Pete Doherty

For other uses, see the musician Pete Doherty.

Peter Doherty (Pronounced by the man himself as "DOCK-erty") (born 12 March, 1979) is the singer for 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 struggles with his addiction to crack cocaine after having a Naltrexone implant to attempt to beat his heroin addiction. His drug problems and his frequent arrests and court appearances provide a constant source of material for the tabloid press.

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Pete Doherty performing at the Xfm studios in December 2004.

Biography

Early life

Peter Doherty was born in Hexham, Northumberland, England. He grew up at a number of army garrisons as a result of his 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, and two sisters, Amy Jo and Emily. Doherty was the second of the three children.

He was academically successful, achieving 11 A* GCSEs, at Nicholas Chamberlain Comprehensive School in Bedworth and four A grades at A Level in General Studies, History, English Literature and Economics. At the age of 16, he won a poetry competition and embarked on a tour of Russia organised by the British Council.

He was accepted for an English Literature course at both Oxford University and University College London, choosing the latter, but he eventually dropped out in his first year.

After leaving university, he moved into a flat in North London with Carl Barat, with whom he had established a close friendship.

Pete Doherty is a fan of the London-based football club, Queens Park Rangers. He created his own fanzine as a teenager called 'All Quiet on the Western Avenue' which as indicated by its title, mixed football with literary references.

Life as a musician

The Libertines

File:Libertines Group Picture.jpg

The Libertines

Main article: The Libertines

Pete Doherty and Carl Barat formed a band called 'The Libertines' in the late 90's. However, the band didn't become well known to the public until 2002. The group then achieved a great deal of critical and commercial success and gained a dedicated, cult following, but Doherty's increasing drug problems led to his estrangement from the band. In 2003, he was jailed for burgling his bandmate, Carl Barat's, flat.

The two initially fell out over the affair, but made amends whilst Doherty was in prison. He was originally sentenced to 6 months, however this 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." Upon his release, Doherty immediately reunited with Carl and the rest of the band to play a gig in Kent.

Following his rejoining of the band, Pete attempted to solve his problems with drug addiction. He attended the controversial Wat Tham Krabok temple in Thailand, famous for its heroin and opium drug rehabilitation program. As a consequence of this, The Libertines cancelled appearances they were due to make at the Isle Of Wight and Glastonbury festivals.

However, while post production work was taking place on the second Libertines album (entitled simply "The Libertines") in June 2004, he was again asked to leave the band. The band cited Pete'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 Barat had previously stated that the Libertines were merely on hiatus, pending Doherty's recovery, the group effectively disbanded at the end of 2004, and all members are now involved in other projects.

Collaboration with Wolfman

Prior to the disbanding of The Libertines, Doherty collaborated with local poet Wolfman in early 2004. 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, the pair received relatively little money, having already sold the publishing rights in a bar for a small amount.

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 third 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 period, tabloid interest in his relationship with Kate Moss began to overshadow his music career. On Down In Albion, Kate Moss sings backing vocals on "La Belle et La Bete".

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.

Readers of the influential British music weekly NME magazine recently voted Doherty the second greatest rock star of all time, beaten only by Kurt Cobain of Nirvana.

Fellow British rock group Oasis had booked Babyshambles to support them on their UK tour. However, Pete was attending a birthday celebration 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. 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 is rumoured to be preparing to record a new album, and have premiered new songs at recent shows.

Guerrilla gigs and acoustic 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. 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.

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 as an influence, as well as Tony Hancock. 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 Quincy.

His favourite films include British films of the 1960s 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, having covered "There She Goes," as well as The Only Ones. He is particularly fond of The Smiths and The Clash.

Doherty and Carl Barat had a fondness for Cockney musicians Chas and Dave. Doherty also champions up-and-coming British bands, such as indie band The Paddingtons.

On March 27, 2006, the magazine Entertainment Wise reported Pete Doherty as adopting Buddhism to get through his drug problems. After attending classes on the religion, he admitted to feeling more calm. Along with his companion then Kate Moss, he aims to deepen his Buddhist practice and try more meditation.

Albion and Arcadia

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. Pete named his diaries, in which he writes poems and other thoughts, the 'Books of Albion.'

Awards

Dohery was voted to be joint #1 in alternative music magazine NME's 2004 Cool List, along with fellow Libertine Carl Barat. The following year he was placed at #6, and on May 10, 2006 was voted #2 in their poll depicting 50 of rock's greatest 'heroes'.

Controversy

2005

• 3 February - Doherty and another man were arrested for allegedly assaulting documentary film maker Max Carlish in an Islington hotel, in an incident apparently related to his decision to sell photos of Doherty smoking heroin to the tabloid press. Despite protesting his innocence, Doherty spent 4 days in Pentonville Prison due to his initial inability to raise the £150,000 bail the judge set. Following a £50,000 payment from record company EMI and a £100,000 payment from his manager, his release from custody was secured. Magistrates imposed conditions on his 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 due to "insufficient evidence."

• 22 February - The judge granted an exception to his bail conditions so that Doherty could perform a scheduled concert at the Brixton Academy with his band. It was here that a brief fistfight between Pete and bandmate Patrick Walden took place on stage.

• 13 August - Doherty was stopped in the airport customs at Oslo Gardermoen Airport, where customs officers found him to be in possession of a small amount of heroin. His band was originally booked to play at the Oslo-festival Øyafestivalen at 5:05 PM, but he remained in custody for three hours. He was released when the organisers of the festival paid the fine of 8000 NOK (693.118 GBP). When the band appeared onstage later than scheduled, Doherty was sick, and vomited after 20 minutes. He threw out a bottle of Vodka to the audience, and showed them his empty cigarette package, followed by the crowd throwing cigarettes to him. Because of the electricity being shut down at 11 pm, they couldn't play for more than 30 minutes.

• 2 October - Following a sold-out gig at Shrewsbury Music Hall, police raided the band's tour bus and Doherty was arrested for possession of Class A drugs and held overnight. Babyshambles were forced to cancel a performance at the University of East Anglia as a result. Doherty protested his innocence.

• 24 November - Doherty was admitted into the exclusive US rehabilitation clinic, The Meadows, but checked out after just six days and was, in the early hours of November 30, 2005, arrested on the alleged possession of class A drugs after police stopped his car on Cleveland Road, Ealing, W13, due to the erratic manner of his driving. He was taken to Ealing Broadway police station and later bailed to return in January 2006 pending further inquiries. On Sunday 18 December Doherty was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence.

• 18 December - Doherty was again arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence in East London. Doherty and three passengers fled, and a search of Doherty's car rendered substances believed to be heroin and crack cocaine.

2006

• 11 January - Doherty pleaded guilty to the possession of heroin and cocaine at Ealing Magistrates' Court after being arrested in west London on 30 November, 2005. He was released on unconditional bail to reappear for sentencing on 8 February. Doherty's barrister was forced to apologise to the court after the singer arrived at the hearing more than an hour late, blaming traffic and press obstruction.

• 14 January - Doherty was arrested again and charged with driving under the influence and possession of Class A narcotics, heroin and cocaine. On 20 January, Doherty pled guilty to possession of heroin, crack cocaine, morphine and cannabis.

• 25 January - Doherty was arrested twice. First at 5:40am for suspicion of possession of class A drugs after driving erratically in London. Following his release from custody he was searched and re-arrested in London at 3:00pm for being under the influence of class A drugs. These arrests forced the postponement of several gigs, leading to a riot among some of the fans present at the Newcastle show scheduled for that evening, when two people were arrested. The judge refused bail and Doherty was remanded in custody until 8 February, for sentencing. The press speculated that he gave the judge the finger after being refused bail.

• 8 February - Doherty escaped a jail term over the drugs offenses. Having plead guilty to possessing heroin and cocaine, Doherty was given a 12-month community order, requiring him to attend a drug rehabilitation center and undergo monthly check-ups. Magistrate Ann McLaughlin told a disheveled and pale Doherty, "You must submit to treatment with a view to ending your dependency on drugs." Asked if he agreed with the sentence Pete Doherty replied: "I do." A week later, Doherty told Channel 4 News that he had quit drugs for good: "I want to start a drugs-free life. I wasn't much of a junkie anyway." Doherty appeared in court on 8 March, 2006, where he faced a review of the 12-month community order imposed on him in February. The judge said that Doherty had been making "positive progress" in his battle with drug addiction.

• 27 February - Doherty was arrested during the evening and bailed in Birmingham, along with two men from the Dundee area, on suspicion of stealing a car and possessing Class A drugs.

• 7 March - Scotland Yard announced that Doherty has been charged with seven further counts of drug possession: two charges of possessing crack cocaine, two of possessing heroin and a further three charges relating to the possession of cannabis. These charges relate to incidents in east London in December and January. He appeared in court on 9 March, 2006 to face these charges, but his case was adjourned for a further two weeks because the prosecution said they were not ready to begin the hearing.

• 23 March - Doherty pled guilty to the seven drug charges, and sentencing was scheduled for 20 April. Immediately after, he kicked a microphone out of a reporter's hand during a chaotic scene outside the court.

• 20 April - Doherty was sentenced, receiving an 18 month drug rehabilitation order, and banned from driving for six months. Just hours after leaving court he was rearrested for alleged drug possession by plainclothes police officers, and held overnight before being bailed.

• 28 April - The Sun, a tabloid newspaper, printed photographs of Doherty that purported to show him injecting an unconscious woman with heroin. Doherty said that the pictures had been staged as a type of art photography called a tableau vivant, and later stolen and sold.

• 29 April - Doherty was arrested at 8am in East London and questioned on suspicion of administering a noxious substance. He was later released after the woman in the pictures confirmed that she was fully conscious and the pictures did not depict any actual drug use; six witnesses corroborated this. It was reported that he had been drawing a small amount of blood for use in an artwork; Doherty has experimented with blood as a pigment in the past, and a selection of his paintings are to be displayed in a London gallery.

Personal Life

As well as his relationship with Moss, Doherty also has a son called Estile with singer Lisa Moorish, who has a child with Oasis singer Liam Gallagher. He has also said that he has a second child "that he is not allowed to see."

See also

• Babyshambles - Doherty's current band
• The Libertines - Doherty's former band, which he co-founded
• Carl Barat - Former close friend and co-founder of The Libertines

External links

• Extended, unedited interview after release from Pentonville Prison. (Channel 4 News)
• Books of Albion
• 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.
• BBC News report of Doherty's arrest on February 27 2006 on suspicion of car theft and drug possession.
• Rolling Stone Profile
• Balachadha.com A paysite featuring original videos and art by Doherty