Come on people. You’ve heard it straight from Carlos Barat’s sensual lips. You’ve read it repeatedly in all the Bristish (and not only) press in the last days. You’ve seen the confirm by the associate director of the Donmar Warehouse in London, actor Douglas Hodge. And yet you still can’t believe it. Peter and Carl together again is one thing, but wtf?? A musical??? About a struggling rock’n’roll band?? In other words, a Bound Together staged and with songs replacing pictures??? Please…
There’s a funny article on the New York Magazine (yes the thing has crossed the pond) which, albeit full of errors, says also something interesting. Practically it shouldn’t be difficult putting up this “musical” for Peter and Carl, because their lives (together and apart) have been nothing else than an ongoing living theatre. “Their story make for endlessly entertaining melodrama” the NY Magazine says. This is something the numerous Libertines fan-fictioners know very well. How many stories have been created on the basis of Pete’n’Carl’s infamous relationship? And did the break up do anything to put a halt to these fantasies? No, on the contrary, it just poured more gasoline on fire. Of course people may argue, it’s been mainly Peter, with the glamorising of his vices and high profile frequentations, who instigated the whole thing. But are we sure of that? Aren’t we sure that Peter and Carl haven’t done anything else than sticking to the characters of their plot, with Peter standing under the main spotlight and Carlos working (and conspiring) in the shadow? As kids, the were both avid readers, and Carl was a drama student. They used to read Cechov to each other before going to sleep. Undeniably, they are both highly theatrical figures. They have good looks, charm, intelligence, sense of humour and a great penchant for wild romanticism. They are the major heirs of Oscar Wilde and Charles Dickens, maybe more than Morrissey himself.
And then there’s the music. Peter and Carl make great music when they’re separate. Together they sparkle 10 times as much. And one of the things that has mainly fuelled their music (together and apart) is their relationship.
“They said, you two were meant to be/ And so it was meant to be” Peter sings in Carry On Up The Morning “And I know where to find you, my love/ In the same old flat by the river / The only way in was through the window”.
“We shared our dreams/ and nearly everything in between” Carl sings in Faultlines “I’ll never forget those long lost days in a haze / where we lost ourselves with no apology”.
Why should the guys find any difficulty in writing these famous “20 songs” now? They’re already writing them. They’ve been writing them since 1997!
Of course if and when this “musical” comes out Peter and Carl will be the first to put their hands forward and deny “any reference to the Libertines history”. Will anybody believe them? Ha!
One of my fears is that, while writing down the plot, Peter and Carl will have to relive again all that happened between them, and old sleeping grudges will be awaken again, leading the two to bust-ups, screams, punching-ups and sinks. Ahem. But who knows, that could be part of the plot as well. An ending fitting for the start. And then starting over again. And again. And again. And again…
There’s a funny article on the New York Magazine (yes the thing has crossed the pond) which, albeit full of errors, says also something interesting. Practically it shouldn’t be difficult putting up this “musical” for Peter and Carl, because their lives (together and apart) have been nothing else than an ongoing living theatre. “Their story make for endlessly entertaining melodrama” the NY Magazine says. This is something the numerous Libertines fan-fictioners know very well. How many stories have been created on the basis of Pete’n’Carl’s infamous relationship? And did the break up do anything to put a halt to these fantasies? No, on the contrary, it just poured more gasoline on fire. Of course people may argue, it’s been mainly Peter, with the glamorising of his vices and high profile frequentations, who instigated the whole thing. But are we sure of that? Aren’t we sure that Peter and Carl haven’t done anything else than sticking to the characters of their plot, with Peter standing under the main spotlight and Carlos working (and conspiring) in the shadow? As kids, the were both avid readers, and Carl was a drama student. They used to read Cechov to each other before going to sleep. Undeniably, they are both highly theatrical figures. They have good looks, charm, intelligence, sense of humour and a great penchant for wild romanticism. They are the major heirs of Oscar Wilde and Charles Dickens, maybe more than Morrissey himself.
And then there’s the music. Peter and Carl make great music when they’re separate. Together they sparkle 10 times as much. And one of the things that has mainly fuelled their music (together and apart) is their relationship.
“They said, you two were meant to be/ And so it was meant to be” Peter sings in Carry On Up The Morning “And I know where to find you, my love/ In the same old flat by the river / The only way in was through the window”.
“We shared our dreams/ and nearly everything in between” Carl sings in Faultlines “I’ll never forget those long lost days in a haze / where we lost ourselves with no apology”.
Why should the guys find any difficulty in writing these famous “20 songs” now? They’re already writing them. They’ve been writing them since 1997!
Of course if and when this “musical” comes out Peter and Carl will be the first to put their hands forward and deny “any reference to the Libertines history”. Will anybody believe them? Ha!
One of my fears is that, while writing down the plot, Peter and Carl will have to relive again all that happened between them, and old sleeping grudges will be awaken again, leading the two to bust-ups, screams, punching-ups and sinks. Ahem. But who knows, that could be part of the plot as well. An ending fitting for the start. And then starting over again. And again. And again. And again…
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