A Likely Lad

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At the time, it was such a big scandal that Mullord appeared on the front of the Evening Standard claiming he was innocent. Hard drugs, tiny gigs on the hoof, huge stadium shows, collaborations, obliterations, gangsters and groupies, Doherty has led a life of huge highs and incredible lows.

Doherty comes across as a loveable rogue at heart, who just made the mistake of staring too deeply into the void for too long, only for the void to then hold him in its death-grip for nearly two decades. He approached stints in rehab as an obligation he did for other people (the justice system, bandmates and so on) and regarded himself as a fully functioning addict. There are eccentric, shady characters, altercations with celebrities, tabloid dramas, and, of course, copious quantities of hard drugs.

It is a interesting read but you really wanted more in his later years when his off the drugs and with the hotel and how he wasn't paid for gigs so he could be the 6th owner. As a somewhat lonely “army brat” – born in Northumberland but raised in Belfast, Cyprus, Germany, Dorset and Warwickshire – Doherty read Percy Shelley, Oscar Wilde and George Orwell. And I think with Doherty, it really was - on some level - a conscious choice to choose that path, court oblivion and invite the devil into his life.

With astonishing frankness - and his trademark wit and humour - he takes us inside decadent parties, substance-fuelled nights, prison and his self-destruction. An old film reel where the spools are weathered and worn, leaving empty frames on the screen…’ This book is devoid of any such insight. I think he almost had to do that, go through everything he did, and come out the other side to truly discover who he is as a man; a father; a husband; a son; a whole person. For fans, it’s certainly worth a read, particularly for anecdotes about the making of his albums, his memories of concerts (many of which can be found online) and how particular songs were written. I’m fairly certain now those photos of Kate in the studio were actually taken by two Bangladeshi crack dealers.

The musician Pete Doherty has often been described as a “poet” – by fans, breathless NME journalists and, of course, himself. Doherty’s drug use left him unable to perform the role of professional musician – when the band went on without him, he was wounded, railing against “the industrialisation of the Libertines”. But you can't put an old head in young shoulders and many inevitably had to learn their lesson the hard way too. He also didn't describe how he felt about Amy's death (for example), or describe his complex love for Carl.

In addition, there isn't any insight into why Pete was driven to such olympian levels of self-destruction. Don't get me wrong, Doherty has definitely been the architect of his own misfortune, but he's also been hounded out of multiple places, just because his "bad-boy" behaviour marked him out as fair game.

Doherty made eye contact with a homeless man standing back from the crowd, watching, and a silent understanding passed between them. His friendship with Carl was so pure and powerful, but perhaps the complex emotions Pete attaches to it are best borne out in his/their music.