Peter Doherty (born 12 March 1979) is an English musician. He is best known for being co-frontman of the Libertines, which he formed with Carl Barât in 1997. His other musical projects are indie bands Babyshambles and Peter Doherty and the Puta Madres. Doherty is known both for his music and for his turbulent personal life and drug problems.
Peter Doherty was born in Hexham, Northumberland on 12 March 1979. His father, Peter John Doherty, was a major in the Royal Signals, while his mother, Jacqueline Michels, was a lance-corporal in Queen Alexandra's Royal Army Nursing Corps. His paternal grandfather was an Irish immigrant from Cheekpoint in County Waterford. His maternal grandfather was Jewish, and was the son of immigrants who hailed from France and Russia, respectively. He was raised Catholic. He grew up at a number of army garrisons across Britain and continental Europe with his sisters, AmyJo and Emily.
Doherty was the second of the three children. While living in Dorset, aged 11, Doherty began playing guitar, originally in an attempt to impress a female classmate, Emily Baker. He achieved 11 GCSEs, 7 of which were A* grades, at Nicholas Chamberlaine Comprehensive School in Bedworth, North Warwickshire, and four passes at A-Level, two at grade A. At the age of 16, he won a poetry competition and embarked on a tour of Russia organised by the British Council.
After his A-levels, he moved to his grandmother's flat in London – where he said he felt 'destined' to be – and got a job filling graves in Willesden Cemetery, although most of his time was spent reading and writing while sitting on gravestones. In a clip later available on YouTube, an 18-year-old Doherty can be seen in an interview with MTV, on the day of the release of Oasis' third studio album Be Here Now (1997). He attended Queen Mary, a college of the University of London, to study English literature, but left the course after his first year. After leaving university, he moved into a London flat with friend and fellow musician Carl Barât, who had been a classmate of Doherty's older sister, Amy-Jo, at Brunel University. The pair met when Amy-Jo tasked Barât with 'babysitting' Doherty whilst she attended a night class.
Doherty and Barât formed a band called the Libertines in the late 1990s, although it was not until 2002, with the release of their debut studio album Up the Bracket, that they began to achieve widespread mainstream success.
The group achieved critical and commercial success and gained a dedicated cult following, with Doherty, in particular, being praised by fans and critics alike as one of the most promising songwriters to emerge on the British music scene for some time. However, Doherty's increasing drug problems led to his estrangement from the band. In 2003, he was jailed for burgling Barât's flat. Upon his release from prison, Doherty immediately reunited with Barât and the rest of the band to play a gig in the Tap 'n' Tin nightclub in Chatham, Kent; known among Libertine fans as "The Freedom Gig".
Following his rejoining of the band, Doherty sought treatment for his drug addiction. However, he walked out of the rehabilitation centre at the Thamkrabok Monastery in Thailand after only three days, initially heading for Bangkok before returning to the United Kingdom. As a consequence of this, the Libertines cancelled appearances that they were due to make at the Isle of Wight and Glastonbury festivals.
While post-production work was taking place on the Libertines' second studio album in June 2004, Doherty was again asked to leave the band. The band cited Doherty's continuing drug addiction as the reason for his dismissal, but emphasized their willingness to take him back once he had addressed his addiction. Although Barât had previously stated that the Libertines were merely on hiatus pending Doherty's recovery the group effectively disbanded with Doherty's departure at the end of 2004. The remaining members became involved in other projects (see Yeti and Dirty Pretty Things). On 12 April 2007, Doherty and Barât played 13 songs together at the second of Doherty's "An Evening with Pete Doherty" gigs at the Hackney Empire, London.
In August 2010, the four members of the Libertines reunited to play a series of shows, including slots at the 2010 Reading and Leeds Festivals. The reunion shows received a highly positive response from the press and fans. In April 2014, the Libertines announced that they would again re-form for a show at Hyde Park in London. In November 2014 the band signed a recording contract with Virgin EMI Records, and released their third studio album, Anthems for Doomed Youth on 11 September 2015.
The Libertines toured Europe and the UK in November and December 2019.
Prior to the disbanding of the Libertines, Doherty collaborated with local poet Wolfman. Together they recorded the single "For Lovers", which entered the top 10, charting at number 7, in April 2004. Despite the success of the single, which was nominated for a prestigious Ivor Novello Award for songwriting, Doherty and Wolfman received relatively little money, having already sold the publishing rights for a small sum in a pub.
Later in 2004, Doherty provided guest vocals to the song "Down to the Underground" by the English electronic music group Client. The song was released in June 2004 as a B-side to the group's single "In It for the Money" and appears on their second studio album City.
In 2005, Doherty collaborated with the English alternative rock band Littl'ans on the single "Their Way".
In 2006, Doherty was featured on the charity single "Janie Jones", which was released to raise funds for Strummerville. A number of artists and bands, such as Dirty Pretty Things, We Are Scientists, the Kooks and the Holloways, also featured on the track.
In August 2006, it was announced that Doherty was recording with the Streets frontman Mike Skinner on a new version of "Prangin' Out", from Skinner's studio album The Hardest Way to Make an Easy Living.
In 2015, he recorded the theme tune to the Sky One sitcom After Hours.
In May 2020, during COVID-19 lockdown, he provided vocals for the single "Uncle Brian's Abattoir" released as Trampolene featuring Peter Doherty.
Doherty founded Babyshambles towards the end of his time with the Libertines. The group has released three studio albums: Down in Albion, in November 2005, Shotter's Nation, in October 2007, and Sequel to the Prequel, in September 2013. The band's touring schedule and releases have occasionally been disrupted by Doherty's ongoing legal problems. The line-up of the band has changed several times: drummer Gemma Clarke left the band due to Doherty's drug problems and was replaced by Adam Ficek, and guitarist and co-songwriter Patrick Walden has also left the band and was replaced by Mick Whitnall. In August 2006, Babyshambles signed up with major record label Parlophone, on which they released The Blinding E.P. on 9 December 2006. In January 2007, they signed a long-term recording contract with Parlophone.