Pete Doherty tells us about new solo album ‘Felt Better Alive’: “The Libertines are stark-raving mad not to want these songs”

nme.com:

Pete Doherty has announced details of his new solo album ‘Felt Better Alive’ along with details of an intimate UK tour. Check out the title track below along with our interview with The Libertines star.Due for release in May via Doherty’s own Strap Originals label and supported a run of shows in towns namechecked in Babyshambles‘ classic ‘Down In Albion’, his latest solo effort comes with a taster in the form of the country-tinged road song of the lead single and title track.“My ultimate fantasy moment is like in that film Yesterday where he’s the only person to know The Beatles songs,” Doherty told NME. “Before that film was written and made, I used to have that fantasy when I was a kid.

I’d be watching Top Of The Pops with Oasis, Blur and Pulp and would pretend I’d written the songs. That’s the whole thing about singing in front of the mirror with a hair brush, isn’t it?

I took it to another level by imagining that these people had never been born, and that the rest of the world hadn’t heard the songs so I had to present them.”He continued: “There was one song by Townes Van Zandt called ‘Pancho And Lefty’, and I always thought that song was the ultimate song to have written.

I tried and tried to write it and rewrite it, but you can’t. ‘Felt Better Alive’, to me, is the English version of ‘Pancho And Lefty’.