The Libertines Reunite At Last… For One Gig

The Libertines, comprising Pete Doherty, Carl Barat, Gary Powell, and John Hassall were the darlings of the new indie/garage rock movement of the late 90s, early 00s. And then it all came to a premature and abrupt halt in 2004 when Pete Doherty was sacked and the band split up without their controversial front man.

Ever since then, despite each of the members of the group going onto other projects, there has been a huge groundswell of demand for a Libertines reunion. Doherty seemed keen, Barat was unsure, while Powell and Hassall decided silence was the best policy.

Barat and Doherty have played together on stage since then but The Libertines seemed like a thing of the past, history. Except that three quarters of the band, Doherty, Barat, and Powell unexpectedly reunited for one night only on Saturday, May 16.

According to NME the reunion occurred at the London Rhythm Factory during a tribute gig dedicated to the late Johnny Sedassy, a man involved in staging gigs for both The Libertines and Doherty’s current band Babyshambles.

Babyshambles played a full set as expected but in the early morning, Carl Barat and Gary Powell took to the stage and set up their equipment. The two of them, along with Pete Doherty and Babyshambles bassist Drew McConnell standing in for Hassall, then played a handful of classic Libertines tracks, including Up The Bracket and Can’t Stand Me Now.

What this means in terms of a full reunion isn’t yet clear. It certainly doesn’t mean it’s going to happen but the odds have surely increased that Doherty, Barat, and Powell will work together in the future. Whether Hassall, currently playing with his own band Yeti, joins them is as yet unknown.

In a way this one-off gig asks more questions than it provides answers. I personally can’t see The Libertines getting back together to gig and produce new material but then stranger things have happened. Like Blur burying their differences.

Watch this space.

[Photo Source: Amazon.co.uk]