Pete Doherty Update: Charges Dropped Against Overrated Junkie
Then buzz it up
April 12th, 2005 at 13:30 by C J Davies
‘Troubled’ young musician Pete Doherty - a one-man Clash tribute band with an interesting sideline in smack addiction - has had his charges of blackmail and theft dropped by the Crown Prosecution Service.
Hecklerspray predicts, however, that Doherty has yet to face a greater trial: one set to take place squarely within the court of public opinion. The charges? Being the most tedious and bizarrely-lauded ’spokesman for a generation’ since Damon Albarn stopped pretending to be a chimney-sweeper (sometime around 1996, nostalgia fans).
Don’t get hecklerspray wrong. The Libertines were a good little band. Their eponymous second album and their 2002 effort Up The Bracket both had their fair share of great pop tunes; hummable guitar melodies and quirkily enjoyable lyrics. Can’t Stand Me Now is a great single, as was their debut What A Waster. They were fun while they lasted.
But, seriously, people … that’s it.
Why the big fuss?
Let’s face facts. Without bandmate Mr. Barat, cast out into the big wide world on his own … Doherty’s an irrelevance.
Are we that desperate for entertainment? Is this what we do now, as a culture: herald the mediocrity of Doherty’s cack-awful new ensemble Babyshambles as the shining armour-clad saviour of British music? Has blandness started to become that much of a marketable commodity outside the domain of the Spears/Aguleria-powered Chart Engine?
Sadly, it would seem so. Here comes a headline, everybody: Doherty takes drugs. Doherty beats someone up. Doherty swears and smokes and shags supermodels. Isn’t that cool?
Do us all a favour, pal. Or rather two:
a) Start writing some decent songs.
b) Stop pretending to be Renton from Trainspotting.
Anyone else looking forward to Carl Barat’s solo project?
P.S Public school kids and NME journalists - we await your comments with glee.
More Yawnworthy ‘Rock And Roll Antics’ Here
Get both albums by The Libertines at amazon.co.uk
[story by C J Davies]
Related and recent:
- Pete Doherty Second-Best Rock Star Ever - Official(ish)
- Celebrity Haiku Competition: Pete Doherty Arrested Again
- Pete Doherty To Probably Really Marry Kate Moss Soon, Honest
- Pete Doherty ‘As Good As John Lennon’
- Pete Doherty Fined Again For More Drugs Guff
- Pete Doherty Avoids Jail… For Now
- Pete Doherty Apparently A £100 ‘Bargain’
- Pete Doherty Banned From Kids TV
December 2nd, 2005 at 8:58 pm
too fucking right, he’s talentless
and speaking of the clash, he had never heard of hem until he met mick jones, nor had he heard of shane macgowan till he met him, it begs the question what the fuck did he listen to?
apparently chas and dave which would explain his little whiney mockney voice i have only heard once in an interveiw
he has gone from one affluent life to another, he’s got fuck all to complain about and yet he gets the label of tortured artist and comaprisons made with joe strummer!?! JOE FUCKING STRUMMER PEOPLE
December 3rd, 2005 at 7:27 am
Oh do fuck off, and leave pete alone. Who are you to know he’d never heard of the clash before meeting mick jones? That’s fucking ridiculous. My 12 yr old sister knows who the clash are. And where do you get this so called information anyway? Oh yes, next you’ll be telling me you have ‘good sources’ or some bullshit like that.
And since you’ve “only heard his [whiney, mockey voice] once in an interview”, who are you to fucking judge whether he’s talented or not? Are you psychic now? If you’ve never heard a bloody song of his, how can you deem him ‘talentless’ or not? It’s not possible. What is possible though is that you’re a fucking dellusional cunt.
“One affluent life to another”-what has that got to do with anything? If you look around you, the people’s lives who are most fucked up are those with money. Look at all of these other celebrities, and rich little boys. They’re messing around with drugs too. And don’t go around assuming pete’s had it easy just cos he’s not a poor fucker like you probably are.
Pete’s songs are like fucking poetry, and better than all the shit we hear nowadays. Thank god there’s someone writing songs like he does. So what if he’s a junkie, he writes amazing lyrics, and the music is all that I give a fuck about-not his social life, or choice of ‘recreational’ activities. Who gives a fuck about that? I’m not marrying the guy am I? And neither are you. So give him a break.
December 3rd, 2005 at 12:37 pm
pete doherty is a lyrical and poetical genious and the babyshambles are the best band ever. Well said janine and tony, you can fuck off you twat
December 3rd, 2005 at 5:48 pm
The music is good. he’s one of the best songwriters in a long time. get a life you fucking loser, instead of slagging him off because of his personal life.
December 3rd, 2005 at 6:25 pm
Yeah, get a life Tony, you two bob cunt.
December 3rd, 2005 at 6:34 pm
Dude tony, high levels of respect to ur comment. Not only is he talentless he’s an attention seeking egotistic lyrical and poetic nobody who.. for some reason, people bum suck. Why? Are drugs suddenly cool.. shoving a needle in ur arm.. wow, i wish i did that; it shows nothing but a lack of willpower and if he was that motivated to his career surely he would make more of an effort to stop? I’m not saying that no one else does them or that he hasnt had a hard time, im simply saying that why not get some talent before inflicting your drones on others? THINK OF THE CHILDREN! And yes, there have been plenty of druggies that have aced the stage, for example Bob Marley, Jimi Hendrix, The Beatles, the small difference being that whilst under the influence they produced something original and could play their instruments with talent other than that of a one armed baboon, and didn’t sound like all the other cumbags out there. And the fact that they were drugged up to their eyeballs (weed - natural.. not heroin cack)and still managed to produce such amazing music (unlike Doherty whose music makes me die internally) is proof on its own that it takes TALENT to be anything good, and not to have websites like this throwing headlines around. Peace.
December 4th, 2005 at 2:15 am
Rhiannon, name ONE band whose members aren’t over the age of 40-bands of THIS generation, that are producing lyrically sound music, which can compete with Pete’s poetry. Half of the artists nowadays probably didn’t even do well in high school english, let alone be good enough to get into university!
So how on earth ARE they able to produce good songs if they don’t even have decent knowledge of the english language? Pete on the other hand was accepted into Oxford, and that alone proves he probably has more intellectual capacity in a drugged state than you could ever hope to have in your lifetime!
December 4th, 2005 at 7:52 pm
He is by all accounts a very unique performer and he is a skilled musician.
Babyshambles are cool and that is the deal and all of you motherfuckers who jump on the bandwagon of dissing him to make yourselfs feel valid in this media game are just exposing yourself to be the fake cunts that you really are … i bet you listen to all of the mega polished transparent pop rock that are being rammed down our throats such as kaiser chiefs oasis starsailor coldplay ect. You dont understand and you never will because you are either has beens or just jealous of anothers fame and success ……… Drugs ain’t shit he just chooses to be blatant with his vice and i respect him for his honesty.
Respect.
December 4th, 2005 at 8:28 pm
I agree with Janine. Pete is really smart!
December 4th, 2005 at 9:00 pm
Janine, name one?.. alrighty.. Rage Against the Machine. And i am not talking about the modern day trash.. Kaiser Chiefs, Greenday, the Killers because personally i believe they suck an immense amount of ass and i do not see them as talented either. I’m not comparing him to those ‘bands’, im comparing him to the older generation music who the knowledgeable musician would generally know about. I am also not comparing him to myself as you clearly are having fun doing, i never said that i was any kind of intellectual genius or that i could write what he calls lyrics, so your comment comparing his drugged up intellectual state to mine is totally irrelevant.
Toje, as i previously said, i do not listen to mega polished transparent pop rock because i believe that you said that rightly, it is a load of cack; however, by putting across my point of view on the man, you seem to find it necessary to throw obscenities in my direction. Which, in my eyes, shows me that you cannot propose to me a relevant reason why he is ‘good’ and find it appropriate to make up for this by abbusing your vocabulary; did you know swearing shows insecurity? So then insecurity in your argument. By assuming that i listen to the Kaiser Chiefs, i can then fairly assume that you listen to rap, correct? Possibly not, but i really couldn’t care less about you or your tastes in music, this is all personal. At the beginning of your message you said ‘Babyshambles are good and that is the deal’, clearly being unable to take any other opinion into consideration and jumping at the chance to abbuse people for what they are saying? Yes. I’m jealous of anothers fame and success? No. I believe i’m far happier living as i do than be followed by the paparazzi reporting the ‘extent’ of anything i chose to undertake.
And yes, i can respect him for his honesty, in a situation like that it’s understandable that he would get fairly messed up.
Respect? Yes.. respect other’s opinions.
Peace out.
December 5th, 2005 at 4:24 am
Rhiannon, I just don’t think you have a right to deem Pete ‘talentless’. I respect your opinion, and if his music ‘makes you die inside’, okay, fine. But don’t go around calling musicians like Pete ‘talentless’. You want a reason behind my opinion that he is a ‘good’ musician? I’ve given you one countless times- his songwriting; his poetry. He writes amazing songs. I thought that I’d already made that point clear by now, but obviously not.
And if you claim that needing to use profanity to prove a point is a sign of ‘insecurity’, then I am unable to understand your ‘high level of respect’ for tony’s comment. If you haven’t noticed, tony’s comment was littered with obscenities. Your failure to see this has again caused me to question your intellectual capacity.
Also, if you don’t like personal comments being thrown at you, try not to throw them at Pete so much in the first place. It’s people like you who fuel the media on to make his life hell! Quote: you called pete “a one-armed baboon”. That’s an obscenity enough to cause offense to me, let alone anyone. So stop being so hypocritical, and before you become annoyed at others not respecting your opinion (as you feel they should), respect others opinions also then. If that’s how you feel. At least carry out what you say you think, instead of continuously contradicting yourself!
Well, I don’t agree with you that Rage Against the Machine is lyrically sound, but I’m not calling them talentless now am I? I have taken in your ‘very deep’ opinion of Pete doherty playing like a ‘one-armed baboon’, and him being ‘just like the other cumbags’…but frankly, all I have to say is that I don’t respect your opinion at all. If anything, YOUR opinion lacks substance, not mine. You have done nothing but use obscenities to indeed describe Pete, and his musical capability, or related his recreational activities to whether you think he is musically talented, which is even worse! Drugs have NOTHING to do with him being talented or not, in a musical sense!
Again, you ask me to respect your opinion, and again, you contradict yourself, making comments like “I personally couldn’t care less about you or your tastes in music.” If you haven’t noticed, this whole argument is mainly centred on people’s ‘musical taste’ ie whether they believe Pete Doherty is talented or not.
If you are indeed not comparing Pete Doherty to yourself, then in what position are you to call him talentless? That’s like going up to a runner in the Olympics and calling them talentless at running. You claim that you are only comparing Pete to ‘older generation music who the knowledgeable musician would generally know about’. Are you implying that you are a ‘knowledgable musician’ now, or that Mick Jones isn’t? Because that is all that I can conclude from that statement.
Again, I will voice my opinion. Pete Doherty is a talented musician because his songs are lyrically brilliant, he uses beautiful imagery, need I go on to make my point clear to you Rhiannon? Respect my opinion, don’t respect it, it’s your choice. At least I’m not shallowly preaching to everyone that they should respect it, as Rhiannon the hypocrite is so nicely doing.
December 5th, 2005 at 7:53 pm
The guy is obviously brilliant and immensely talented. The new Babyshambles album is decent but uneven. It could have been edited better and a few songs could have been lobbed off. If he continues on his path of drug use he will be known as that genius that died too young luke Cobain.
December 29th, 2005 at 12:18 am
fair enough if you disagree but are personal attacks really necesary? can’t you put your point across any other way?
when i said i only heard his whiney mockney voice (and it is, every time h says something it was like he was asking a fucking question) i meant when he wasn’t…singing
i;ve heard all the songs i reckon, i don;t know how many albums the libertines had but i have two off my stepsister who loves them i gave them a chance sometimes it takes a while to get into certain bands, i thought at first maybe i was being narrow minded but for fuck’s sake it’s shite people
alright i apologise for slagging him off for reasons other than the standard of his music, i don’t understand it but i suppose you lot see him how i see john lennon, and people didn’t understand that when me dad and all that lot were into it, and the beatles also did drugs, everyone did so maybe i am just missing the point
BUT IT’S SHIT THOUGH IT REALLY IS
i tried believe me i tried, but… it isn;t punk, some fella who was on telly the other day said he was the clash, he was the kinks he was totally punk (something similar at least) you must be fucking joking, please someone agree with me, i mean for fuck’s sake yous lot were probably at least there to see out the last days of the clash someone here must have been over fifteen then, i was only just fucking here to see out the last days of joe strummer really, i’m only fucking fourteen so surely if someone born into this generation of a musical wasteland can say this supposed mesiah and punk is a talentless cunt then yous lot can, some of you must have surely been around when music was good for fucks sake
i understand what it is like to have the music you like be slagged off, i like madness and all people seem to do is slag them off and some of the comments they make are fair points but at least i can accept it
i’m not poor am i otherwise i wouldn;t have the internet you silly silly person. i’m just not a whiny middle class cunt (not that i’m saying he is) and just in case anyone makes and comments about class being undefinable now, well fair doos but let’s say i’m not a RICH whiny cunt, maybe a moany cunt i’ll give you that one
but now that you know i’m fourteen no one’s going to listen to my opinions on anything, least of all music
December 29th, 2005 at 3:38 pm
I hear you, Tony. You may be 14, but you know what you’re talking about. Squawking-Dead-eyed-posh-boy Docherty inspires some sort of hysterical devotion in some, mainly because some portions of the media tell them what to think. Don’t worry about it, Emperor’s New Clothes tend to fall off after a while.
Oh, and the Mockney Accent of the Year award is a close fight between Pete and Fearne Cotton.
January 15th, 2006 at 8:56 pm
Okay I’ve read most of these comments, and I have to say, there’s some good comments here (but unfortunately, there are some Blind and Biased idiots on both parts) …
I personally think Pete and Carl Barat (don’t forget, it wasn’t ONLY Pete who wrote the lyrics to the Libertines songs) do write some songs with excellent lyrics that deserve the high regard they get from all kinds of people (including Poet Laureates) but when they’re apart, they do write some lyrics that are unbelievably poor.
All you people who have to get the personal remarks in, just remember this, he IS a no good trouble making junkie, and obviously an attention whore, but he still probably has far more musical talent than you do …
The thing is Pete and Carl need eachother to make brilliant music (the Libertines ARE better than your favorite band, they really didn’t make a bad song IMO) but apart, well, Babyshambles and Dirty Pretty Things are just average bands, that’s it.
And Tony, I think I might know the reason you don’t like the Libertes … I mean no offence, but it’s impossible for a pre - pubescent 14 year old to relate to their lyrics. Maybe you’ll change your mind when you grow up, eh?
And to both Rhiannon and Tony, I’m sorry but the very fact that you seem to hate this music genre (yes, for those of you having trouble defining it, it’s Indie/Pop) … you’re comments are a little narrow-minded to say the least.
It’s unbelieveable how some people are influenced by the media these days …
January 20th, 2006 at 2:30 pm
yeah cheers, obviously I can’t appreciate the lyrics whether it’s because their so very deep and poetic or because the subject matter, sure, I won’t get into one about the bands I listen to because that would be stupid but suffice to say the lyrics are far deeper and more intelligent, alright i’ll just mention one then, elvis costello, now whatever your opinion on him if you have one, his lyrics mean something, and don’t say silly things like the libertines are better than everyone’s favourite band cause i suppose the beatles would have to be mine and i think we know who’d win between the two don’t we?
fair enough, i’m not actually sure what qualifies for that genre but i reckon the artic monkeys are alright whatever genre they’re in, they do decent lyrics FAR better than the libertines or babyshambles, because their lyrics you can see what their on about, i mean bob dylan’s lyrics were completely incomprehensible at times but a majority of the time you could tell they at least meant something to him, with captain bell end i doubt even he knows what the fuck they’re on about, and their’s no human side to his lyrics whatsoever, you can go either way with lyrics, leonard cohen and bob dylan went the surreal route and less pretentious bands like the specials or madness even, it’s rare you’ll see a lyric of theirs in which it isn’t obvious what they’re singing about even if they’re bad lyrics, whereas with doherty he knows he doesn’t need to bother with lyrics cause everything is a backdrop to his personal life. even he said the other day on telly ‘really i’m famous for fuck all’ then he said something about them actually hearing the music finally, and i thought yes i can’t fucking wait cause then maybe his fame would die out when they realise what a genuinely crap songwriter he is, my stepsister plays captain bell end all the fucking time, it’s all she ever listens to and i even gave him a chance for a while but there’s nothing to him, nothing
January 27th, 2006 at 5:26 pm
oh and how can it be possible for artic monkeys lyrics to be FAR better than libertines and babyshambles when they just sing “i think that you look good on the dance floor” and repeat this which to me is utter dogs bollocks
February 5th, 2006 at 2:34 am
one song mate, I’ve read all the lyrics to all doherty’s songs.
February 7th, 2006 at 1:09 am
I have given the cunt several chances, the music is fucking awful and makes me want to harm myself and others
March 23rd, 2006 at 10:45 pm
Hey the retard was in the news again. When is Barat’s album coming out. Doherty is starting to bore me.
May 8th, 2006 at 5:06 pm
I just bought DPT, i really like it but i dont like Babyshambles i must be too stupid to get it and never really listened to the libertines but i am going to see Babyshambles to see if my opinon changes when he does what he does best, if he turns up
May 21st, 2006 at 7:00 pm
I can see why people wouldn’t like Pete Doherty, both because of his music, and also, I suspect, due to the British habit of attacking those who the press hypes.
Personally, I think in these days of overproduced pop-perfect uber-clean bands, the chaotic sound of Babyshambles revving up is a total breath of fresh air. On stage, Doherty has a presence and an unpredictablility that’s simply mesmerising. If he continues at the rate he’s going, he may well end up in the roll call of artists who produce works of genius while in orbit on various chemicals, including Shane McGowan and, latterly, Byron, Coleridge et al. I’m not saying he’s there yet, before you take up thy keybord in anger to smite me for such impudence, but he’s headed in the right direction.
As far as the drugs go, in terms of music, I couldn’t care less about the private lives of the band - the music is either good, or not. Simple as. For what it’s worth, I think Doherty is a young guy who got caught in the drugs snare like so many others, and I hope he can break free of it before it’s too late… but that’s neither here nor there.
Other artists I like include the fantastic Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, Bob Dylan, Pulp, the Pogues, Tom Waits and Gordon Lightfoot, and I wouldn’t hesitate to place Babyshambles in the same league, despite only having one album in hand to date.
That’s my $0.02. If you’re not a fan of Doherty, fair enough… but if you’ve never really listened to his work, and are just going on what you’ve been told, or a few small bits and bobs you’ve seen, I’d urge you to at least listen to a few of the songs before writing them off - you may well be missing out!
Cheers,
Danny.
May 20th, 2007 at 1:48 pm
It’s depressing that Doherty’s getting compared to people like Nick Cave,Tom Waits and the pogues.
Nick Cave is almost like a forvce of nature, he’s done some fucking SHIT but he’s also made some beautiful, poignant music.
Tom Waits has gone a bit…Funny now, but it’s still sound, original music.
His early stuff was absolutely superb..amazing stuff.
Let’s talk about originality eh? Tom Waits, heavily influenced by black Blues, and Jazz artists like Louis Armstrong..but still you could hardly CONFUSE the two could you? He definitely made his own mark on every song.
Take The Smiths, a hint of The Clash and a large dollop of The Only Ones.
And that’s every Pete Doherty song.
I’m not saying I am right, there’s no right and wrong to it, I also can’t change anybody’s opinion and wouldn’t want to but don’t tell people they’re wrong or call someone names because they’re opinion differs with yours, I know perhaps my argument wasn’t very well constructe in the beggining and featured a lot of unnecesary swearing but it’s not my fault - the man’s a cunt.
May 22nd, 2007 at 9:21 am
Okay, putting aside Doherty’s music (which is really the very best thing you could do - for god’s sake don’t press play), there is one point I’d like to make about Doherty.
I saw an interview of him in the Libertines on YouTube. He was still a very ugly looking man, but he did have a brightness and spark about him then. He was ernest and aware, curious and intelligent.
Thing is, that is long gone. He’s so washed out from drugs, so drifted away, so focused on the next hit and absent of any other intent that he’s become a waster to lord over all wasters. I don’t care if he does drugs or not. Makes not one iota of difference to me. It’s his call, his right, his way.
However, the unfortunate truth is that drug use has really wiped out his creativeness, which is no doubt why his music is of ever reducing relevance and quality. Which, given that he’s only ever released one album that remotely made an impact (”Up the Bracket”) is a low base of achievement to slide from.
Pity really.
July 11th, 2007 at 11:56 pm
Reading through this, a lot of people have said a lot of dense things.
Oasis are mega polish transparent pop rock? I wouldn’t say I ever loved Oasis.
Pretty much a Beatles cover band and they’re filthy mancs but fucking hell, the ONLY undeniable thing the Libertines actually have going for them is the impact they made on British Music and I’ll admit it was a massive impact.
The impact Oasis made was bigger.
I’ve seen a few people say on telly, like Lauren Laverne and that lot, that The Libertines practically created a genre of music, they didn’t, they brought a genre of music from the eighties back into focus and modernised it a bit.
Oasis’s influences are blatant as well I’m not denying that I’m just saying don’t slag Oasis off when purely going on fact, not opinion they are a better band than The Libertines.
And don’t fucking RESPECT him for being obvious about his vice..How do you think his parents feel looking at their son now? I’d feel disgusted.
Most people drink and a lot of people have the odd joint..I know one person and all his work money goes to weed but he manages to maintain a normal life and doesn’t really hurt anyone else admittedly you can hardly compare the effects of cocaine on a person to effects of weed but still, Dherty deserves no respect whatsoever.
I love The Pogues and think Shane Macgowan’s lyrics in particular are amazing but he’s still a cunt, I’ve read a few things about him and apparently it was how he raised and it was acceptable to drink copious ammounts of alcohol at a young age in his family but I still don’t think he deserves any respect for being BLATANT with his vice.
What a silly, silly thing to say.
September 3rd, 2008 at 7:56 pm
Haha…I honestly believe Pete Doherty is a good lyracist, and his music is quite nice (compared to all the rap over here in the U.S) I believe that Pete should just be left alone, because at least he’s open about himself. He realizes his flaws, and doesn’t try to be something he’s not.
however, i wouldn’t hold Joe Strummer on any pedastal…The Clash was promoted by CBS, yet they claimed to be a “punk” band…that, my friends, is the biggest load of crap ever.
November 15th, 2008 at 5:32 pm
hey whatsup. i feel sorry for pete doherty. Most people who make fun of how much of a ‘junkie’ he is probably dont know much about heroin addiction. As a long time recovered heroin addict, i spent many years of my life addicted to the shit, addicted to the needle, and most scarily addicted to the lifestyle of abuse ‘heroin chic’. I was at the point where i was shooting 2 bundles a day (20 glassine bags) just to feel normal-not high. I was hooked the first time and when i didnt have the heroin (even if i didnt use for 4 hours) i would get sharp piercing headaches, go into a paranoid delusional state of hallucinations,and be sick to my stomach in the fetal position. (the worst flu you ever had x10). What people dont understand about Pete is that its not so easy to quit using junk. When everything about you is drugs (petes style),(petes lifestyle),(petes girlfriends),(petes friends),(petes everything), its hard to just get up and get away of everything you know. (like moving to a foreign country). Most addicts like myself, have had troubled childhoods and/or other problems which make it harder to get of the drugs and live a normal life without numbing yourself of the pain. People make fun of pete but dont understand that getting over a heroin addiction is one of the hardest things in life to overcome. It will take many attemps and fails. The process will involve Detox, long term rehabs,professional addiction counselors, and most importantly the will to quit-the answer to the question “why should i quit when my life was always wrong when i was sober also.” When you get addicted to heroin most addicts adapt a state of mind called the ‘why me syndrome.’ This makes the addict blame things on themselves subconciously without knowing and makes them in to reasons to use more dope. (in example: when a friend was in early recovery and clean off heroin for 3 months, he had a feeling he was about to relapse and got bad cravings. When his dad got sick and he got upset, he subconciously used it as a reason to get high and wound up relapsing. When he got clean he realized what he had done.) In conclusion, what im trying to say is recovering from this addiction requires patience or a lack of understanding. Making fun/judging of the addict leads to the state of mine of “They think i’m an addict? Well then i will show them addict!” state of mind. Next time you see an addict walk down the street and you think ‘what a stupied junkie’ think of the turmoil the addict has faced and will have to face to get clean. When people eat bad they can get diabeties. When people use drugs they can become an addict….Get Well PETE!