The Libertines

The Libertines are an English band that formed in London, England in 1997 and disbanded in 2004. They reformed in 2010 to play the Reading and Leeds festivals. The band released two full-length LPs, both produced by Mick Jones of The Clash. Centered around the song-writing partnership and chemistry between Peter Doherty (vocals/rhythm guitar) and Carl Barât (vocals/lead guitar), while backed by John Hassall (bass) and Gary Powell (drums), the band was one of the cornerstones of the English independent scene in the early 2000's.

Championed by NME, the band's first single What a Waster charted at number 37, despite being banned from Radio 1 and commercial radio due to an overabundance of foul language; this set the trend for steadily increasing returns, culminating in a #2 single and #1 album in the UK Charts. However, the band's music was often eclipsed by its internal conflicts, many of which stemmed from Doherty's considerable drug use, and it was mostly because of this that after a final show in Paris (without Pete) that the band was disbanded at the end of 2004.