Pete Doherty

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This article is about the musician Pete Doherty. For other people named Pete Doherty, see Pete Doherty (disambiguation).

Peter Doherty (born March 12, 1979) is the singer and songwriter of the band Babyshambles, and formerly co-frontman and songwriter (along with Carl Barât) of The Libertines, with whom he first shot to fame. Since 2005, he has become well known to the public at large as a result of his relationship with supermodel Kate Moss and his addiction to heroin and crack cocaine. His drug problems, arrests, and court appearances are frequently reported in the tabloid press.

[edit] Biography

[edit] Early life

Peter Doherty was born in Hexham, Northumberland, England. He grew up at a number of army garrisons as a result of his Irish father Peter's work as an officer in the British Army, living at various times at garrisons in Catterick, Belfast, Germany, Bedworth, Dorset and Larnaca, along with his mother Jacqueline, a nurse of part Jewish descent,<ref name="scotsman">"Lament for a lost boy", Scotsman.com, 3 September 2006.</ref> and two sisters, Amy Jo and Emily. Doherty was the second of the three children. He was academically successful, achieving 5 grade A* and 6 grade A GCSEs, at Nicholas Chamberlaine Comprehensive School in Bedworth (although this has erroneously been reported as 11 grade A*s<ref name="The BBC">"What A Shambles", BBC, 31 August 2005.</ref>) and four passes at A Level, two at grade A.<ref name="Dorset Echo">"Wild man of pop 'a model student'", Dorset Echo, 24th August 2005.</ref>. At the age of 16, he won a poetry competition and embarked on a tour of Russia organised by the British Council.

After his A-levels he moved to his grandmother's flat in London, where he said he felt 'destined' to be, and got a job filling graves in Willesden Cemetery, although most of his time was spent reading and writing while sitting on gravestones.<ref name="University details">"Pete's Dragons", The Sunday Times, 14 May 2006.</ref>

He attended Queen Mary, part of the University of London, to study English literature, but left the course after his first year.<ref name="University details"/>

After leaving university, he moved into a London flat with his friend and fellow musician Carl Barât, who had been a classmate of Doherty's older sister at Brunel University.

Doherty was voted to be joint #1 in alternative music magazine NME's 2004 Cool List, along with fellow Libertine Carl Barât.It is a common misconception that it was only Doherty that topped the list. The following year he was placed at #6,<ref name="NMECoolList2005">"Who made it into the NME Cool List 2005?", NME.com, 22 November 2005.</ref> and on May 10, 2006 was voted #2 in their poll depicting 50 of rock's greatest 'heroes'.<ref name="50 Greatest Heroes">"Your biggest rock 'n' roll hero revealed", NME.com, 10 May 2006.</ref>

[edit] Life as a musician

[edit] The Libertines

Main article: The Libertines

Doherty and Barât formed a band called 'The Libertines' in the late 90s. Although it wasn't until 2002, with the release of their debut album Up the Bracket, that they began to achieve widespead success & entered the public domain. The group achieved a great deal of critical and commercial success and gained a dedicated, cult following, with Doherty in particular being praised by fans and critics alike as one of the most promising songwriters to emerge on the British music scene for some time. However, Doherty's increasing drug problems led to his estrangement from the band. In 2003, he was jailed for breaking into, and stealing from, his bandmate Barât's flat.<ref name="BurglingCarl">"Musician admits burgling bandmate's flat", BBC News, 12 August, 2003.</ref> <ref name="PrisonCarl">"Libertines singer sent to prison", BBC News, 8 September, 2003.</ref>

The two initially fell out over the affair, but made amends whilst Doherty was in prison. He was originally sentenced to 6 months, which was cut to 2 months on appeal with the judge commenting "We feel that a custodial sentence was justified in this case but sufficient credit was not given for his timely plea of guilty which it should have been. We have reduced his sentence to two months which will allow for his almost immediate release."<ref name="PeteAppeal">"Libertines singer's sentence cut", BBC News, 29 September, 2003.</ref> Upon his release, Doherty immediately reunited with Carl and the rest of the band to play a gig in Kent.<ref name="RejoinLibsKent">"Libertines reunite at freedom gig", BBC News, 9 October, 2003.</ref>

Following his rejoining of the band, Doherty sought treatment for his drug addiction. He attended the controversial Wat Tham Krabok temple in Thailand, famous for its heroin and crack drug rehabilitation program, where he was beaten with a bamboo cane and forced to drink foul herbal concoctions to induce vomiting. He escaped after three days and returned to England.<ref name="Rehab Fiasco">"Annihilation beckons the dark star of rock", The Guardian, 4 July 2004.</ref><ref name="Pete Leaves Rehab">"Pete Flees Rehab Again", NME.com, 14 June 2004.</ref> As a consequence of this, The Libertines cancelled appearances they were due to make at the Isle Of Wight and Glastonbury festivals.<ref name="FestCancelled">"Libertines cancel festival dates", BBC News, 9 June, 2004.</ref>

However, while post-production work was taking place on the second Libertines album (also called The Libertines) in June 2004, he was again asked to leave the band. The band cited Doherty's continuing drug addiction as the reason for his dismissal, but emphasised their willingness to take him back once he had addressed his addiction. Although Barât had previously stated that the Libertines were merely on hiatus, pending Doherty's recovery, the group effectively disbanded with this event at the end of 2004.<ref name="BoundTogether">Thornton, Anthony, Roger Sargent (2006). The Libertines Bound Together. Little, Brown Book Group, pp. 234-235. ISBN 0-316-73234-6.</ref> All members are now involved in other projects (see Yeti and Dirty Pretty Things).

[edit] Collaborations

Prior to the disbanding of The Libertines, Doherty collaborated with local poet Wolfman. Together the pair recorded the single For Lovers, which entered the top 10, charting at number 7, in April of the same year. Despite the success of the single, which was nominated for a prestigious Ivor Novello Award for songwriting<ref name="Ivor Novello Awards report">"Ivor Novello Awards report", Guardian Unlimited, 24 March, 2006.</ref>, the pair received relatively little money, having already sold the publishing rights for a small amount in a pub.<ref name="Rolling Stone profile">"Over the Edge with Pete Doherty", Rolling Stone, 24 March, 2006.</ref>

Later in 2004 Doherty provided guest vocals to the song "Down to the Underground" by the British group Client. The song was released in June 2004 as a b-side to the groups single "In It for the Money"<ref>"Pete finds new client!", NME.com, 29 April, 2004.</ref> and appears on their second album "City".

In 2005 Doherty collaborated with the British rock band Littl'ans on the single "Their Way".<ref>"Doherty records with The Littl'ans", contactmusic.com, 19 September, 2005.</ref>

In August 2006 it was announced that Doherty was recording with The Streets frontman Mike Skinner on a new version of "Prangin' Out", from Skinner's latest album.<ref>"Pete Doherty and The Streets record drugs anthem", NME.com, 9 August, 2006.</ref>

[edit] Babyshambles

Main article: Babyshambles

Doherty founded Babyshambles towards the end of his time with the Libertines. The group has released one album, Down in Albion, in November 2005, and their second single, "Fuck Forever", reached #4 on the UK singles chart. The band's touring schedule and releases have occasionally been disrupted by Doherty's ongoing legal problems. During this time, he began a relationship with supermodel Kate Moss. On Down In Albion, Kate Moss sings backing vocals on "La Belle et La Bête". The line-up of the band has changed several times, with drummer Gemma Clarke leaving the band due to Doherty's drug problems. She was replaced by Adam Ficek. Guitarist and co-songwriter Patrick Walden has also left the band on at least one occasion before returning intermittently.<ref name="Walden Leaves">"Babyshambles triumph at gig on eve of court case", NME.com, 11 January 2006.</ref> Fellow British rock group Oasis had booked Babyshambles to support them on their UK tour. However, Doherty was attending the birthday celebration of fashion designer Hedi Slimane with Kate Moss and the band's spokesman claimed that he was unable to arrange transport back to the UK in time for the band's first appearance.<ref name="OasisSupport">"Babyshambles cancel Oasis support", BBC News, 7 July, 2005.</ref> As a consequence Oasis cancelled Babyshambles' support for the rest of the tour. While on tour, Noel Gallagher dedicated "The Importance of Being Idle" to the frontman and his band. The band has announced that they are working on a new EP, and began recording in June. Although they were without a record contract during the summer of 2006, they reportedly signed a new deal with Parlophone worth £1 million at the end of August 2006. <ref name="Record Contract">"3AM: DOH.. A DEAL", Mirror, 29 August 2006.</ref>

[edit] Guerrilla gigs and solo work

Doherty has recently been rumoured to be working on new acoustic material, similar to the wealth of songs that can already be downloaded on the internet. On his own, and often with his band, he has continued the Libertines' tradition of performing short notice 'guerrilla gigs' in small venues.<ref name="Freedom Gig">"Pete Doherty plays 'freedom gig'", NME.com, 9 February, 2006.</ref> On New Year's Eve 2005, Doherty held a 'guerrilla gig' in his North London flat where he showcased some of his solo works, many of which later leaked onto the internet.<ref name="BoundTogether">Thornton, Anthony, Roger Sargent (2006). The Libertines Bound Together. Little, Brown Book Group, p. 263. ISBN 0-316-73234-6.</ref> 31 March and 1 April 2006 Doherty was performing two solo gigs, his first gigs at the European continent, at the NonStop Cinema (porncinema and venue) in Graz Austria after he failed to turn up in January. For this occasion he produced at the suggestion of Bettina Aichbauer, friend of Pete Doherty and owner of the NonStop Cinema, a film with the title "Spew it out your soul".<ref name="Graz">"Überraschungsgast in Graz", FM4, 1 April 2006.</ref>

Doherty has announced that he has signed a deal to publish his journals, in which he has recorded poetry, drawings, and photos over the course of his career, with Orion books. Most of Doherty's journals are freely available on the internet. <ref name="AlbionArks">Albion Arks. Retrieved on 2006-10-25.</ref> The book is due out in March 2007. <ref name="Book deal">"Pete Doherty Journals to Be Published", [[Spin (magazine)|]], 22 June 2006.</ref>

[edit] Influences

In interviews (see links below), Doherty has listed his favourite books as George Orwell's 1984, Brighton Rock by Graham Greene, Our Lady of the Flowers by Jean Genet, Flowers of Evil by Charles Baudelaire and the works of Oscar Wilde. He has also mentioned Emily Dickinson and Tony Hancock as influences; Doherty and his father were once members of the Tony Hancock Appreciation Society. However numerous literary and musical allusions occur throughout Doherty's ongoing Books of Albion. He places particular importance on the Romantic poets and on existential philosophers such as Albert Camus and Miguel de Unamuno. Doherty has also alluded to work by the Marquis de Sade and Thomas De Quincey. On the Babyshambles album 'Down in Albion', there is a track entitled 'A Rebours', which is significantly influenced by the novel of the same name by Joris-Karl Huysmans.<ref name="MotherInterview">"For Pete's sake", Times Saturday Magazine, 19 August 2006.</ref> His favourite films include British films of the 1960s ans seventies such as Billy Liar, Poor Cow, O Lucky Man!'' and the film versions of Steptoe and Son. He also cites Lee Mavers of The La's as a musical influence, as well as The Only Ones. He is particularly fond of The Smiths and The Clash.

Doherty and Carl Barât are fond of Cockney musicians Chas and Dave.<ref name="Early Interview">"Early Libertines Interview", The Guardian, 10 January 2003.</ref> Doherty has also supported up-and-coming British bands, such as indie band The Paddingtons<ref name="Rolling Stone profile">"Over the Edge with Pete Doherty", Rolling Stone, 24 March, 2006.</ref>.

Doherty is also known to be a devoted follower of Queen's Park Rangers football club. As a youth he wrote a fanzine, entitled "All Quiet On The Western Avenue."<ref name="MotherInterview"/> He sold copies of the fanzine on the club's grounds, however its mixture of literary references, quotes, poetry and football stories proved unsuccessful with the other fans.

A frequent lyrical theme for Doherty is Albion, the ancient name for Great Britain. Doherty also uses 'Albion' as the name of a ship sailing to a utopia called Arcadia, a place without rules or authority. Doherty and Barât shared a flat in London, at 112a Teesdale Street, Bethnal Green, affectionately known as 'The Albion Rooms', despite being rather run down. Doherty named his diaries, in which he writes poems and other thoughts, the 'Books of Albion.'<ref name="The Books of Albion">"The Books of Albion", Babyshambles.net, 26 June 2006.</ref>

[edit] Controversies and legal troubles

Doherty is frequently in the news for his problematic lifestyle and habits.

Main article: Pete Doherty's controversies

[edit] Family and Personal Life

Pete Doherty has had a tumultuous relationship with Kate Moss, frequently covered by the press. Moss sang at some of Doherty's shows.<ref name="on stage with Moss">"Kate Moss and Pete Doherty Reignite Romance in Ireland", NME.com, 26 September 2006.</ref> In October 2006, Moss confirmed that they were engaged.<ref name="engagement">"Kate Moss and Pete Doherty Reignite Romance in Ireland", Yahoo! News, 26 October 2006.</ref>

Doherty has a son named Astile with singer Lisa Moorish, who also has a child with Oasis singer Liam Gallagher. Moorish has reportedly allowed only limited contact between Doherty and their son due to the drug-related instability of Doherty's relationships. <ref name="limited contact to son">"Moss addiction keeps Pete Doherty off drugs", earthtimes.org, 28 September 2006.</ref>

Doherty is also said to be estranged from his father, an Army officer. After numerous attempts to convince him to start a serious rehab, in early 2005, his father decided that he was tired of broken promises and vowed never to see his son until he is clean of drugs. The sensitivity surrounding the issue became apparent in the BBC Two Arena documentary about Doherty, on 12 November 2006, which included footage of him talking about this aspect of his personal life. He was visibly upset and had to politely ask the interviewer at one point to stop filming.

His mother recently published a book about family life with Doherty.<ref name="MotherInterview"/>

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Pete Doherty & Babyshambles interview by Alex Hannaford
• The Libertines Bound Together - official site of bestselling Libertines biography
• Pete Doherty Shoots What May Be Blood At MTV Crew
• Extended, unedited interview after release from Pentonville Prison (Channel 4 News)
• Albion Arks - Libertines Media Archive
• The Libertines.org.uk Official website.
• Babyshambles.net The Official Babyshambles Website.
• Peter Doherty Interviewed by Alison Philcock
• Peter Doherty interviewed by Phil Whaite
• Archive of Pete Doherty photographs
• Yahoo Pete Doherty News Search Latest 2006 news.
• Rolling Stone Profile
• FrenchDogBlues.com Pete Doherty's Official Website.
• Sail the Albion A blog with news on the singer Peter Doherty
• For Pete's sake Interview with Jackie Doherty, Peter's mother about his drug history
• PeteDoherty.com Unofficial Pete Doherty fansite - News, discography, video and links

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