http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,4484-1495294,00.html
February 22, 2005
Barât’s £1m solo deal sounds death knell for The Libertines
By Adam Sherwin, Media Reporter
THE saga of the Libertines appeared to have concluded yesterday after co-founder Carl Barât signed a £1 million solo deal with the record company behind Emimem and U2.
Barât ejected his songwriting partner Pete Doherty from the award-winning Libertines after his former friend failed to address his heroin and crack cocaine abuse.
The door was held open for a cleaned-up Doherty to return but Barât has lost patience. Accepting that the Libertines are defunct without Doherty, he will now go it alone.
Barât has signed a long-term, worldwide recording deal with the Vertigo label, owned by the Universal Music Group. The Libertines recorded for the independent label Rough Trade but Universal promises to turn Barât into a global star alongside Scissor Sisters, Gwen Stefani and Keane.
Greg Castell, Vertigo’s managing director, said: “Carl is one of the greatest talents in modern music. His contribution to the Libertines was fundamental to the band’s success and we are delighted to have the opportunity of working closely with him.”
Although signed as a solo artist, Barât will form a band including other members of the Libertines but has no plans to include Doherty.
Music-watchers will be interested to see whether Doherty’s new band Babyshambles or his former partner emerges as the true songwriting talent from the acclaimed Libertines pairing. Barât’s career will be guided by Alan McGee, the record company mogul who discovered Oasis. Barât, who is recovering from an operation to remove a benign tumour, plans to release his first solo album in October.
Barât was the guitarist, vocalist and co-songwriter in the Libertines, who made their debut with the acclaimed Up the Bracket album in October 2002. The band’s second platinum-selling album, called The Libertines, was released last August.
Some Libertines fans painted Barât as the villain of the piece for sacking Doherty even though his flat was once burgled by the troubled musician.
But Barât thanked those fans who stayed loyal for their “objectivity” when accepting the Best British Band prize at the NME Awards last week.
In what now appears to be a farewell to the Libertines, he said: “My heart goes out to Pete. This is as much for him as for anyone, and obviously I hoped he would be here on the off chance that we’d have some kind of reunion. It means a hell of a lot to win because we’ve been through a hell of a lot this year.”
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Dirty, dirty feet from the concert in the grass / I wanted to believe that freedom there could last (Willy Mason)