Carl Barât
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Carl Barât | |
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Carlos Ashley Raphael Barât |
| Born | June 6, 1978 |
| Origin | Whitchurch, Hampshire, England |
| Genre(s) | Indie rock Garage rock revival |
| Instrument(s) | Vocals, Guitar |
| Years active | 2001–Present |
| Associated acts | The Libertines, Dirty Pretty Things, The Chavs |
| Notable instrument(s) | |
| Gibson Melody Maker | |
Carl Ashley Raphael Barât (born June 6, 1978) is an English musician. He is currently the frontman and lead guitarist of Dirty Pretty Things and was previously the co-frontman with Pete Doherty of the indie rock band The Libertines.
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[edit] Early life
Carl Barât was born in Basingstoke, England on June 6, 1978, spending most of his childhood in the nearby Hampshire town of Whitchurch. In a September 2004 interview with Blender Magazine, Barât mentioned having a French, Polish, and Russian ethnic background, although other sources have suggested that Barât is also part Spanish.[citation needed] As a youth, Barât divided his time between his divorced parents. His father worked in an armaments factory, and his mother, Chrissie, was part of the commune-dwelling counterculture and peace groups such as the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament. Barât spent part of his childhood living with his mother on a commune in Somerset. He has one sister, actress-turned-singer Lucie Barât, and has three half-siblings, Oliver, Luke and Alice.
In 1996, Barât was studying for a drama degree at Brunel University in Uxbridge. He was somewhat disillusioned by his fellow drama students, but became well-acquainted with Peter Doherty's sister, Amy-Jo. Through her, Barât met Doherty. [1] Barât initially disliked Doherty, who had a habit of being rude and irreverent on meeting people. However, they soon developed an intense friendship. The Libertines were subsequently formed with bassist John Hassall and drummer Gary Powell; John Hassall left however due to a disagreement with Doherty about a gig at Filthy McNasty's. Johnny Borrell of Razorlight replaced him but was touring with Alabama 3 and so missed all of the gigs. He was subsequently kicked out and when John Hassall heard that The Libertines had been signed to Rough Trade offered to reassume bass duties. Barât and Doherty shared songwriting and singing duties as well as lead Guitars.
[edit] The Libertines
The Libertines' first album, Up the Bracket, was released in 2002 to critical acclaim. The band's rapid fame was due, in part, to their volatile stage performances, which were characterised by intense bouts of mic-sharing and fighting between Barât and Doherty. This paralleled their relationship, which had progressed to verging on dysfunctional and abusive, with Barât and Doherty being equally competitive and possessive with each other. The band also appeared on the cover of NME before the album was released.[citation needed]
In 2003, Doherty's addiction to heroin and crack cocaine led Barât to ask him not to participate in the band's next tour. Doherty discovered that The Libertines had left without him to perform in Japan. He broke into Barât's Mayfair flat and stole various items, including an antique guitar and an NME Award. He was convicted and sentenced to six months in prison. The sentence was later shortened to two months, during which Barât and Doherty reconciled through correspondence. Barât warmly welcomed Doherty back to The Libertines on the day of his release, and later performed an impromptu "Freedom Gig" at the Tap 'n' Tin club in Chatham, Kent on October 8, 2003. A photograph of the gig, taken by Roger Sargent, adorns The Libertines' self-titled second album, The Libertines, and the cover of Sargent's and Anthony Thornton's book, The Libertines Bound Together.
Doherty's drug addiction continued while the band worked on their second album (the aforementioned The Libertines) in 2004, which strained his relationship with Barât. Bodyguards were needed in the recording sessions, allegedly to prevent Barât and Doherty from physically assaulting each other (which is denied in The Libertines Bound Together, which claimed it was an exaggeration in the press) and to keep Doherty's fans away from him.[citation needed] Before the release of the album in 2004, relations between Barât and Doherty reached a breaking point and Doherty was expelled from the band once again. Doherty did not take the expulsion well, especially as The Libertines continued touring without him to fulfill contractual obligations. Doherty admitted in a September 2005 interview that he had not spoken to any of his former bandmates since then.[citation needed]
What was intended as a short leave of absence turned into something more permanent, as Doherty formed a new band, Babyshambles.
[edit] Post-Libertines
Barât disbanded The Libertines in December 2004, citing his lack of desire to continue the band without ex-partner Doherty and an "ongoing problem with [his] health."[cite this quote] In 2005, Barât underwent surgery to remove a tumour behind his ear and spent several weeks recovering from the operation. The tumour and resulting surgery left the singer partially deaf.
In February 2005, the Libertines won NME's Best British Band award and Barât paid tribute to Doherty in his acceptance speech. Days later, it was officially announced that Barât had signed to Vertigo Records as a solo artist.
Barât's first work as a solo artist was providing vocals for the European duo Client on their single, "Pornography". Barât set up the London club Dirty Pretty Things in June 2004, where he regularly serves as a DJ. In July 2005, he released an album contributing to the Under the Influence series, where musicians select tracks that have influenced them as artists.
Barât was seen with Doherty on April 18, 2005, where the two publicly reunited at the Boogaloo Bar in Highgate, North London.[citation needed]
On April 17, 2006, Barât said about Doherty's drug addiction, "It's just sad and I wish he would sort it out. I would really like to work with him again some day. I don't deny that but I've not seen him really."[cite this quote]
On the July 7, 2006 episode of Friday Night with Jonathan Ross, Doherty said that he did not have a relationship with Barât anymore, shooting down rumors that the pair speak regularly. However, Doherty stated that he would like to work with Barât again.
On July 18, 2006 Barât and Doherty met in the Dublin Castle pub in Camden, London.[citation needed].
On April 12, 2007, Pete Doherty and Carl Barât played 13 songs together at the second of Doherty's "An Evening with Pete Doherty" gigs at the Hackney Empire, London. At the end of the concert, Barât and Doherty swapped trilby hats, a symbolic reference to the Libertines song "The Good Old Days".[2]
[edit] Dirty Pretty Things
On September 15, 2005, it was announced that Barât was forming a new band.[1] His bandmates included former Libertines drummer Gary Powell; Anthony Rossomando, who filled in as guitarist following Pete Doherty's departure from the group; and Didz Hammond, formerly of The Cooper Temple Clause, on bass. It was later announced that the band's name was "Dirty Pretty Things".
The group played their first shows in Italy and Paris, France in October 2005, before recording their debut album in November 2005 in Los Angeles, California. This was produced by Dave Sardy, who has also worked with Supergrass, the Dandy Warhols, Jet, Marilyn Manson, The Rolling Stones, and Oasis. The album - entitled Waterloo to Anywhere - was released on May 8, 2006 in the UK and August 8, 2006 in the US.
Their first studio recorded demo, "Bang Bang You're Dead", was released on their website in the form of a flash video. Its sound has been likened to that of the early Libertines', mixing punk and reggae influences.[citation needed] This song was released as their debut single on April 24, 2006 and reached number 5 in the UK single chart. This coincided with the latter part of their first tour of the United Kingdom, which spanned from the 26 February to the 24 May 2006. Their debut album, Waterloo to Anywhere, was released on May 8, 2006, and reached number 3 in the UK album chart. They have since released "Deadwood" and "Wondering".
Barât has recently said that he wants to work with Doherty again and they have 'supposedly' begun writing a musical together due to be released in early 2009. [3] Whilst saying this he also said that he will be leaking new Dirty Pretty Things demos to the internet and is due to release a new album with them on June 30th with a single preceding the album on June 23rd. The album has been announced as Romance At Short Notice and the single has been confirmed as Tired of England.[2]
[edit] Equipment
[edit] Other Notable Work
In 2008, he will be featured as actor in the film Telstar (The Joe Meek Story) in the role of Rock'n'Roll singer Gene Vincent.
On July 7, 2006, Carl announced that he would become the fifth mentor in the Road to V competition [3], which involves a UK search for the best unsigned music talent in the UK with the winner opening V Festival in either Chelmsford or Staffordshire.
On 28 February 2008, Barât and bandmate Anthony Rossomando presented Glasvegas with the Philip Hall Radar Award at the NME Awards.[4]
Barât currently features in the advertisement for BBC Two's The Culture Show, being asked about British culture.[5]. A longer version of his interview can be found on the Culture Show website. [6]
[edit] References
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This article does not cite any references or sources. (February 2007) Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unverifiable material may be challenged and removed. |
[edit] External links
- 'The Libertines Bound Together The Libertines Bound Together - official site of bestselling Carl Barât/Libertines biography
- Official Dirty Pretty Things website Dirty Pretty Things official website.
- Official Libertines Website The official website of British rock group, The Libertines.
- Vertigo Records Vertigo Record's official web site containing profiles of the artists, past and present, on their label.
- Carl Barât at the Internet Movie Database
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| Persondata | |
|---|---|
| NAME | Barât, Carl |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Barât, Carl Ashley Raphael |
| SHORT DESCRIPTION | English musician |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 1978-06-06 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Whitchurch, Hampshire, England, UK |
| DATE OF DEATH | |
| PLACE OF DEATH | |
