NME 2002
Death On The Stairs - Barât: 'It's a song we find hard to play even though it's a favourite. It's very sad but happy at the same time. It's so dear to us that we could never seem to record it right, so we had to do it about four times.'
http://libertines.twinkling-star.com/nmebracketexplained.html
NME Libertines LP Exclusive! - October 2002
Carl Barât and Peter Doherty give a track-by-track preview of their debut - plus where you can hear it first.
The Libertines release their hugely anticipated debut album 'Up The Bracket' on October 21 - and NME has had the exclusive first play. Here Peter Doherty and Carl Barât talk NME through the album, produced by former Clash man Mick Jones.
Vertigo - Doherty: 'I like the line 'Was it the liquor? Or was it my soul?' It's when you can't work out whether it was genuine or whether you just got caught up in the debauched outside influence. Is it a Hitchcock reference? Well, there's a hitch and there's definitely a cock, but that's nothing to do with the film director.'
Death On The Stairs - Barât: 'It's a song we find hard to play even though it's a favourite. It's very sad but happy at the same time. It's so dear to us that we could never seem to record it right, so we had to do it about four times.'
Doherty: 'That song's a cry in the darkness. But not from us - it's when you're in the darkness and then you hear a cry.'
Horror Show - Doherty: 'I think heroin is mentioned on this and a few songs - heroes and heroin, soft drugs and hard drugs, days by the sea. But it's quite an upbeat song and if you've been down on the brown the last thing you want to do is thrash about. You'd much rather lie down somewhere or spew up. Dangerous territory, really. You'd think in this day and age it wouldn't be, but you've got to be careful.'
Time For Heroes - Barât: 'It's what it says really, it's just a fairytale. I think that's got the best guitar solo on the album. What heroes? Sid James, Syd Barrett, Sid Vicious - the usual.'
Boys In The Band - Doherty: 'Everyone's been singing along to it, they love it. I always find it a bit weird singing 'They all get them out/For the boys in the band' and seeing all the girls singing along. But it doesn't matter - it is a bit of a sing along number. It's not actually saying 'Get your bangers out for the boys!' It's more like 'Roll out the carpets! Get out the drinks!'
Radio America - Barât: 'We hired all these acoustic instruments and a double bass and a cocktail drumkit. It cost a fortune. I was so mangled that day. I fell asleep, fell over and banged my head on the mic stand. Everyone starts laughing. hey didn't use it though, because my playing on that one was abysmal.'
Up The Bracket - Doherty: 'That's me screaming at the start. There was all this fucking about in the studio. It was frustration. I can still see Mick with his can in his hand going, 'Right lads, no more fucking about!''
Tell The King - Barât: 'That's lovely. Don't take that line wrong ('Like a journalist/You can cut and paste and twist'). Is it like 'Mr. Writer'? You're not accusing me of listening to the Stereophonics are you?'
The Boy Looked At Johnny - Doherty: 'Ah! That's one of my favourites. It's a blatant sing along. It's got this amazing riff on it - you're going to piss yourself with pleasure or laughter when you hear it. It's restored my faith.'
Begging - Barât: 'There's something about the kids 'round where we live (east London) - they're real guttersnipes. They're normally a good laugh but they're so confrontational. They used to call us hippies and say, 'You're beggin'!' That was a cuss they had. That's our most stonerish song.
The Good Old Days - Doherty: 'That's a call to arms really. It's not nostalgic at all. It's saying there were no good old days, stop going on about them. These are the good old days probably.'
Barât: 'It sounds like Vikings rowing oars in the background.'
I Get Along - Barât: '(Sings) 'I get along in the face of adversity/If people tell me I'm wrong then fuck 'em'. That's what it means. It's another knees-up. 'Boys In The Band'-style.'