Alan McGee on being “instantly stunned” by gruesome fight between The Libertines’ Pete Doherty and Carl Barât
nme.comLibertines manager Alan McGee has recalled being “instantly stunned” by a fight between Pete Doherty and Carl Barât.The music exec recounted the row in his new book Alan McGee: How to Run an Indie Label, which occurred when he was managing the band around their self-titled 2004 album.At the time he started managing them, relations between frontmen Doherty and Barat were “very messy” due to Doherty facing charges for burgling Barât’s home in retaliation for being kicked out of the band.
Doherty would eventually plead guilty to the charges and spend six months in prison.To patch things up, McGee sent the co-frontment to his house in Wales, as that strategy had worked for former clients Primal Scream and Oasis: “The other bands always loved that s***, getting out to the big house in the country.
So I send The Libertines down there to get to know them and make a plan.”However, McGee’s plan went awry when he woke up early the next day to the sound of Barât coming down the stairs: “I look at him in my peripheral vision and I’m instantly stunned.“It looks like someone has poured tomato ketchup over his head and he is wearing a spooky mask,” McGee continued. “His eye is also hanging out of his head.
For two seconds I’m in disbelief. ‘That’s a mask…’ I mutter to myself.”However, McGee went on to say Barât’s eye was actually hanging out his head, explaining: “[Barât] mumbled that during the night he had self-harmed after an argument with Pete and head-butted the sink 10 times and his eye is now hanging out.“I get one of my new baby Charlie’s wipes and I put the eye back into his head.
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