Carl Barât – live in Paris – July 8, 2011 – Radio France Le Mouv –
Carl Barât, former Libertines frontman and Dirty Pretty Things co-founder, during his solo period just after the breakup of The Libertines, and Pete Doherty’s induction into rehab. This was recorded in Paris during a two month tour, recorded on July 8, 2011 and broadcast by Radio France’s Rock outlet Le Mouv (along with a very chatty French announcer who gets “this close’ to stepping all over song intros).
Barât released his self-titled, first solo album on 4 October 2010. In an interview with C.B.Liddell of Metropolis magazine he described the album as “the first album I’ve done that is kind of introspective rather than escapist.” In the same interview, he also talked about “stepping away from big loud guitars” as the album is stylistically more diverse and less rock-oriented than previous work.
The release of Barât’s first solo album also coincided with the release of Threepenny Memoir: The Lives of a Libertine, an autobiography documenting his years in The Libertines and Dirty Pretty Things.
In January 2013 Barât announced that guitarist Johnny Marr (formerly of The Smiths) and drummer Andy Burrows (formerly of Razorlight and We Are Scientists) would feature on his second solo album, due for release in 2013. Barât revealed demo versions of tracks ‘War of the Roses’ and ‘Victory Gin’ from his second solo effort online.
Also in 2013, Barât wrote the title “The dark, it comes” for the album “Love Songs” of French singer Vanessa Paradis on which both sing together.
He is part of the supergroup The Bottletop Band with Matt Helders (Arctic Monkeys), Andy Nicholson (Arctic Monkeys), Drew McConnell (Babyshambles) and Gruff Rhys (Super Furry Animals). The band’s single, “The Fall of Rome”, was released in December 2010.
On 20 April 2014 an image of London’s Hyde Park was released to the band’s Facebook page. Around this time both Carl Barât and Peter Doherty indicated in interviews that they had accepted an offer to play the venue on 5 July 2014.
On 25 April, it was confirmed that the Libertines would play on Saturday 5 July in London’s Hyde Park, headlining the day, as part of the Barclaycard British Summer Time series of concerts.[6] Support for the concert was to be provided by a number of bands and artists, most notably The Pogues, Spiritualized, Maxïmo Park, Raglans and The Enemy
At their 5 July Hyde Park gig, they announced three new gigs, taking place in Alexandra Palace, on 26, 27 and 28 September.
In January 2015 it was announced that Doherty had successfully completed his rehab treatment at the Hope Rehab Centre in Thailand, and had joined his bandmates in the recording of their third studio album.
The Libertines were praised for forming a very close relationship with fans. The band befriended several of their fans, and their Guerrilla gigs allowed devoted supporters to see them in close proximity. The film Fuck the Police, shot in 2003 by Anne McCloy, captured one such gig at The Albion Rooms when the police raided and closed down an impromptu gig after complaints by irate neighbours. Doherty published the “Books of Albion” online, sharing his personal thoughts and feelings freely. He also frequently posted on the fan forums. This allowed fans a deep insight into his life and helped cement the relationship between the band and the public. They were also very free with their recordings, releasing songs free onto the internet and via word-of-mouth giveaways. This allowed their fan base to hear unfinished songs or ideas, some of which would grow into finished versions on the albums, some of which would be discarded.
In case you missed this “in-between” period, here is Carl Barât in 2011 playing in Paris on July 8.
Crank it up and enjoy. Next week ought to be insane.
