Together again: The Libertines play first gig since split at London pub

11 April 2012
The Weekender

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Indie band The Libertines played together for the first time since their split as they launched plans to play a series of comeback gigs this summer.

Frontmen Pete Doherty and Carl Barat were joined at a press conference at Boogaloo, a pub in Highgate, north London, by bassist John Hassall and drummer Gary Powell.

Frontmen: Pete Doherty and Carl Barat answer questions from the press

Doherty said: "Looking back, we did produce things we are so proud of and we want to get back to that."

The band, whose hits included Don't Look Back Into The Sun, played an impromptu gig for fans at the venue.

The short set ended with an energetic performance of Can't Stand Me Now which famously refers to the sometimes difficult relationship between the two frontmen.

Barat said the performance, the first featuring all four band members since the split, was "exhilarating".

He said: "It felt good. Like scratching an itch." The four, sitting on bar stools in front of two tables, took part in a short question and answer session with journalists.

Asked if there was any bitterness from their original split, Barat said: "There's no bitterness. F***off with your bitterness."

Drummer Powell said none of the band members had ever stopped playing music but it was never the same.

He said: "Nothing has ever matched the energy and the passion of playing the music that we played together."

Barat cast doubt on whether the gigs would lead to a more permanent reunion, saying: "Four months is a long time for the Libertines, so whatever happens happens.

"We're going to see how it goes. If it works, it works."

Reunited: The Libertines launch a series of comeback gigs this summer

Barat joked he and Doherty had written a song on their way to the press conference, but Doherty said fans should not expect to hear any new work.

He said: "We haven't got plans to because it's going to be hard enough to work out the riffs from the old stuff."

The band, who will play the Reading and Leeds festivals in August, have continued to attract new fans since they fell apart in 2004.

Their debut album, Up The Bracket, was named the best British album of the past decade in a survey of musicians and industry figures by music magazine NME.

The quartet collapsed when Barat fell out with his joint frontman because of Doherty's wayward behaviour as he battled with drug problems.

They played some shows without Doherty to promote their final album, but soon called it a day.

Last year Doherty - who has often been in trouble with police over his drug use - claimed the band had been offered millions of pounds to reform.

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