Pete Doherty Reveals All In Newsnight Interview

Pete Doherty appeared last night in a special Newsnight interview in which he spoke about his rocky road to success.

Everyone knows the story, his drug addictions led to him being kicked out of the band he co-founded with Carl Barat, The Libertines. After forming his new band Babyshambles, Doherty has led an extremely haphazard and chaotic life from travelling to Thailand to beat his addictions to a string of no-shows at his own gigs that last weekend led to massive stage invasion by angry audience members.

So this interview on the BBC, his first ever major TV interview was always going to be interesting.

His interviewer Kirsty Wark was pretty gentle, although she obviously wanted to get details out of him, it also seemed that she was in awe of Doherty.

Doherty spoke about his childhood, one that was full of creativity. At the age of 17 Doherty was one of Britain’s most promising young poets and was chosen to travel to Russia, during the interview he managed to recite a poem that he wrote whilst in Russia.

Doherty was open whilst talking about The Libertines and his intimate relationship with Carl Barat and what made them work together even though they were at each others throats: “All our dreams came true, we stuck together through thick and thin and thinner” Doherty said.

He did reveal that he and Barat had “always been scrapping” even in the early days, battling it out over who wrote what, girls, and other friends. Things got so bad between them that they each had their own bouncer to keep them apart. They finally ceased speaking to each other earlier this year.

Doherty said: "We were scrapping, we'd go months without talking. We'd be chasing the same girl or in the mists of a drunken creative session, come the morning, we wouldn't be able to remember who wrote what line. We'd come to blows about that."

He went on to say that he could never really leave the Libertines as he founded them. When asked whether or not he would ever play with them or Carl Barat again he said “You’re asking the wrong man”, Wark actually stood up to him at this point and said, “No, I’m asking the right man.” It was then that Doherty showed some resentment towards Barat saying: "I've made attempts to talk to him. He doesn't want to know at the moment. When His Lordship is ready to talk to me, I'll still be here. If I'm still able bodied I'll play."

Wark was also determined to find out why Doherty was a drug addict and asked him whether or not he was self-destructive, he said: "I know where the self destruct button is, I just have to resist the temptation to push it."

He added: “Each man kills the things he loves. I recognise that in myself, in relationships, even with guitars, beautiful things that I've had and wilfully destroyed."

Wark mentioned that Doherty’s mother had sent her a letter that said: “Peter is a gifted poet, writer and thinker. Please be considerate with him. I feel he is very vulnerable. He is a sensitive soul and has many good points. He has helped so many people. In spite of perhaps your first impression of him, he is actually trying to address his problems.”

Doherty said that his family are the only reason that he has tried to address his problems but also said that his mother would worry about him “Even if I was a vicar she would worry that my bicycle clips weren’t tight enough.” 

Wark asked Doherty whether or not he felt he deserved the accolade that NME has bestowed upon him as ‘The Cool Icon Of 2004’, and whether or not he thought he was a positive role model. He said “Kids are quite clued up. They take their inspiration from the songs they want to learn to play, or will ask me where I got a jacket from, I’ve never had anyone come up to me and ask me for a drug dealers number”.

During the interview Wark asked Doherty to play ‘Music When The Lights Go Out’ which he played well and with feeling.

This interview was pre-recorded and in it he did say that he was trying to curb his drug taking. Since this interview was taped Doherty has played at two shows where both times he has appeared off his face and out of control.

So the big question then, how much did the BBC pay Doherty to take part in the interview and are all the TV license payers happy knowing that their money is being spent on interviewing someone whose money is mainly spent on hard drugs? How is this going to help this over exposed young drug addict?

Photo By Sakura Henderson