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In Review

04 December 2008 05:10 BST

The Books of Albion by Peter Doherty

Published by Orion Books, out June 21st, 321 pages, £20.

In a nutshell…

Rants, scribbles, nonsensical rambling and Kate Moss

What's it all about?

Orion's collated Books of Albion is a neatly presented compendium of Pete Doherty's diaries. These notes, collages and pictures have, in the past, been uploaded onto various internet sites over the years and so this is, to put it crudely, a nicely packaged bunch of photocopies.

The Books of Albion aims to take a chronological look at Doherty's life, from his time in the then-struggling Libertines to his rise and fall as a song writer and the formation of Babyshambles. This takes up roughly half the book before giving way to prison, larger quantities of drugs, Kate Moss and moaning about tabloid newspapers.

At times this collection hints at the kind of conversations Doherty could hold were he not intoxicated – for instance his dissection of Britpop and wanting to form a band that changed the way people thought about music is insightful and quite uncanny for when it was written.

But the highlights of this book are when the bits of Libertines and Babyshambles-related trivia and lyrics are pasted here, there and everywhere. The full lyrics to Albion, the beginnings of the Libertines classic Music When the Lights Go Out and the origins of Up the Bracket are all worthy of some re-packaged sleeve notes in ten years time. And it would be harsh to dismiss the actual diary entries - the consistent damnations of his everyday behaviour and the otherworldly observations of London - which are as intriguing as there are ineligible.

But much of this collection is needless and feeds the paper fodder machine that has generated a sleazy image of Doherty and his associates. The arguments with Moss are the kind of rubbish he used to sell to tabloids and the personal letters and notes do nothing more than antagonise the right-leaning media who still despair at the thought that Britain's top supermodel is going out with him! Oh, aghast!

Who's it by?

Pete Doherty is the frontman of Babyshambles and shot to fame as the co-frontman of the Libertines – one of the most critically acclaimed and important bands to have emerged in the last 20 years.

While in the Libertines his on/off friendship with Carl Barat had fans and critics on tenterhooks, but their chemistry was electric and the band were incredible. Sadly, as their second self-titled album hit the number one spot in the album charts, Doherty was out of the band and becoming increasingly ruined by his addiction problems. The Libertines crumbled and fell apart at the very moment when they became the biggest band in the UK.

Since then Doherty has masterminded Babyshambles and is due to release a new record in September, produced by the Smiths and Blur collaborator Stephen Street.

As an example

"A storming reception for my opening set … last night, the first time I think that my poetry has ever been met by cheers and cries of delight. A great shame that Time Out spelt my name wrong."

"The pubs and the clubs and the drugs and the tubs we shared together, they'll stay with me forever."

"For single mothers everywhere in love with crack heads you are a shining light of hope."

"The [tour] bus had its moments of claustrophobia and extreme paranoia … but also a sense of togetherness was evident across the tour."

What the others say

"It is actually, itself, a piece of capitalist exploitation, besides which the vendors of sub-standard powdered baby milk to African mothers or the purchasers of oil from sheikhs with bloody hands seem like amateurs." – A N Wilson, the Daily Mail.

So is it any good?

Doherty has the unenviable ability to anger people into talking complete rubbish and so the Books of Albion is set up for a gigantic fall. For a man who seems unable and unwilling to give up drugs for his band, his girlfriend and his family, publishing a collection of political ponderings and love letters does little to appease the conservative elements of society. But then again, the man's a rock star - anti-establishment and all that - shame he seems to find himself permanently at the mercy of the establishment's judiciary.

What the Books of Albion does very well is show the juxtaposition of Doherty's life; his obvious joy at making music and enjoying the finer things in life contrasting with the sleazy and darker side, both of which overlap day in day out. In more innocent times drugs were a romantic form of escapism for Doherty, swiftly turning into a rampant addiction which took over his life and his lyrics. He's always written about drugs, but the finer points of the Libertines' songs made social observations and harsh criticisms; now he writes about sedatives in rehab - it's quite a change.

The Books of Albion is a worthwhile collection for fans of the Libertines and all things Albion. It's not an autobiography, but a scrap book with little details of what Doherty was thinking when he was thrown out of the Libertines or imprisoned for burgling bandmate Carl Barat's flat.

For those looking for an actual account, rather than a biased scrap book ranting about the hardships in life, the Books of Albion is not the place to start. Perhaps Anthony Thornton and Roger Sargent's Bound Together would be more appropriate.

5/10

Karl Pike



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