When the world looks back on Pete Doherty, chances are the first thing it thinks won't be "Hmm, this Pete Doherty fellow, I'd say he's probably the second-best rock star ever. I especially liked that song about fucking forever, although I can't remember how it goes."

No, the world will probably think something along the lines of, "Jesus, Pete Doherty. I remember him – he was that junkie twat, wasn't he? He was rubbish." Except for NME readers. They'll think the first one. Because Pete Doherty has just been voted the second-best rock star ever by ever-sensible readers of the NME.

Everyone knows who Pete Doherty is. Ask you Mum. She'll know who Pete Doherty is – she'll have read about Pete Doherty taking all the drugs and getting arrested and dicking around with Kate Moss and getting arrested and getting invented by the KLF and generally acting like a bit of a knob. But, Jesus, have you heard the Babyshambles album? It genuinely sounds like the tramp who used to hang around outside Debenhams in Bournemouth making up songs on his two-stringed acoustic guitar, only not as obviously genius.

And that, according to readers of the NME, warrants Pete Doherty to be voted the world's Second-Best Rock Star Ever, something which has even surprised the NME itself. of Pete Doherty, the magazine wrote:

"Surely he's just a worn-out drug addict who needs help if he's ever going to make decent music again? Yes, there was a time when Pete Doherty lived his life with an unrivalled romantic zest, when he represented a truly anti-establishment voice. But is he still your hero? Now that his second home seems to be the courtroom?"

To which the answer of the Doherty fans was probably, "Shut up! Pete has got, like, six GCSEs and he's really clever and beautiful and you're just jealous of his beautiful cleverness and I love him." Here's the top ten NME best rock star list in full:

1 – Kurt Cobain (The unhappy dead singer. Invented Dave Grohl)

2 – Pete Doherty (The cleverest junkie in the world)

3 – Morrissey (The glum sausageaphobe)

4 – Liam Gallagher (The incredible fighting monkey)

5 – Carl Barat (The indie Andrew Ridgely)

6 – Thom Yorke (The indie Popeye)

7 – Noel Gallagher (The incredible fighting organ grinder)

8 – David Bowie (The closest thing to a rock star on the list)

9 – Ian Brown (*comments removed for fear of getting our hands chopped off*)

10 – Ian Curtis (Like number 1, but invented Blue Monday)

Read more:

Doherty 'One Of Rock's Greatest' – BBC

[story by Stuart Heritage]