John Hassall: Last News

The Libertines have topped the UK Albums Charts for the first time in over two decades.It comes after the indie giants shared their latest LP, ‘All Quiet On The Eastern Esplanade’, at the start of the month. It marked the fourth studio LP from Pete Doherty, Carl Barât, John Hassall and Gary Powell, and first since 2015’s ‘Anthems For Doomed Youth’.Now, it has been confirmed by the Official Charts that the band have locked in the Number One spot with the new release – making it the first time they have topped the album charts in two decades.The band’s first and only time reaching peak position until now was back in 2004, when they shared their now-iconic eponymous album ‘The Libertines’.“We are all of us in the gutter, but today we’re looking at the stars! Thanks for the love.

The Libertines are on course for their first Number One LP in two decades.It comes after the indie heavyweights shared ‘All Quiet On The Eastern Esplanade’ last week (April 4) – the fourth studio LP from Pete Doherty, Carl Barât, John Hassall and Gary Powell.Now, as per a new update from the Official Charts, it looks like the band are on track to top the album charts for the first time in 20 years.The last time that they locked in the Number One spot was back in 2004, when Doherty and Co. shared their now-iconic eponymous album ‘The Libertines’.Their last album to get close to the top position in the charts came in 2015, when they secured a second UK Top 10 with the comeback ‘Anthems For Doomed Youth’.Currently, Earlestown band The K’s are in the Number Two position on the UK Album Charts, and are expected to earn their first Top 5 LP with their debut ‘I Wonder If The World Knows?’ and Conan Gray with his third album ‘Found Heaven’.Elsewhere on the UK Top 10 are Feeder with ‘Black/Red’, The Black Keys with ‘Ohio Players’ and J.

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 announced the launch of a special podcast to celebrate 20 years of their debut album ‘Up The Bracket’.Titled ‘Up The Bracket: 20 Years of The Libertines’, the podcast will be made up of seven episodes featuring exclusive interviews with band members Carl Barât, Pete Doherty, John Hassall and Gary Powell, as well as the A&R who discovered them, James Endeacott, and their biographer, Anthony Thornton.The series will be hosted by Radio X’s Sunta Templeton and will provide listeners with insight into The Libertines’ journey, exploring the highs and lows and the moment they felt like they ‘made it’ told by the band themselves.Our podcast with @thelibertines, 20 Years Of Up The Bracket is out on Friday, and we want to know what your favourite Up The Bracket track is? Reply or quote tweet with your answer