The Libertines haven’t reunited “for the money”.
The rock band – which consists of Pete Doherty, Carl Barât, John Hassall and Gary Powell – were initially active from 1997 until 2004 and again from 2014 but have insisted that their latest single ‘Oh S***’ is not about financial gain and more about “believing” in themselves.
Pete told the Daily Star’s Wired column: “Now we all have families and the group is scattered between three different damn countries. If we didn’t believe in our songs, we couldn’t do it. We’re not doing this for the money. If we didn’t believe in ourselves and our songs, all of this wouldn’t be viable.”
The ‘Can’t Stand Me Now’ hitmakers will be back on the road this year with the ‘Albionay Tour’ in support of their new studio album ‘All Quiet on the Eastern Esplanade’ – which is due for release on 5 April – and Carl insisted that their latest batch of singles “deserve” to played live.
He said: “These songs deserve to be toured.”
Pete agreed: “Yeah. The songs are the centre of everything.”
The co-frontman added that when he gets together with the band and they find the right song, things are “perfect” between them and he can “relax” as he admitted he is at the core of their material.
He said: “But when I’m with the guys and we’re together and the songs come to us and they’re perfect, I’m able to live in the moment and relax. Ultimately, it’s me who’s in these songs. The darkest things we could say or do end up in the songs anyway. Which, when you think about it, may have been a deliberate coping tactic.”