The Libertines drummer Gary Powell has spoken to ClashMusic about their recent re-union.
Love them or loathe them, The Libertines came to define a decade of British guitar music in a fashion few other groups could rival. With punk riffs, poetic lyrics and a hefty amount of mythology the band’s slim output is an enduring testament to youthful dreaming.
Reforming for a short series of shows, The Libertines brushed off the cobwebs to prove that the good ship Albion still matters in 2010. Headlining Reading and Leeds, the performance is one of the summer’s most talked about live music events.
Speaking to ClashMusic, drummer Gary Powell seemed warm to the idea of more shows.”Who knows?” he asked.
“There was a famous statement back at the beginning of The Libertines that we could end at any given moment. And we did end, but we always knew in the back of our minds that the Albion would set sail again at some stage – and it has. So who knows what for the future? I’d like to do more stuff, purely because I’ve enjoyed my time with the guys.”
The Libertines played only a handful of shows, culminating in those epic Reading and Leeds headline slots. Regarded by fans as something of a piece of unfinished business, it seems that Gary Powell does not agree.
“I think from the two albums we did we got to exactly where we should be. Basically, I don’t think we should have taken it any further than that – there’s a reason why we stopped after two albums” he said.
“Any more than that would have either killed us or or we would have passed our sell by date. Timing means everything. The time we made our music led to everyone doing our own thing – Dirty Pretty Things, Babyshambles, Yeti – it just made us better people.”
“Being around each other is a much more open sincere relationship right now, and we’re obviously better musicians now. Playing with each other is a much more pleasant experience, and we hang out with each other more than we did before.”
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