what became of the likely lads

The Libertines.

The Libertines are one of my favorite bands. I did not really get into them until after they had broken up.


There were four members in the band but best mates Pete and Carl garnered the most attention.

They have two albums. Down the Bracket, 2002, and The Libertines, 2004, and though not much was notice was given to them by american audiences they gave the british music scene a good kick. A return to rock music and away from Coldplay esque bands. The Libertines was written and recorded during a time when the two men were very much at odds and had to have security in the studio to stop them from pummeling each other. Songs like Can't Stand Me Now are a pretty obvious reference to this tension.

Aside from the music the artistic/passionate friendship of Pete and Carl was something quite unabashedly homosocial. And still inspires quite a lot of fanfic.
Which is usually sort of unnerving.

Pete Doherty in the last year has become fodder for the tabloids and most people believe he will be lucky to make it to 30. While The Libertines (without Pete - due to drugs, or rehab, or something) were playing a show in 2004 he broke into Carl's flat and robbed it. This was pretty much the end of the Libertines.


It was quite the split and papers covered it like a reality show couple had just filed for divorce. There was constant commentary on where the two men were, and if they had bumped into each other at a bar and the reaction from those who watched anxiously.


The two have moved on to other bands. The Babyshambles, recently dropped from it's label, is fronted by Pete and Carl has Dirty Pretty Things. Both bands have had trouble as everything they do is marked by comparisons to the Libertines and to each other. Fans and critics look to the lyrics to as clues to the men's feelings on the loss of the other. But the men have moved on.

Oh you men.