Should we talk about DATES?

And I don't mean supermodels or weird religious stuff (actually all religious stuff is weird), I mean LIVE DATES. We need a little order in all this mess don't we?

So, let's give it a try.

Fucking Babyshambles

April 16 - Printemps de Bourges Festival, Bourges, France (headliners of Le Phenix Stage)

April 18 - Festival des Artefacts, Zenith, Strasbourg, France

April 20 - Les Paradis Artificiels Festival, Zenith Arena, Lille, France

April 27 - Love Music Hate Racism Carnival, Victoria Park, London

May 31 - Papillons de Nuit, Mairie, Saint Laurent des Cuves, France (headliners)

June 6-8 - Rock am Ring Festival, Nurburgring in The Eifel, Germany

June 12-15 - Hultsfred Festival 08, Huktsfred, Sweden

June 21 - Rock-A-Field 2008, Luxembourg

June 23 - Hove Festival / Hovefestivalen 2008, Tromoya, Norway

July 3 - Rock Werchter 08, Werchter, Belgium

July 4 - Les Eurockéennes de Belfort, Belfort, France

July 11 - Festival Musilac, Ais-lex-Bains, France

July 17 - FIB Heineken 2008, Benicassim, Spain

July 18 - Vieilles Charrues, Carhaix-Plouguer, France

July 19 - Saturday Night Fiber, Madrid, Spain

August 14 - FM4 Frequency 2008, Salzburg, Austria

August 22-25 Reading and Leeds Festival, UK

Peter Fucking Doherty

April 23 - Grand Rex, Paris, France

April 26 - Royal Albert Hall, London, UK

June 27-29 - Glastonbury Festival, Worthy Farm, Somerset, UK

August 2-3 - Live at Loch Lomond, Balloch Castle Country Park, Loch Lomond, Scotland

Dirty Pretty Fucking Things

April 6 - Snowbombing Festival, Mayrhofen, Austria

May 14-28 - UK Tour (see here)

May 24 - 28 - Dot To Dot Festival, Nottingham, UK

June 14 - Where The Action Is 2008, Stockholm, Sweden

August 22-25 Reading and Leeds Festival, UK

Note: DPT are reportedly a "strong rumour" at the LMHR Carnival.

Plus: Carl Fucking Barat is dj-ing at Club Nirvana, Wigan, Lancashire, on April 11.

More about The Torriano Pub

Photo by Paleyounanglican

From The Camden New Journal:

Pete pulls in the punters for ‘Save the Torriano’ pub gig. Ex-Libertines star adds his voice to campaign as developers threaten to call last orders. HE’S better known for speaking out about his relationships but it seems former Libertines frontman Pete Doherty also feels passionately about his Kentish Town local.The musician played a 40-minute gig at the Torriano pub in Torriano Avenue on Thursday in support of a campaign to prevent developers converting the top floors of the three-storey building into flats.He followed pop icon Sting’s daughter Koko Sumner on stage for a set that included Back from the Dead, What A Waster and Can’t Stand Me Now. The current face of Robert Cavalli’s fashion advertising campaign told the audience: “They’re trying to close this place or take this place back and turn it into flats.”The singer whose battle with drug abuse and on-off relationship with supermodel Kate Moss has rarely been out of the tabloids then invited landlady Susie Martin onto the stage, quipping: “Votes for women.” She said: “We are on the verge of being shut down. We were bought up by property developers about a year ago and the buggers are trying to close us down.“We hope to host many more of these events and we are battling hard to put everything into the pub for our community.” Manager Andy Boyd had received a call from Doherty at 3pm on Thursday, saying: “Let’s do a Save The Torriano gig.”Mr Boyd, 30, said: “I just organised it on the day. The way it works with Pete is that unless we do these things on the night it’s never going to happen.” He added: “I love the pub. It’s a stone’s throw from where I live. I really don’t want to see it go.” About 60 fans attended the one-off gig, paying £20 a ticket. Landlord Dean Guberina, who has been at the Torriano for seven years, said: “It’s a community pub. People come and make friends from all walks of life. We’ve never had any trouble here.” He added: “He [Doherty] was on top form. We got lots of new signatures on our petition. It definitely helped to raise awareness.” Pub regular Claire Sopel, 28, cancelled her plans on hearing that Doherty was playing the Torriano that evening. The clothes designer said: “It was really nice to know that he feels passionate about saving the pub. It was very intimate and he played lots of good songs. The basement bar is very small so everyone got a good view. It certainly brought lots of new faces to the bar that night.”

Our friend Nearerdark filmed the show and put it up here, in case you want to see it.

And now some random news:

• New rumors abound about Peter collaborating with Amy Winehouse. These new rumors stem from some photos published yesterday and showing Pizza heading to Wino's pad carrying a guitar and a book of Albion. Whatever.
• Apparently Peter cancelled his support slot at the Sonics gig for personal reasons.
• The Libertines official site is defunct.
• Don't know about Carlos but Anthony Rossy is alive and planning to tour with... The Mighty Boosh. Seriously.

Peter's not the supporting type

No show of the Pizza last night at the Sonics' awesome gig at the Kentish Forum. NME.com says: "Pete Doherty has cancelled his previously-scheduled support slot with The Sonics at London’s Forum venue tonight (March 23). A spokesperson for The Sonics told NME.COM that Doherty's management had informed him that the Babyshambles man was in his Wiltshire home and was unable to make the gig". Well, of course you can't be in two different places at the same time can you? That's quite understandable. Jokes aside, unfortunately French Dog Writtles seems to be unable to work as well and the chances we know the real reason behind the cancellation (if there is any) are quite slim at the moment. However, the crowd was not too disappointed by Peter's absence. Somebody even cheered. Someone else asked for refunds (ha!).

And yet Peter had started this week on a high. Three gigs almost in a row, with a brilliant appearance at the Woodbury Tavern on Saturday night (here's a short clip). Was it too much? Well, it was Easter after all, and probably a support slot, albeit for a legendary band, wasn't enough to get him going.

The Libertines on BBC1

At 7pm GMT (8pm CET) on April 2 (Wednesday next week), Zane Lowe, well-known music DJ at Radio 1, will be playing 'Up The Bracket' as part of the second round of a series called 'Masterpieces'. The album will be played out in full, gaps and all, no interruptions. There will be interviews and loads of other info about the album and the band, showcasing their influences and the people they then went on to influence. If you live outside the UK, you can listen to the show on the BBC website.

This is what BBC1 says about Bracket: "Pete Doherty's exploits aside, we think it's important to keep our eye on the music and highlight a band who started a vital scene that spawned some of our favourite bands. Their debut album is still lyrically and melodically one of the most adventurous modern indie records of all time". The other masterpieces of the series are Radiohead's "OK Computer", Public Enemy's "It takes a nation of millions to hold us back" and Guns and Roses' "Appetite for destruction".

Still on the Libs subject, the NME has issued a ridiculous "Greatest band of all times" poll. While I'm writing the Manic Street Preachers have taken the lead (which tells you how serious this stuff is). By the way if you wanna vote for the likely lads, click here.

Peter at the Torriano

Peter played another solo gig at the Torriano Pub in Kentish Town last night. Apparently it was 20 quid at the door, so much more than on Wednesday night, but he also played much longer. I wasn't there so I leave the word to Alicepooh and her beatiful review:

"The Torriano – March 20th, 2008. By all accounts, last night’s [i.e. Wednesday] Pete Doherty gig in Kilburn was a pretty odd experience. Too many people packed into too little space, and a strange, aggressive crowd thanks to numerous XFM Radio announcements. People who not only didn’t know the music, but several not even knowing what he looked like (no mean feat considering the number of pictures of Doherty that have appeared in the tabloid press over the past couple of years). Several people said they overheard discussions about whether Alan Wass was in fact Pete. Round this off with an excess of paparazzi anxious to get photographs, and you have the makings of, at best, a mixed experience. It was therefore with some trepidation that I headed to The Torriano in Kentish Town this evening. Again, the gig seemed to have had a different scale of publicity than the usual last minute Shambles or Doherty show, this time, announced on the NME website. None of the ‘post it for five minutes and delete’ approach. The information said the show would be at 9pm. At half past 7 the pub was populated by a small handful of likely fans, by eight there were a few more, and by nine, the pub was busy. But not overflowing. Which was just as well since it was little, and the basement performance space was said to hold only 50. The presence of Adrian from Lazy Eye, Pete’s manager, reassured [actually it wasn't Adrian, it was Andy, the other manager], but no one really seemed to know what was going on. However, the crowd was laid back, the atmosphere in the lovely pub was relaxed, and it was a nice place to have a drink or two. Lots of friendly people, familiar faces, chatting. When Pete arrived, no one mobbed him, a few people said hi, but the mood remained easy. Finally we were let downstairs to the smallest performance room I’ve been in. They weren’t kidding that the capacity was 50, but it was OK, cause there weren’t really more than that in the whole pub. A mic stand and guitar indicated the stage area, and Pete stood about talking to people – there was really nowhere else for him to be. A turntable played Velvet Underground. Just like in the old days. At about half nine, Pete made his way to the mic and welcomed everyone and announced a ‘warm up’ act, Coco. A young woman with an incredibly distinctive voice came up and sang three songs. She was remarkable. Breathy, raw and beautiful. And the crowd clearly thought so too, giving her attention and fulsome applause, and welcoming the ‘extra’ fourth song she played at Pete’s request. An amazing start to the evening. Then Pete came on and played a truly wonderful set. It was close up, intimate and breathtaking. The audience was quiet, managed to convey enthusiasm without undue pushing and shoving, singing along without drowning out the man we’d all come to see, joining in to provide backing vocals rather than a full blooded sing along. Doherty looked well, focussed, and was very chatty, despite a few tentative moments. It must be daunting to play a crowd, however small, when there is nothing between you and them. No stage, no barrier, no security. When it works, it’s lovely. But if the crowd had been one of those pushy-shoving-getapiceofhimquick it could have been horrible. Fortunately, the audience was calm and allowed the intimacy of the event to wrap around us and the performers. But you never know beforehand. Couldn’t have been a greater contrast with Wednesday night in Kilburn. We could all relax and enjoy the moment. I’m not sure if this is the full set list. It’s certainly only in approximate order. But it included: Back from the Dead, Ballad of Grimaldi, Dilly Boys, Whole World is Our Playground, Albion, What a Waster, Death on the Stairs, Smashing, Beg Steal Borrow, Pipey McGraw, Music When the Lights Go Out, What Katie Did, Can't Stand Me Now. Smashing included an approximation of the French bit, although it seemed as if he was making it up as he went along, and that without conviction. He began Beg Steal twice, deciding he’d done it wrong after he’d sung about a third of the song, and a bloke shouting out ‘bravo’ made him lose his place in Grimaldi. The mood was unbelievable. Supportive, warm and happy. And it makes such a difference to the overall feel of the event. About half way through Pete made an announcement about the pub, which is, apparently, threatened with closure, a property developer has acquired it and has plans to convert the site into flats. The landlady came onstage and gave a little talk about this, ending with a plea for everyone to go onto the pub;s website and ‘sign’ a petition. Well worth doing, folks, it’s a really nice pub. What makes a good evening is partly the performance, there’s no doubt about that. But the other people there can make all the difference between something truly magical and something faintly unpleasant. Tonight was positively in the ‘magic’ end of the spectrum. Not to be forgotten in a hurry."

Thanks a lot to Alicepooh for her report of course. Now, listen to this. The Torriano Pub is in dire straits and likely to be closed soon. Adrian Hunter sent this appeal to FDW, asking to spread the word:

"This is mine and Andy's local. It's under severe threat of redevelopment. i.e. flats which will RUIN the area and the community therein. So please sign the petition Do it via Facebook or email (suzanne_martin902@hotmail.com), and tell her you support this. All of our locals are on their way out, but try and help. It's got a special place in my, Andy and Peter's heart and if it goes .... it's just a little step further towards the death of Camden Town. Spread the word ... BB".

Another fucking gig tonight

The Torriano Pub

From NME.com:

Babyshambles frontman Pete Doherty will play a gig in London’s Torriano pub in Kentish Town tonight (March 20). The show will follow on from a solo show last night at the Powers Bar, during which Pete Doherty had an altercation with a fan over a football shirt [for heaven's sake...]. Doherty is due onstage at the venue in the north of the city at 9pm (GMT). Tickets will be available on the door. The venue is extremely small so fans are advised to arrive early to guarantee entry.

Peter's "surprise" gig went down well

Photo by Docile333

It seems Babybear has to learn something from Adam when it comes to announcing surprise gigs! Word was out in the middle of the evening, the thing was picked up by Gigwise and Xfm, and the place was crammed, too crammed maybe, with people who couldn't tell Peter Doherty from Alan Wass! But after all, who cares. The gig was pretty good and Peter looked on top form, all in black and with his hair trimmed. Earlier in the afternoon he had dropped in a music shop in Reading where he had bought a brand new guitar.

Setlist: East of Eden, Can't stand me now, Lost Art of Murder, Breck Road Lover (wow, the blog!), Killamangiro, What a Waster, Death on the Stairs (Carl, you little sucker, he's doing it now!), Pipey McGraw, Playground, Dilly Boys, Albion.

Warm up gig tonight in Kilburn

The Splinter Group hosted by Alan Wass presents:

Pete Doherty (Solo Acoustic Set)

Alan Wass

Sam Sallon

£5 before 9pm. £10 after

Power’s Acoustic Room 332 Kilburn High Rd London NW6 2QN

Says Babybear: "This place is VERY intimate so get there early for cheap entry and guaranteed entry at the very least. This is a warm up for Sunday night at The Forum, Kentish Town with the legendary sounds of The Sonics. Check out Alan [Wass] doing his solo stuff and a special mention to Sam Sallon who I used to manage but still incredibly remains firm friends with nevertheless .... "

So... BE THERE!

From Peter and Carl to the Irish

From NME.com:

Pete Doherty, Carl Barat, Franz Ferdinand and Billy Bragg are among those who have signed a St Patrick’s Day letter aimed at London’s Irish community. Celebrating today’s (March 17) saint day, the letter, issued by Rock Against Racism, and also signed by MPs, is warning the UK capital’s Irish community against voting for the British National Party in the forthcoming London mayoral election in May. The right-wing political organisation has apparently issued election literature targeting support from that community. Warning about the current campaign, the signed letter declares: “We believe that the BNP remains an inherently racist organisation; their past and present is based not on nationalism or patriotism, but fascism. The Irish community in Britain and especially in London has a long history of involvement in anti-fascist and anti-racist activities. Everyone who rejects the BNP's politics of hate has the duty to do everything they can to stop them. We urge the Irish community and all communities in London to reject the politics of division and hate in May.” Other signatories to the letter include author Will Self and former Irish football internationals David Kelly and Kieron Brady.

Interview Babyshambles in Milan

Aired on Italian music channel "All Music" on Friday night. Thanks a lot to Ananbelle for ripping it.

More... Nuggets

The Sonics

Peter is to support legendary surf-punk-garage '60s American band The Sonics at London's Kentish Town Forum on March 23 as part of this year's Le Beat Bespoke 4 weekender. The Horrors will also provide support. The Sonics' most memorable tracks are 'Strychnine' and 'The Witch', the latter being included in one of my fave records ever, "Nuggets", a compilation of 60's US garage bands cured by Lenny Kaye. For more information and tickets see here.

Still on the Shambles route, it seems the lovely Drew has pulled a General this time. There was no sign of Peter at the Helsinki's gig at the Dingwalls last night. But the gig was highly successful all the same. Here's the NME's review:

Babyshambles’ Drew McConnell performed his first gig with his new project, Helsinki, in London last night (March 13).The bassist, sporting an acoustic guitar, fronted the five-piece band supporting Kid Harpoon at Camden's Dingwalls venue.As well as playing a selection of new songs, including an instrumental post-rock-influenced number, McConnell performed a jazz version of Babyshambles’ 'Delivery'. Helsinki also covered Manu Chao’s 'Lagrimas De Oro' during the set, which saw him start off solo before being joined by the band on the second song. Before the first track, McConnell told the crowd: "If any more of my friends get arrested, I’m leaving the country." Helsinki are set to support Kid Harpoon again at his show at Brighton’s Pressure Point on March 15.

Nuggets

• NME.com has issued a photo gallery with various facts to celebrate Peter's birthday.
• The Guardian has an article on the Viccy Park Carnival.
• Adamski has announced a Babyshambles book: "All things considered expect it later this year/early next. Just confirmed.... Book detailing the history from 03 to Shotters and beyond".
• The old glorious Proud Club in Camden is reopening on 3 April, and the lovely Drew is going to play on the opening night, together with the Enemy, plus DJ sets from Friendly Fires, Nick Grimshaw, Jodie Harsh, Lisa Moorish and Stunners International. Proceeds from the first night will go towards those worst affected by the recent Camden fire (more info here).
• Peter has gone back to posting meowing movies on his youtube channel (no link. You know where they are).

Dirty Pretty Things broaden the spectrum

From BBC Newsbeat:

Dirty Pretty Things are promising fans they've come up with something different in their second album, which is due out following a short tour of the UK.

Tentatively titled This Is Where The Truth Begins, bass player Didz Hammond admits there has been some internal wranglings over the name.
He said: "Yeah, Four Egos and a Mouse came up again”.
"It's a bit more diverse record. There are a lot more factors and characteristics to it than the last record.
"It's not a jingle-jangle record."
Their debut album Waterloo To Anywhere went top three in the UK with a hit single Bang, Bang, You're Dead also going top five.
Singer Carl Barat reckons the new album is a very different affair.
He said: "The first album was rushed. This album, there's a lot more perspective to it.
"It's a lot broader in the spectrum."
Didz agrees: "It's not just a guitar record which is what I meant by jingle-jangle."
Dirty Pretty Things kick off their UK tour in Glasgow on 14 May and finish in Brighton on 28 May.

Plus, new French mag VoxPop has a 10 page article on Carl and da boys. Read the report from the Paris gig here (there's a nice video too).

Helsinki tomorrow at Dingwalls + Very Special Guest

Anybody going to see Kid Harpoon and Helsinki tomorrow at the Dingwalls? Move your ass darlings. The one and only Pizza Dockerty is going to be there and play one song with Drusillo as well.

The reliable source of this info is Mr. McConnell himself, using Peter's account on French Dog Writtles.

Hey Bilo...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY YOU LITTLE FUCKER!!!

Let's go private

Just a bit. News are scarce at the moment and we need to get down one level.

• SO thanks to Hound Dog (FDW's moderator) that reported Drew's last diary post: "a few shows and some hello’s hello... I first must apologise to anyone who's messaged me and not heard back over the last few months. I've just not looked at myspace for ages. I've been really busy and also find it hard sometimes to sit at the internet. However! I am excited to say I'm on the road with Kid Harpoon. Played with him tonight in Aldershot, the band he's put together blew me away. The Helsinki line up looks likely to change every night, but staple Helsinki heads should make regular appearances. Now if they'd just turn their phones back on... May the Lord increase you in your hour of need. Harps & Helsinki Hike: 8 Mar 2008 BRISTOL LOUISIANA, 9 Mar 2008 CARDIFF CLWB IFOR BACH, 11 Mar 2008 OXFORD JERICHO TAVERN, 12 Mar 2008 SOUTHAMPTON JOINERS, 13 Mar 2008 LONDON DINGWALLS, 15 Mar 2008 BRIGHTON PRESSURE POINT"

• Normally I don't post clips from Peter's Youtube channel (I assume they're private stuff and in any case they're usually crap) but the latest additions are rather good, particularly this. Steven Spielberg he ain't but the song is still magical and the kitten is adorable.

• Some gig news: Peter (alone) will play at Loch Lomond Festival on 2 August while Babyshambles will play a one-off gig taking place in Madrid during the Benicassim festival, together with My Bloody Valentine, Siouxsie, Mika and The Rumble Strips.

We'll have a general recap of Peter, Shambles and DPT future dates very soon. Stay tuned.

Adam goes solo

Babyshambles drummer Adam Ficek will release a solo EP later in summer 2008, and will precede the release with a low-key run of one-track singles soon.

Ficek has announced, via his Roses, Kings, Castles MySpace site, that he will hand-produce 300 CDs featuring his song, ‘Sparkling Bootz’.

Adam will send the CDs out to fans who send an self-addressed envelope to him. Ficek has also revealed that the low-key release will be followed up later in the year with an independently-released EP, due for release in the summer.

The Sound of Libertines Music

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…

Dirty Pretty Things announce UK Tour

John McClure, Carlos and Drew at the Crisis gig

(photo by Keira Vallejo on Flickr)

Dirty Pretty Things will hit the road in May for a full UK tour, ahead of the release of their second album. The 12-date jaunt begins at Glasgow ABC on May 14. The band will release their second album, ‘This Is Where The Truth Begins’ in June, and are expected to preview tracks from the record at the dates.

Dirty Pretty Things will play:
Glasgow ABC (May 14)
Aberdeen Moshulu (15)
Dundee Fat Sams (16)
Newcastle Northumbria University (18)
Sheffield Leadmill (19)
Manchester Ritz (20)
Coventry Kasbah (22)
Liverpool Carling Academy (23)
Nottingham Rock City (24)
Bristol Academy (25)
London Astoria (27)
Brighton Corn Exchange (28)


Tickets for the tour go on sale on Thursday (March 6).

Plus, Carl and Drew fight touts (here).

Monday shenanigans

• Carlos and Drew talk about the Crisis gig.
• Anthony Rossomonso talks about the crisis album (from Xfm):
  Rubbing shoulders with the great and the good at the NME Awards, Dirty Pretty Things' Anthony Rossomondo spoke exclusively to Xfm what the new album is called and what fans can expect to hear. "It's gonna be called 'This Is Where The Truth Begins'. It's one of the songs [on the album], it's kinda anthemic," said Rossomondo. "We've got some big old fuckin' songs on the record," he explained "and Carl [Barat] and I kinda went into the darkness with each other and we found a way out kinda climbing over each other until we crawled out of that whole proverbial hole and now we've got this record and it by far outgleams the first one and it has so much more truth in it." As previously reported, the recording of Dirty Pretty Things' second album - the follow up to 'Waterloo To Anywhere' - hasn't been without its problems and may have cost the band some important festival slots this summer. The new album is expected to be released later this year (To hear the interview in full, click here).

• NME talks about Peter and Carl's "musical" (soon to be entitled "How to write music with your best partner fucking your label and bypassing contractual obligations").

• NME also talks about the above interview with Anthony Rosamundo.

• And Carletto Barattolo talks about DPT's new album to Channel 4 Teletext but he's far less straightforward than Anthony Rossomozzo (anyway thanks to Jo for typing the interview): In 2006, DPT unveiled their debut album ‘Waterloo to Anywhere’ from amongst the chaos of the Libertines’ split. This time around, Carl Barat and his fellow travellers are more settled, despite the intensity of recording their second album. Encountering Barat in bouyant mood following the NME Awards, he gave us the lowdown on the album and revealed the title. Last year, the band began previewing new songs but they’ve developed a long way since then’.
  ‘They weren’t properly finished’ says Carl. ‘I was freestyling lyrics. I knew generally what the songs were about but hadn’t figured some specifics. But it’s all there now. The album will be called “This is How it Begins.” What inspired the title? Oh, getting up and facing the day, cups of tea....’
  Having worked with Oasis producer Dave Sardy on the debut, the new album is poroduced by little-known Neil McLennan. ‘It could have been a risk going for a less well-known name, but Neil is more of a member of the band than a producer’ says Carl. ‘Neil used to be a DJ for the Prodigy and he was a green Beret which was good practice for marshalling us when we got at each other in the studio’ .
  Carl admits recording was a fractious process. ‘We all had contretemps and fights’ he considers. ‘Because we were all four deeply involved in the sound, we all quit at various points. We all had our frustrations and at times we were so lost in the process we lost track of it was good. It’s only recently that we’ve thought “oh yes, we HAVE made a great record”
  Why did Carl himself get angry?
  ‘Because I need to be angry to make music. I’m not an angry person all the time, not at all, but I can only write music when I’m angry. Some people may say this record is a more mature one than Waterloo but I’d say it’s a more exciting record. It’s just a different type of anger that’s gone into this album. All the best music is angry in some way’.
  Due out in autumn, the first single is likely to be ‘Plastic Hearts’ or Hippy Son’. After that, Carl is planning a reunion with Pete Doherty.
  ‘Oh, my focus is on DPT’ he says, ‘But Peter and I have spoken about writing a musical. We’d have it somewhere like the Donmar, we’re planning something like Weill’s Threepenny Opera, once the planning can be resolved. We’ll see’ .

DPT updates

Dirty Pretty Things have been confirmed as headliners for this year’s Dot To Dot Festival on the Nottingham leg of the event. Carl Barât et al should have completed their second album by then, the follow-up to 2006’s ‘Waterloo To Anywhere’. The foursome are set to play the Saturday night of the festival on the 24th May. Amongst the other acts joining them that night are The Little Ones and The Holloways. Dirty Pretty Things have a couple of other shows lined up. On March 2nd they’ll play the ‘Consequences Live’ charity event at the Camden Roundhouse, with all proceeds from the all-dayer going to Crisis. Also scheduled in April, is an appearance at the inaugural Snowbombing Festival in Mayrhofen, Austria.

Plus!

Rumors of a British tour at the end of May are rife. For the moment we have two dates:

• Astoria London TUE 27/05/2008 tickets on sale 06/03/2008 09.00
• Corn Exchange Brighton WED 28/05/2008 19:30 tickets on sale 06/03/2008 09:00 (from gigsandtours).

Don't forget: LMHR supporters from across the country will be gathering in central London on 1st March at Unite Against Fascism's national conference. Artists including Dirty Pretty Things, Bashy, Natty, No.Lay and Snakeyman will be taking part in a LMHR Q&A, in a session devoted to organising the 27th April Victoria Park Carnival.

Carl Barat has revealed his unusual recipe for writing. He said: "I need anger to write. It's a very useful tool". Well, let's hope all the recent partying got him annoyed enough.

Oh, of course everybody has seen this. I suggest we all sit down, grab popcorn and see what happens, right?

Later!