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Peter Doherty (born March 12, 1979) is the singer and songwriter for the band Babyshambles, and formerly co--frontman and songwriter (along with Carl Barât) of The Libertines, with whom he first shot to fame. Since 2005, he has become well known to the public at large as a result of his relationship with supermodel Kate Moss and his addiction to heroin and crack cocaine. His drug problems, arrests, and court appearances are frequently reported in the tabloid press.

Biography

Early life

Peter Doherty was born in Hexham, Northumberland, England, but spent the first 9 years of his life living in Anfield, Liverpool, the birthplace of his mother. He grew up at a number of army garrisons as a result of his Irish father Peter's work as an officer in the British Army, living at various times at garrisons in Catterick, Belfast, Germany, Bedworth, Dorset and Larnaca, along with his mother Jacqueline, and two sisters, Amy Jo and Emily. Doherty was the second of the three children. He was academically successful, achieving 5 grade A* and 6 grade A GCSEs, at Nicholas Chamberlaine Comprehensive School in Bedworth, although this has erroneously been reported as 11 grade A*s and two A grades at A Level and two other passes. At the age of 16, he won a poetry competition and embarked on a tour of Russia organised by the British Council.

After his A-levels he moved to his grandmother's flat in London, where he said he felt 'destined' to be, and got a job filling graves in Willesden Cemetery, although most of his time was spent reading and writing while sitting on gravestones.

He attended University of London to study English literature, but left the course after his first year.

After leaving university, he moved into a London flat with his friend and fellow musician Carl Barat, who had been a classmate of Doherty's older sister at Brunel University.

Life as a musician

The Libertines

Pete Doherty and Carl Barât formed a band called 'The Libertines' in the late 90s. However, the band didn't become well known to the public until 2002, with the release of Up the Bracket. The group then achieved a great deal of critical and commercial success and gained a dedicated, cult following, with Doherty being praised by fans and critics as one of the greatest songwriters to emerge on the British music scene for some time. However, Doherty's increasing drug problems led to his estrangement from the band. In 2003, he was jailed for burgling his bandmate, Carl Barât's, flat.

The two initially fell out over the affair, but made amends whilst Doherty was in prison. He was originally sentenced to 6 months, however this was cut to 2 months on appeal with the judge commenting "We feel that a custodial sentence was justified in this case but sufficient credit was not given for his timely plea of guilty which it should have been. We have reduced his sentence to two months which will allow for his almost immediate release." Upon his release, Doherty immediately reunited with Carl and the rest of the band to play a gig in Kent.

Following his rejoining of the band, Doherty attempted to solve his problems with drug addiction. He attended the controversial Wat Tham Krabok temple in Thailand, famous for its heroin and crack drug rehabilitation program, where he was beaten with a bamboo cane and forced to drink foul herbal concoctions to induce vomiting. He escaped after three days and returned to England. As a consequence of this, The Libertines cancelled appearances they were due to make at the Isle Of Wight and Glastonbury festivals.

However, while post-production work was taking place on the second Libertines album (also called The Libertines) in June 2004, he was again asked to leave the band. The band cited Doherty's continuing drug addiction as the reason for his dismissal, but emphasised their willingness to take him back once he had addressed his addiction. Although Barât had previously stated that the Libertines were merely on hiatus, pending Doherty's recovery, the group effectively disbanded at the end of 2004, and all members are now involved in other projects.

Collaboration with Wolfman

Prior to the disbanding of The Libertines, Doherty collaborated with local poet Wolfman in early 2004. Together the pair recorded the single For Lovers, which entered the top 10, charting at number 7, in April of the same year. Despite the success of the single, which was nominated for a prestigious Ivor Novello Award for songwriting, the pair received relatively little money, having already sold the publishing rights for a small amount in a pub.

Babyshambles

Doherty founded Babyshambles towards the end of his time with the Libertines. The group has released one album, Down In Albion, in November 2005, and their third single, Fuck Forever, reached #4 on the UK singles chart. The band's touring schedule and releases have occasionally been disrupted by Doherty's ongoing legal problems. During this time, he began a relationship with supermodel Kate Moss. On Down In Albion, Kate Moss sings backing vocals on "La Belle et La Bete". The line-up of the band has changed several times, with drummer Gemma Clarke leaving the band due to Doherty's drug problems. She was replaced by Adam Ficek. Guitarist and co-songwriter Patrick Walden has also left the band on at least one occasion before returning intermittently. Fellow British rock group Oasis had booked Babyshambles to support them on their UK tour. However, Doherty was attending a birthday celebration with Kate Moss and the band's spokesman claimed that he was unable to arrange transport back to the UK in time for the band's first appearance. As a consequence Oasis cancelled Babyshambles' support for the rest of the tour. While on tour, Noel Gallagher dedicated "The Importance of Being Idle" to the frontman and his band. The band has announced that they are working on a new EP, and began recording in June. Although they do not currently have a record contract, they are in negotiations with a number of labels.

Guerrilla gigs and solo work
Doherty has recently been rumoured to be working on new acoustic material, similar to the wealth of songs that can already be downloaded on the internet. On his own, and often with his band, he has continued the Libertines' tradition of performing short notice 'guerrilla gigs' in small venues. On New Year's Eve 2005, Doherty held a 'guerrilla gig' in his North London flat where he showcased some of his solo works, many of which later leaked onto the internet.

Doherty has announced that he has signed a deal to publish his journals, in which he has recorded poetry, drawings, and photos over the course of his career, with Orion books. Most of Doherty's journals are freely available on the internet*. The book is due out in March 2007.

Influences

In interviews (see links below), Doherty has listed his favourite books as George Orwell's 1984, Brighton Rock by Graham Greene, Our Lady of the Flowers by Jean Genet, Flowers of Evil by Charles Baudelaire and the works of Oscar Wilde. He has also mentioned Emily Dickinson as an influence, as well as Tony Hancock. However numerous literary and musical allusions occur throughout Doherty's ongoing Books of Albion. He places particular importance on the Romantic poets and on existential philosophers such as Albert Camus and Miguel de Unamuno. Doherty has also alluded to work by the Marquis de Sade and Thomas De Quincey. His favourite films include British films of the 1960s such as Billy Liar, Poor Cow, O Lucky Man! and the film versions of Steptoe and Son. He also cites Lee Mavers of The La's as a musical influence, having covered "There She Goes," as well as The Only Ones. He is particularly fond of The Smiths and The Clash.

Doherty and Carl Barât had a fondness for Cockney musicians Chas and Dave. Doherty has also supported up-and-coming British bands, such as indie band The Paddingtons.

Doherty is also known to be a devoted follower of Queen's Park Rangers football club. As a youth he wrote a fanzine, entitled "All Quiet On The Western Avenue." He sold copies of the fanzine on the club's grounds, however its mixture of literary references, quotes, poetry and football stories proved unsuccessful with the other fans.

Albion and Arcadia

A frequent lyrical theme for Doherty is Albion, the ancient name for Great Britain. Doherty also uses 'Albion' as the name of a ship sailing to a utopia called Arcadia, a place without rules or authority. Doherty and Barât shared a flat in London, at 112a Teesdale Street, Bethnal Green, affectionately known as 'The Albion Rooms', despite being rather run down. Doherty named his diaries, in which he writes poems and other thoughts, the 'Books of Albion.'

Awards

Doherty was voted to be joint #1 in alternative music magazine NME's 2004 Cool List, along with fellow Libertine Carl Barât. The following year he was placed at #6, and on May 10, 2006 was voted #2 in their poll depicting 50 of rock's greatest 'heroes'.

Controversy

2005

  • 3 February - Doherty and another man were arrested for allegedly assaulting documentary film maker Max Carlish in an Islington hotel, in an incident apparently related to his decision to sell photos of Doherty smoking heroin to the tabloid press. Despite protesting his innocence, Doherty spent 4 days in Pentonville Prison due to his initial inability to raise the £150,000 bail the judge set. Following a £50,000 payment from record company EMI and a £100,000 payment from his manager, his release from custody was secured. Strict conditions were imposed on his release, including a night-time curfew for all reasons except drug rehabilitation, and an escort from a private security firm at all times. The charges of robbery and blackmail were later dropped due to "insufficient evidence."

  • 22 February - The judge granted an exception to his bail conditions so that Doherty could perform a scheduled concert at the Brixton Academy with his band. It was here that a brief fistfight between Doherty and bandmate Patrick Walden took place on stage.

  • 2 July - At the Live 8 charity concert, Doherty performed 'Children of the Revolution' with Elton John who introduced him as one of the country's 'new talents'. The performance was poorly-received, with Doherty forgetting words, and stumbling around the stage seemingly in a stupor.

  • 13 August - Doherty was stopped in the airport customs at Oslo Gardermoen Airport, where customs officers found him to be in possession of a small amount of heroin. His band was originally booked to play at the Oslo-festival Øyafestivalen at 5:05 PM, but he remained in custody for three hours. He was released when the organisers of the festival paid the fine of 8000 NOK (693.118 GBP). When the band appeared onstage later than scheduled, Doherty was sick, and vomited after 20 minutes. He threw out a bottle of Vodka to the audience, and showed them his empty cigarette package, followed by the crowd throwing cigarettes to him. Because of the electricity being shut down at 11 pm, they couldn't play for more than 30 minutes.

  • 2 October - Following a sold-out gig at Shrewsbury Music Hall, police raided the band's tour bus and Doherty was arrested for possession of Class A drugs and held overnight, although it later appeared that police had actually mistaken his methadone for illegal drugs. Babyshambles were forced to cancel a performance at the University of East Anglia as a result. Doherty protested his innocence.

  • 24 November - Doherty was admitted into the exclusive US rehabilitation clinic, The Meadows, but checked out after just six days and was, in the early hours of November 30, 2005, arrested on the alleged possession of class A drugs after police stopped his car on Cleveland Road, Ealing, W13, due to the erratic manner of his driving. He was taken to Ealing Broadway police station and later bailed to return in January 2006 pending further inquiries. On Sunday 18 December Doherty was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence.

  • 18 December - Doherty was again arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence in East London. Doherty and three passengers fled, and a search of Doherty's car rendered substances believed to be heroin and crack cocaine.

2006

  • 11 January - Doherty pleaded guilty to the possession of heroin and cocaine at Ealing Magistrates' Court after being arrested in west London on 30 November, 2005. He was released on unconditional bail to reappear for sentencing on 8 February. Doherty's barrister was forced to apologise to the court after the singer arrived at the hearing more than an hour late, blaming traffic and press obstruction.

  • 14 January - Doherty was arrested again and charged with driving under the influence and possession of Class A drugs, heroin and cocaine. On 20 January, Doherty pled guilty to possession of heroin, crack cocaine, morphine and cannabis.

  • 25 January - Doherty was arrested twice. First at 5:40am for suspicion of possession of class A drugs after driving erratically in London. Following his release from custody he was searched and re-arrested in London at 3:00pm for being under the influence of class A drugs. These arrests forced the postponement of several gigs, leading to a riot among some of the fans present at the Newcastle show scheduled for that evening, when two people were arrested. The judge refused bail and Doherty was remanded in custody until 8 February, for sentencing. The press speculated that he gave the judge the finger after being refused bail.

  • 8 February - Having plead guilty to the drug charges, Doherty was given a 12-month community order, requiring him to undergo drug treatment and regular testing in conjunction with monthly reviews. The magistrate told Doherty, "You must submit to treatment with a view to ending your dependency on drugs." Asked if he agreed with the sentence Pete Doherty replied: "I do." A week later, Doherty told Channel 4 News that he wanted to quit drugs for good. During a subsequent review, the judge said that Doherty had been making "positive progress" in his battle with drug addiction.

  • 27 February - Doherty was arrested during the evening in Birmingham, along with two men from Dundee (one of whom was a member of Babyshambles support band The View), on suspicion of stealing a car and possessing Class A drugs. The allegation of car theft was the result of an erroneous report, and no charges were brought.

  • 7 March - Scotland Yard announced that Doherty has been charged with seven further counts of drug possession: two charges of possessing crack cocaine, two of possessing heroin and a further three charges relating to the possession of cannabis. These charges relate to incidents in east London in December and January. He appeared in court on 9 March, 2006 to face these charges, but his case was adjourned for a further two weeks because the prosecution said they were not ready to begin the hearing.

  • 23 March - Doherty pled guilty to the seven drug charges, and sentencing was scheduled for 20 April. Immediately after, he kicked a microphone out of a reporter's hand during a chaotic scene outside the court.

  • 20 April - Doherty was sentenced, receiving an 18 month drug rehabilitation order, and banned from driving for six months. Just hours after leaving court he was rearrested for alleged drug possession by plainclothes police officers, and held overnight before being bailed.

  • 28 April - The Sun, a tabloid newspaper, printed photographs of Doherty that purported to show him injecting an unconscious woman with heroin. Doherty said that the pictures had been staged as a type of art photography called a tableau vivant, and later stolen and sold.

  • 29 April - Doherty was arrested at 8am in East London and questioned on suspicion of administering a noxious substance. He was later released after the woman in the pictures confirmed that she was fully conscious and the pictures did not depict any actual drug use; six witnesses corroborated this. It was reported that he had been drawing a small amount of blood for use in an artwork; Doherty has experimented with blood as a pigment in the past, and a selection of his paintings are to be displayed in a London gallery.

  • 11 May - The singer squirted a syringe containing a red liquid at an MTV News camera during an interview following a gig in Berlin. He later said that it was fake blood, purchased for a prank.

  • 1 June - Doherty was briefly detained at a Barcelona airport after airline staff claimed to have found a syringe in the lavatory. However, Spanish police found nothing suspicious and he was quickly released without charge. Babyshambles were on their way to play at the Primavera Sound Festival. Following the incident, he was banned from all Easyjet flights.
However, Doherty denied having used drugs on the plane. The Sun later reported that he had been using prescribed methadone.
  • 8 June - Doherty checks into rehab in Portugal to fight his ongoing addiction to heroin and crack cocaine, where he also received a Naltrexone anti-heroin implant.

  • 17 June - Doherty is fined 14,000 kronor (£1,030; US$1,901) in Sweden after police found traces of cocaine in his blood following a concert at the Hultsfred music festival. Another band member was also fined and released.

  • 18 June - Doherty is guest singer at a concert by a local band at the rock club Debaser in Stockholm, Sweden. Doherty falls off the stage and gets a wound in his back. Doherty then throws a female guest off the stage and destroys equipment on stage. Doherty is dismissed by the club´s security guards.

Personal Life

As well as his relationship with Moss, Doherty also has a son named Estile with singer Lisa Moorish, who has a child with Oasis singer Liam Gallagher. Moorish has limited contact between him and their son until Doherty is capable of maintaining a stable relationship with him. He has also said that he has a second child "that he is not allowed to see."

References

External links

1979 births | Living people | English songwriters | English male singers | English guitarists | British rock singers | People of Irish descent in Great Britain | People treated for drug addiction

Pete Doherty | Pete Doherty | Pete Doherty | Pete Doherty | Pete Doherty | Pete Doherty | Pete Doherty | Pete Doherty | Pete Doherty

 

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