Carl Barat banned drugs and alcohol from the studio when The Libertines recorded their new album ‘All Quiet on the Eastern Esplanade’.
The British indie rock band have just released their fourth studio album and to maintain a sense of calm, and get the band to adhere to a strict work ethic during the recording process, the 45-year-old guitarist introduced the rule.
His bandmate Pete Doherty – who has now overcome his drug addictions – thought that Carl would relent on the booze ban but it never happened.
In an interview with Vulture, Pete said: “In the past we’ve worked hard, but it’s always been in conjunction with a jolly good knees up. This time around, there were strict instructions from Carl that there was no alcohol or drugs on the premises during writing and recording, which I went along with thinking it would be all right. He’ll give up after two or three hours. But lo and behold, he didn’t.”
To which Carl added: “And lo and behold, we got a record.”
Pete, 45, accepts that Carl’s insistence on sobriety helped the group – also comprised of bassist John Hassall and drummer Gary Powell – create one of their best ever records.
The singer/songwriter said: “I’m not knocking the system. I’m just saying it’s very difficult and I’m surprised by your puritanical adherence to it. Because after day three I was ready for a glass of cider purely as a reward system.”
The Libertines are on course to hit the number one spot with ‘All Quiet on the Eastern Esplanade’ on the UK Official Albums Chart this Friday (12.04.24).
And the band treated fans to songs from their new critically acclaimed album at two sold-out shows for Banquet Records at PRYZM in Kingston upon Thames, London, on Tuesday night (09.04.24).
During the second gig highlights from the LP included ‘Run, Run, Run’, ‘Mustangs’ and ‘Shiver’, while they also performed a host of hits such as ‘What Became of the Likely Lads’, ‘What Katie Did’ and ‘Can’t Stand Me Now’.
On ‘Time For Heroes’ the band pulled up an audience member called Lucas to join them on guitar sparking a host of phones to come out to capture the unforgettable moment.
At one point Pete made a joke about the venue’s name referencing his time behind bars, saying “thank you for buying the album, it’s lovely to be back in prison, can I not say that?”.
For the encore, The Libertines performed ‘The Good Old Days’, which briefly morphed into ‘Seven Nation Army’ by the White Stripes, and after a “thank you Kingston” from Carl they launched into ‘Don’t Look Back Into the Sun’ which sparked a huge mosh pit in the front of the crowd which Pete joined in with embracing fans.