevertheless, none of this matters as long as The Libertines perform well at Reading and Leeds, and I have a hunch that they will be just as energetic and raucous as they were in their prime. Hopefully, The Libertines will let the music do the talking, if they do, then they will steal the show.