Pete Doherty

For the scientist, see Peter Doherty.

For the wrestler, see Duke of Dorchester Pete Doherty.

Pete Doherty (born March 12, 1979 in Hexham, Northumberland, UK) was co-frontman and songwriter with Carl Barat, of British punk and garage rock revivalists The Libertines. He is currently the frontman for the band Babyshambles. Since 2003, he has become known to the public at large as a result of his addiction to drugs, and his recent relationship with model Kate Moss.

Doherty grew up in London's Shepherd's Bush, but frequently moved around the UK and Europe as a result of his father Peter's work with the British Army, living at various times in Liverpool, London, Belfast, Germany, Coventry, Dorset and Cyprus. At the age of 16, he won a poetry competition and was sent by the British Council on a tour of Russia. Despite being well-travelled, however, Doherty has spoken of a deep interest in the inner city environment, and has since lived primarily in London. He briefly worked as a rentboy with Carl Barat.

His academic career was relatively successful. He achieved 11 top grades in his secondary school GCSE examination, four top grades at A Level, and was accepted on an English literature course at the University of London. He dropped out of this course in his first year, however, and moved into a flat in Stoke Newington, North London with Carl Barat, with whom he had established an intense relationship.

Doherty and Barat formed the rock group "The Libertines", sharing singing and song-writing duties. At their flat they wrote material for their debut single "What a Waster" (2002) and their first album, "Up The Bracket", released later that year. The debut album was critically acclaimed and the band shot to stardom particularly as a result of their volatile live performances which were characterised by outbreaks of physical violence, kissing and microphone-sharing between Barat and Doherty.

After the release of "Up the Bracket", Doherty was expelled from the band as a result of erratic behaviour caused by his drug addiction. In the summer of 2003, Kill City vocalist Lisa Moorish gave birth to Astile, Doherty's child. In July 2003, he broke into Barat's Marylebone flat and stole some items, including a laptop and an antique guitar, and was sentenced to six months in prison, with the second three months as a suspended sentence. On the day of his release, he was received warmly by Carl Barat, with whom he had reconciled through correspondence.

He rejoined the band on his release and played three succesful reuinion concerts at the London Forum in December 2003, widely considered some of the best performances of all time. He worked on a second album with the band in 2004.

However, much to the chagrin of Barat, Doherty's drug abuse re-intensified, which strained their relationship both privately and professionally. Bodyguards attended recording sessions to protect Doherty and Barat from physically assaulting each other, and to prevent the people Barat referred to as Doherty's "harpies" (drug friends and hangers-on) from turning up at the studio. Once again, after the album was released, he was expelled from the band, in protest at the latest of three failed drug rehabilitation attempts, when Doherty absconded from Thamkrabok, a monastery in Thailand known for rehabilitating drug and alcohol addicts.

He has since gone on to forge a career without Barat, releasing a solo single ("For Lovers") with Wolfman (nominated for the 2004 Ivor Novello Award for Best Contemporary Song), and forming Babyshambles - initially as a way to make small amounts of money to pay for drugs, although the band has since released two successful singles, and toured erratically but extensively in the UK. In December 2004, they failed to take the stage as scheduled at the London Astoria, leading the audience to riot. Babyshambles are expected to release a debut album in July 2005.

On February 3rd 2005, Doherty was arrested for assaulting documentary film maker Max Carlish in an Islington hotel and, despite protesting his innocence, failed to provide £150,000 bail by the agreed deadline and was briefly jailed. Magistrates imposed conditions on his eventual release, including a night-time curfew for all reasons except drug rehabilitation, and an escort from a private security firm at all times. The charges of robbery and blackmail were later dropped.

Doherty is undergoing a rehabilitation using Naltroxene, which prevents the opiates in heroin from causing a "high".

Doherty remains estranged from Barat, although they briefly met in April 2005 at the Boogaloo Bar, London.

Influences

In interviews (see links below), Doherty has listed his favourite books as being 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 as an influence. His favourite films include British films of the 1960s such as Billy Liar, Poor Cow, O Lucky Man!, Hugo the Hippo, and the film versions of Steptoe and Son.

External links

• Overview (http://www.guardian.co.uk/arts/features/story/0,11710,1381347,00.html/) of Doherty's career from The Guardian newspaper.
• AndrewKendall.com (http://www.andrewkendall.com/) London music photographer's web site featuring a gallery[1] (http://www.andrewkendall.com/pages/gallery/musicphotography.php?band=all&viewby=all&Submit=Go) containing pictures of The Libertines, Pete Doherty and Babyshambles.
• Pete-Doherty.net (http://www.pete-doherty.net/) A fan site supplying information, news, pictures, articles, and media files.
• The Libertines.org.uk (http://www.thelibertines.org.uk/) Official website.
• Albion Fic (http://www.livejournal.com/~albion_fic/) A popular forum for discussion on Doherty's possible romantic relationships with various musicians, including Carl Barat and Wolfman.