Carl Barât: Last News

Ed Harcourt has spoken to NME about what went into his “reflective” new album ‘El Magnifico’, as well as his work with The Libertines, the success of Sophie Ellis-Bextor and his unheard music with Lisa Marie Presley.Released last week, ‘El Magnifico’ marks Harcourt’s 16th studio album – following the two instrumental records ‘Beyond The End’ and ‘Monochrome To Colour’, and the full-bodied spiritual successor to 2016’s acclaimed and rock-leaning ‘Furnaces’.“It’s been an interesting eight years,” Harcourt told NME. “I got out of London and moved out to the countryside to a little village in Oxfordshire.

The Libertines have revealed that they still have the ambition to break America, despite frontman Pete Doherty being “banned” from the country for two decades.The British indie icons reflected on the success of their career over the past 20 years during a new interview with The Sun (via Music News), and revealed that there is still a part of them that wishes they could take their music across the pond.The discussion came in light of their recently released album, ‘All Quiet on the Eastern Esplanade’, which was their first full-length LP in nearly a decade and the follow-up to 2015’s ‘Anthems for Doomed Youth’.Opening up about their hopes to take the album into the States, Carl Barat opened up about the struggles they have faced with the prospect over their career. “Trouble is, Pete’s been banned there for the past 20 years,” he said, explaining how Doherty’s well-documented struggles with addiction have led to various legal issues, and prevented the band from heading Stateside.He continued, going on to share how, although the frontman’s sobriety may help them overcome their previous obstacles, they still have no idea what size their audience would be outside of the UK and Europe.“We don’t know what we’re worth ticket-wise — it could be Madison Square Garden or a local bar,” he pondered.

The Libertines have added some new dates to their 2024 UK and Ireland headline tour – find all the details below.The band are due to hit the road this autumn in support of their fourth album ‘All Quiet On The Eastern Esplanade’, which is due for release on April 5.Yesterday (March 18), The Libertines announced four extra shows for the run: Lincoln’s Engine Shed on November 17, Stockton Globe on November 18, The Forum in Bath on November 20, and the O2 Academy in Bournemouth on November 21.“A few more dates added for you thirsty lot,” the group wrote alongside an updated tour poster on social media.Tickets for the new dates go on general sale at 9am GMT this Friday (March 22) – you’ll be able to buy yours here.

Carl Barât of The Libertines and Kyle Falconer of The View have shared details of a new “songwriting getaway” course, set to take place in Spain later this year.The two shared news of the new course on social media, posting the poster for a Songwriting Getaway hosted by the team at La Sierra Casa – a luxury songwriting camp based in Spain.Set to take place later this year, the 2024 edition is described as an “intensive writing and songwriting course”, presented by the View frontman and featuring Barât as “a very special guest”.

Mae Muller has been announced to headline the next Club NME event. Find out more about the upcoming event below.Following the comeback of Club NME with Courteeners in London and with Blossoms in Manchester in February, Muller will be performing a live Club NME set at London’s Scala on April 12.

The Libertines have shared a rowdy new single titled ‘Oh Shit’ – check it out below.Released today (March 6), the track comes as the latest single to be released from the indie veterans’ upcoming album ‘All Quiet On The Eastern Esplanade’ – following on from ‘Run, Run, Run’, ‘Night Of The Hunter’ and ‘Shiver’.Written by Carl Barat and Pete Doherty, the song is quintessentially The Libertines from start to end and sees the members create an earworm anthem, which pumps a much-needed dose of energy into increasingly difficult times.Made to be played live, the track kicks in with an upbeat, high-energy guitar riff, before the frontman opens with the line “Imo loves the feeling of rolling in the sun/ Rolling in the oceans/ she rolls until she’s numb.”“And she went/ Oh shit, oh shit/ Let’s make some money/ Just enough to get us by,” he sings in the anthemic chorus. “I want you when you smile/ You got the dollars in your eyes.”Set for release on April 5, The Libertines first announced news of their new album – which is the long-mooted follow-up to 2015’s ‘Anthems For Doomed Youth’ – back in October by dropping the lead single ‘Run, Run, Run’.

Pete Doherty has said he was “healthier” when he was taking heroin while opening up about his health.During a new interview with The Guardian, Doherty spoke about how his life had changed since kicking the drug in 2019. “I gave up the main poisons and my health improved,” he explained.“Then you get told alcohol and cheese and sugar are just as bad and you were healthier when you were on heroin.”The musician’s Libertines bandmate Carl Barât added: “Gluttony”. Doherty agreed: “Yeah, I am a bit of a glutton.

The Libertines have announced a 2024 UK and Ireland tour kicking off in September – find all the details below.The band will be embarking on a 16-date tour in support of new album ‘All Quiet On The Eastern Esplanade‘ (out March 15), opening at Dublin’s 3Olympia Theatre on September 23, before continuing onto UK shows in Birmingham, Bristol, Liverpool and more.Pete Doherty, Carl Barat and co. will then play two nights at London’s Roundhouse on October 30 and 31, before performing their remaining shows in early November, concluding at the Albert Hall Manchester on November 7.Fans can pre-order the new album here to get ticket pre-sale access from 9am GMT on Wednesday (February 21), while general sale tickets can be purchased from 9am GMT Friday (February 23) here.A post shared by The Libertines (@thelibertines)SEPTEMBER23 – Dublin, 3Olympia Theatre24 – Belfast, The Telegraph BuildingOCTOBER3 – Birmingham, O2 Academy4 – Norwich, UEA5 – Cambridge, The Corn Exchange7 – Cardiff, Great Hall8 – Bristol, O2 Academy18 – Glasgow, Barrowland Ballroom19 – Liverpool, Mountford Hall21 – Nottingham, Rock City22 – Leeds, O2 Academy30 – London, Roundhouse31 – London, RoundhouseNOVEMBER4 – Sheffield, The Octagon5 – Newcastle, NX7 – Manchester, Albert HallThe Libertines spoke to NME in October last year about ‘All Quiet On The Eastern Esplanade’, with Barat explaining that they were all “facing in the same direction” for this record.Doherty elaborated: “All we want to do is write beautiful songs.

The Libertines were shocked to hear a version of their hit ‘Don’t Look Back Into the Sun’ played to them with an AI version of Homer Simpson taking the lead vocal.In a video posted on the band’s Instagram, Pete Doherty and Carl Barat are playing a round of pool when a friend puts the track on in the background.“It’s just like the record, man,” Doherty says, but he is stopped in his tracks when the vocals hit for the first time. “Who’s remixed this then?!” he says, between laughs.

The Libertines have revealed which artists will be joining them for their upcoming Brighton show – with The Charlatans, The Mary Wallopers and more added to the line-up. Find ticket details below.The announcement comes just one day after the indie heavyweights announced their headline slot at the On The Beach 2024.

The Libertines joined their support band on stage at Liverpool’s Cavern Club last night (January 24) – see what went down below.The band will release new album ‘All Quiet On The Eastern Esplanade’ on March 8, and are currently on a tour of intimate club gigs across the UK, dubbed ‘The Albion Tour’.The band have described it as a return to “[their] roots in these small sweaty clubs, where [they] can see the whites of the crowds eyes”, and they took time before their Cavern Club show to join a local support act on stage during his set.See footage of the impromptu performance, which came at the second of two gigs in the city yesterday, below.

The Libertines have shared a dramatic new single from their upcoming album – listen to ‘Shiver’ below.The band will release new album ‘All Quiet On The Eastern Esplanade’ on March 8, and have so far shared the tracks.The release of the album will be preceded by a tour of intimate club gigs across the UK in January and February dubbed The Albion Tour, which the band have described as a return to “[their] roots in these small sweaty clubs, where [they] can see the whites of the crowds eyes”.After debuting a number of tracks at a sweaty Margate gig last month, they have now shared ‘Shiver’, of which Carl Bârat said: “Peter had a song and I had a song and we mashed them up and did it collaboratively.”Pete Doherty added: “I would probably find it difficult to work out who did what because we were both there the whole time through its creation. It should really be called ‘The Last Dream Of Every Dying Soldier’, but everyone liked the title ‘Shiver’.”In an NME interview from last year, Doherty spoke of how ‘Shiver’ references the band watching the funeral of Queen Elizabeth while recording the album in Jamaica.“It was really strange,” he said.

The Libertines have covered The Pogues‘ ‘Fairy Tale Of New York’ in tribute to the band’s late frontman, Shane MacGowan.The band – comprised of Pete Doherty, Carl Barât, John Hassall and Gary Powell – shared a video on their official Instagram page of Barât playing the famous Christmas tune on the piano with both him and Doherty singing along. The caption of the video read: “RIP Shane, this one’s for you matey x”.Two days later, they posted another video of the whole band performing ‘Fairy Tale Of New York’ while on stage during one of their intimate shows.” Another one for Shane x,” read the caption.MacGowan was laid to rest on December 8 after he died from pneumonia in hospital, aged 65, on November 30.

The Libertines have debuted new songs from their highly-anticipated upcoming album, ‘All Quiet On The Eastern Esplanade’, over the weekend at an intimate gigs in Margate. The concerts took place on Saturday and Sunday (December 9 and 10) at the 500-capacity Lido Cliff Bar in Margate.

The Libertines have shared a new single called ‘Night Of The Hunter’ – you can listen to it below.The song is the second preview of the band’s upcoming fourth album ‘All Quiet On The Eastern Esplanade’, following on from ‘Run, Run, Run’. It is described as “a Shakespearean tale of blood and revenge”.“We got the title from Charles Laughton’s directorial debut Night Of The Hunter starring Robert Mitchum as a preacher with ‘LOVE’ and ‘HATE’ tattooed on his knuckles,” explained Pete Doherty in a statement.“The song’s about not staying ahead of the law.

Nick Cave has written a tribute to Shane MacGowan and Sinéad O’Connor following their deaths.On November 30, it was announced that MacGowan, lead singer of The Pogues, passed away peacefully surrounded by his family and friends. His death came five months after the news of Sinéad O’Connor’s passing.

Pete Doherty has paid tribute to Shane MacGowan, remembering him as one of the best lyricists of “the last 30 or 40 years”.The Pogues frontman died yesterday (November 30) following several months receiving hospital treatment. He was aged 65.

The Libertines have today (November 10) announced details of a new intimate club tour for 2024. Check out all the dates below.Last month, the group announced their forthcoming new album ‘All Quiet On The Eastern Esplanade’, out March 2024, with the single ‘Run Run Run’.The Albionay Tour will see the band travel to Stockton, Liverpool, Milton Keynes, Cardiff and Derby next January to tour the new album, before heading to Falmouth, Southampton, Stoke, Leeds and Glasgow the following month.Tickets for the dates go on sale Tuesday (November 14) at 10:30am here.

The Libertines have shared the video for their new single ‘Run, Run, Run’.The clip, which you can view below, features “a life in a day of a seedy Flash Harry cab driver (played by His Dark Materials actor Geoff Bell), who drives his various customers round the fleshpots and watering holes of Margate in his retro Bentley Turbo motor, stopping off to pay off his gambling debts and neck a pigs ear or ten, before getting back on the job,” according to a press release.It was directed by Alex Brown who has previously worked with La Roux and James Blake and shot in Cliftonville, Margate and at the band’s nearby hotel The Albion Rooms.The clip is the first in a series of videos in the seaside town which will feature the characters from the songs (and the album cover artwork) from their new LP ‘All Quiet On The Eastern Esplanade’, which is out on March 8, 2024. Fans can pre-order the album here.The single was first shared by the band last month.

The Libertines have opened up about their mission to strive for the “perfect song” and shared what the future might look like for the band.The group recently announced their forthcoming new album ‘All Quiet On The Eastern Esplanade’, out March 2024, with the single ‘Run Run Run’ earlier this month.Ahead of the album’s release, Carl Barat and Pete Doherty spoke to NME about what shaped their long-awaited fourth album, including sobriety, a sense of togetherness and the desire “to write beautiful songs”.When asked if the band still had any bucket list moments they wanted to achieve, Doherty said: “I’ve got a new batch of songs on the brew that I’d really like Carl to hear and see what he can do with them.”Barat added: “I’m always striving for the perfect song myself. I don’t know if you ever find it.