Carl Ashley Raphael Barât (; born 6 June 1978) is a British musician best known for being the co-frontman with
Pete Doherty
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 rock, indie bands Babyshambles and Peter Dohert ...
of the indie rock band
the Libertines
The Libertines are an English Rock music, rock band, formed in London in 1997 by frontmen Carl Barât (vocals/guitar) and Pete Doherty (vocals/guitar). The band, centred on the songwriting partnership of Barât and Doherty, included John Hassall ...
. He was the
frontman
The lead vocalist in popular music is typically the member of a group or band whose voice is the most prominent melody in a performance where multiple voices may be heard. The lead singer sets their voice against the accompaniment parts of the ...
Basingstoke
Basingstoke ( ) is a town in Hampshire, situated in south-central England across a valley at the source of the River Loddon on the western edge of the North Downs. It is the largest settlement in Hampshire without city status in the United King ...
, north
Hampshire
Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Berkshire to the north, Surrey and West Sussex to the east, the Isle of Wight across the Solent to the south, ...
,
England
England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
, on 6 June 1978, and spent most of his childhood in nearby Whitchurch, Hampshire. In a September 2004 interview with ''
Blender
A blender (sometimes called a mixer (from Latin ''mixus, the PPP of miscere eng. to Mix)'' or liquidiser in British English) is a kitchen and laboratory appliance used to mix, crush, purée or emulsify food and other substances. A stationary ...
'', Barât mentioned he is of French,
Russian
Russian(s) may refer to:
*Russians (), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries
*A citizen of Russia
*Russian language, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages
*''The Russians'', a b ...
and Polish descent.
As a youth, Barât divided his time between his divorced parents. His father, a former artist, worked in an
armaments
A weapon, arm, or armament is any implement or device that is used to deter, threaten, inflict physical damage, harm, or kill. Weapons are used to increase the efficacy and efficiency of activities such as hunting, crime (e.g., murder), law ...
factory, and his mother, Chrissie, was part of the commune-dwelling counterculture and a member of peace groups such as the
Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament
The Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND) is an organisation that advocates unilateral nuclear disarmament by the United Kingdom, international nuclear disarmament and tighter international arms regulation through agreements such as the Nucl ...
. Barât spent part of his childhood living with his mother on a commune in
Somerset
Somerset ( , ), Archaism, archaically Somersetshire ( , , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel, Gloucestershire, and Bristol to the north, Wiltshire to the east ...
. He has one sister, actress-turned-singer Lucie Barât, who played Helen's handmaiden in the 2004 film ''
Troy
Troy (/; ; ) or Ilion (; ) was an ancient city located in present-day Hisarlik, Turkey. It is best known as the setting for the Greek mythology, Greek myth of the Trojan War. The archaeological site is open to the public as a tourist destina ...
'', founded publishing house and artistic organization Little Episodes, and is currently the lead singer of the Au Revoirs. He also has three half-siblings, one step brother and one step sister.
In 1996, Barât was studying for a drama degree at
Brunel University
Brunel University of London (BUL) is a public research university located in the Uxbridge area of London, England. It is named after Isambard Kingdom Brunel, a Victorian engineer and pioneer of the Industrial Revolution. It became a university ...
Twickenham
Twickenham ( ) is a suburban district of London, England, on the River Thames southwest of Charing Cross. Historic counties of England, Historically in Middlesex, since 1965 it has formed part of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, who ...
. Although he dropped out halfway through, during his time he became well-acquainted with Pete Doherty's sister, Amy-Jo and through her, Barât met Doherty. They soon developed an intense friendship based on a shared interest in music and songwriting. Barât and Doherty also developed a shared mythology in which they were on a ship called 'The Albion' sailing to 'Arcadia'. After both dropped out of university, they formed the Libertines. The band includes
bassist
A bassist (also known as a bass player or bass guitarist) is a musician who plays a bass instrument such as a double bass (upright bass, contrabass, wood bass), bass guitar (electric bass, acoustic bass), keyboard bass (synth bass) or a low br ...
drummer
A drummer is a percussionist who creates music using drums.
Most contemporary western music ensemble, bands that play Rock music, rock, Pop music, pop, jazz, or Contemporary R&B, R&B music include a drummer for purposes including timekeepi ...
Gary Powell. Barât and Doherty are co-frontmen, sharing songwriting, vocal and guitar duties.
Career
The Libertines
The Libertines
The Libertines are an English Rock music, rock band, formed in London in 1997 by frontmen Carl Barât (vocals/guitar) and Pete Doherty (vocals/guitar). The band, centred on the songwriting partnership of Barât and Doherty, included John Hassall ...
' first album, '' Up the Bracket'', was released in 2002 to critical acclaim. The band appeared on the cover of ''NME'' before the album was released and rapidly rose to fame in the UK. Referring to their relationship in a January 2010 interview, Barât said, "... it's a deep love. Deep love does funny things to people".
In 2003, Doherty's addiction to
heroin
Heroin, also known as diacetylmorphine and diamorphine among other names, is a morphinan opioid substance synthesized from the Opium, dried latex of the Papaver somniferum, opium poppy; it is mainly used as a recreational drug for its eupho ...
and
crack cocaine
Crack cocaine, commonly known simply as crack, and also known as rock, is a free base form of the stimulant cocaine that can be Smoking, smoked. Crack offers a short, intense Euphoria (emotion), high to smokers. The ''Manual of Adolescent Sub ...
led Barât to ask him not to participate in the band's next tour. When Doherty discovered that the Libertines had left without him to perform in Japan he broke into Barât's
Mayfair
Mayfair is an area of Westminster, London, England, in the City of Westminster. It is in Central London and part of the West End. It is between Oxford Street, Regent Street, Piccadilly and Park Lane and one of the most expensive districts ...
flat and stole various items, including an antique guitar and an NME Award. He was convicted and sentenced to six months in prison (this sentence was later shortened to two months). Barât warmly welcomed Doherty back to the Libertines on the day of his release, and they later performed an impromptu "Freedom Gig" at the Tap 'n' Tin club in
Chatham, Kent
Chatham ( ) is a town within the Medway unitary authority in the ceremonial county of Kent, England. The town forms a conurbation with neighbouring towns Gillingham, Rochester, Strood and Rainham. In 2020 it had a population of 80,596.
Th ...
on 8 October 2003. A photograph of the gig, taken by Roger Sargent, adorns the Libertines' self-titled second album, ''
The Libertines
The Libertines are an English Rock music, rock band, formed in London in 1997 by frontmen Carl Barât (vocals/guitar) and Pete Doherty (vocals/guitar). The band, centred on the songwriting partnership of Barât and Doherty, included John Hassall ...
'', and the cover of Sargent's and Anthony Thornton's book, '' The Libertines Bound Together''.
Doherty's drug addiction continued while the band worked on their second album (the aforementioned ''The Libertines'') in 2004, which strained his relationship with Barât. Bodyguards were needed in the recording sessions, allegedly to prevent Barât and Doherty from physically assaulting each other (though this is claimed to be an exaggeration of the press in ''Bound Together'') and to keep Doherty's hangers-on away from him. Before the release of the album in 2004, relations between Barât and Doherty reached a breaking point and Doherty was once again prevented from performing with the band before addressing his addictions. Doherty did not take the ultimatum well, especially as the Libertines continued touring without him to fulfill contractual obligations.
What was intended as a short leave of absence turned into something more permanent, as Doherty formed a new band, Babyshambles, and the Libertines officially disbanded after their final gig in December 2004.
On 15 May 2009, Barât, Doherty and Powell of the Libertines played on stage together for the first time since the split in 2004. The Libertines (minus Denmark-residing bassist John Hassall) came together for a tribute gig for their late promoter, Johnny Sedassy. The six song set, which included "What a Waster", "Up the Bracket" and "Death on the Stairs", was played after Babyshambles appeared on stage. Barât said the show was a 'one off', although he said more shows could not be ruled out. Barât also expressed his desire to get on stage with Doherty again, although perhaps not until 2010. Powell also confirmed that he would be interested in a full reunion, although he wished to "readdress old ghosts first".
The Libertines delighted their fans by announcing that year that they would be headline artists at the 2010 Reading and Leeds Festivals. Their set and the characteristic chemistry between the pair, was for many people one of the highlights of the weekend.
In April 2014 the Libertines announced they would again reform for a show at London's Hyde Park. In November 2014 the band signed a record deal with
Virgin EMI Records
Virgin EMI Records was a British record label owned by the Universal Music Group that was formed in 2013. In June 2020, the label was rebranded as EMI Records, and operates Virgin Records as an imprint of the new EMI Records.
History
Virgin ...
Glastonbury
Glastonbury ( , ) is a town and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated at a dry point on the low-lying Somerset Levels, south of Bristol. The town had a population of 8,932 in the 2011 census. Glastonbury is less than across the River ...
. They toured across 2016 and 2017 finishing with a tour across the seaside.
Dirty Pretty Things
On 15 September 2005, it was announced that Barât was forming a new band. His bandmates included former Libertines drummer Gary Powell; Anthony Rossomando, who filled in as guitarist following Doherty's departure from the group; and Didz Hammond, formerly of the Cooper Temple Clause, on
bass
Bass or Basses may refer to:
Fish
* Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species
Wood
* Bass or basswood, the wood of the tilia americana tree
Music
* Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in th ...
. It was later announced that the band's name was "Dirty Pretty Things".
The group played their first shows in
Italy
Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...
and
Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
, France, in October 2005, before recording their debut album in November 2005 in
Los Angeles
Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
,
California
California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...
. This was produced by Dave Sardy, who has also worked with
Supergrass
Supergrass are an English rock band formed in 1993. For the majority of the band's tenure, the line-up consisted of brothers Gaz (lead vocals, guitar) and Rob Coombes (keyboards), Mick Quinn (bass, backing vocals) and Danny Goffey (drums, ...
,
the Dandy Warhols
The Dandy Warhols are an American psychedelic rock, psychedelic/ band, formed in Portland, Oregon, Portland, Oregon, in 1994 by singer-guitarist Courtney Taylor-Taylor and guitarist Peter Holmström. They were later joined by keyboardist Zia Mc ...
Marilyn Manson
Brian Hugh Warner (born January 5, 1969), known professionally as Marilyn Manson, is an American rock musician. He is the lead singer and the only original member remaining of the Marilyn Manson (band), same-titled band he founded in 1989. Th ...
,
the Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for over six decades, they are one of the most popular, influential, and enduring bands of the Album era, rock era. In the early 1960s, the band pione ...
, and
Oasis
In ecology, an oasis (; : oases ) is a fertile area of a desert or semi-desert environmentWaterloo to Anywhere'' – was released on 8 May 2006 in the UK and 8 August 2006 in the US.
Their first studio recorded demo, "Bang Bang You're Dead", was released on their website in the form of a flash video. This song was released as their debut single on 24 April 2006 and reached number 5 in the UK single chart. This coincided with the latter part of their first tour of the United Kingdom, which spanned from 26 February to 24 May 2006. Their debut album, ''Waterloo to Anywhere'', was released on 8 May 2006, and reached number 3 in the UK album chart. They have since released "
Deadwood
Deadwood may refer to:
Places Canada
* Deadwood, Alberta
* Deadwood, British Columbia
* Deadwood River, a tributary of the Dease River in northern British Columbia
United States
* Deadwood, California (disambiguation), several communit ...
" and " Wondering".
The band were forced to postpone their Real Fits fundraiser gig, which had been set to take place at the London Hackney Round Chapel on 20 June 2008 as Barât was rushed to hospital on 17 June with
acute pancreatitis
Acute pancreatitis (AP) is a sudden inflammation of the pancreas. Causes include a gallstone impacted in the common bile duct or the pancreatic duct, heavy alcohol use, systemic disease, trauma, elevated calcium levels, hypertriglyceridemia (w ...
. He was released from hospital on 22 June.
The band released their new single, " Tired of England", on 23 June 2008, and their album, '' Romance at Short Notice'', a week later on 30 June.
Their album failed to chart highly despite heavy touring schedules. Powell wrote in the band's message board that it had been a difficult year. On 1 October 2008, Dirty Pretty Things split up, though they finished their final tour which began in Glasgow on 4 October and ended in London on 20 December.
Solo work and contributions
In 2005, Barât modelled for clothing brand J. Lindeberg, along with
Juliette Lewis
Juliette Lake Lewis (born June 21, 1973) is an American actress, singer and musician. She is known for her portrayals of offbeat characters, often in films with dark plots, themes and settings. Lewis gained prominence in American cinema during t ...
.
In 2008, Tim Burgess stated that he and Barât had a supergroup
the Chavs
The Chavs is an English rock supergroup band originally formed in London in 2004, by former Libertines and Dirty Pretty Things guitarist Carl Barât. Alongside Barât in the band are Tim Burgess of The Charlatans and drummer Andy Burrows ...
and planned to record their debut album in August that year. A release never happened.
Barât toured as a solo artist with
Glasvegas
Glasvegas are a Scottish indie rock band from Glasgow. The band consists of James Allan (musician), James Allan (vocals), Rab Allan (lead guitar) and Paul Donoghue (bass guitar), with Swedish drummer Jonna Löfgren joining the group in 2010 unt ...
, performing with them at Edinburgh's Hogmanay celebrations on 31 December 2008, and at the Popscene in San Francisco on 8 January 2009. On 14 January 2009, Barât supported Glasvegas with a solo show during their gig at the Los Angeles Troubadour
.
Barât played his first headline solo shows on 6 and 7 March 2009 at the Wakefield Escobar. He also played at the KU Bar in
Stockton-on-Tees
Stockton-on-Tees is a market town in County Durham, England, with a population of 84,815 at the 2021 UK census. It gives its name to and is the largest settlement in the wider Borough of Stockton-on-Tees. It is part of Teesside and the Tees Val ...
on 8 March.
On 9 June 2009, Barât debuted two new songs, "So Long" and "Monday Morning" at a solo show at Dunfermline's Carnegie Hall. On 2 September, Barât confirmed his intentions to release a solo album. Barât also produced the debut EP "Scapegoat" of London-based singer-songwriter
Kieran Leonard
Kieran Leonard, also known as Saint Leonard and Saint Leonard's Horses, is a British musician, songwriter, actor and author. He currently performs most frequently with his backing band The Horses.
From 2009 to 2015 Leonard wrote and performed un ...
which was released in October 2009.
He released his ''
self-titled
An eponym is a noun after which or for which someone or something is, or is believed to be, named. Adjectives derived from the word ''eponym'' include ''eponymous'' and ''eponymic''.
Eponyms are commonly used for time periods, places, innovati ...
'', first solo album on 4 October 2010. In an interview with C.B.Liddell of Metropolis magazine he described the album as "the first album I've done that is kind of introspective rather than escapist."
In the same interview, he also talked about "stepping away from big loud guitars" as the album is stylistically more diverse and less rock-oriented than previous work.
The release of Barât's first solo album also coincided with the release of ''Threepenny Memoir: The Lives of a Libertine'', an autobiography documenting his years in The Libertines and Dirty Pretty Things.
In January 2013 Barât announced that guitarist
Johnny Marr
John Martin Marr (Birth name#Maiden and married names, né Maher; born 31 October 1963) is a musician, songwriter and singer. He first achieved fame as the guitarist and co-songwriter of the Smiths, who were active from 1982 to 1987. He has sinc ...
(formerly of
the Smiths
The Smiths were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Manchester in 1982, composed of Morrissey (vocals), Johnny Marr (guitar), Andy Rourke (bass) and Mike Joyce (musician), Mike Joyce (drums). Morrissey and Marr formed the band's songwrit ...
) and drummer
Andy Burrows
Andrew William Burrows (born 30 June 1979) is an English songwriter and musician. He is best known as the drummer for Razorlight from 2004 until 2009 before rejoining in 2021. He has also served as the drummer for We Are Scientists from 2009 ...
(formerly of
Razorlight
Razorlight are an English indie rock band, formed in 2002 in London by lead singer and guitarist Johnny Borrell. Along with Borrell, the current line-up of the band is composed of founding members Björn Ågren on guitar and bassist Carl Dalem ...
and
We Are Scientists
We Are Scientists is a New York City-based rock music, rock band that formed in Berkeley, California, in 1999. It consists primarily of guitarist and vocalist Keith Murray and bass guitarist Chris Cain, with drummer Keith Carne joining the band ...
) would feature on his second solo album, due for release in 2013. Barât revealed demo versions of tracks 'War of the Roses' and 'Victory Gin' from his second solo effort online.
Also in 2013, Barât wrote the track "The dark, it comes" for French singer
Vanessa Paradis
Vanessa Chantal Paradis (; born 22 December 1972) is a French singer, model and actress. Paradis became a star at the age of 14 with the international success of her single " Joe le taxi" (1987). At age 18, she was awarded France's highest ho ...
' album ''Love Songs,'' on which they
duet
A duet (italian language, Italian: ''duo'') is a musical composition for two Performing arts, performers in which the performers have equal importance to the piece, often a composition involving two singers or two pianists. It differs from a har ...
The Bottletop Band
The Bottletop Band is a supergroup consisting of leading musicians of both Brazilian and English music. Mario Caldato Jr. is the prime organiser of the band, overseeing the whole Bottletop band record and he was behind the mixing and product ...
with
Matt Helders
Matthew Helders (born 7 May 1986) is an English musician, singer, and songwriter, who is the drummer and occasional singer of the rock band Arctic Monkeys. He has also released a studio album and collaborated with artists such as Dean Fertita, ...
(
Arctic Monkeys
Arctic Monkeys are an English Rock music, rock band formed in Sheffield in 2002. They comprise lead singer Alex Turner, drummer Matt Helders, guitarist Jamie Cook and bassist Nick O'Malley. The co-founder and original bassist Andy Nicholson ...
),
Andy Nicholson
Andy James Nicholson (born 9 April 1986) is an English musician, DJ, record producer, and photographer, best known as the original bassist of rock band Arctic Monkeys, which he left in 2006. In 2008, he founded Mongrel with Jon McClure of Re ...
(
Arctic Monkeys
Arctic Monkeys are an English Rock music, rock band formed in Sheffield in 2002. They comprise lead singer Alex Turner, drummer Matt Helders, guitarist Jamie Cook and bassist Nick O'Malley. The co-founder and original bassist Andy Nicholson ...
),
Drew McConnell
Drew McConnell (born 10 November 1978 in Dublin, Ireland) is the bass guitarist and backing vocalist with Babyshambles, the band formed by frontman of the Libertines, Pete Doherty, and for former Oasis frontman Liam Gallagher's band.
He lived in ...
Gruff Rhys
Gruffudd Maredudd Bowen Rhys (; born 18 July 1970) is a Welsh musician, composer, producer, filmmaker and author. He performs solo and with several bands, including Super Furry Animals, which obtained mainstream success in the 1990s. He forme ...
(
Super Furry Animals
Super Furry Animals are a Welsh rock band formed in Cardiff in 1993. For the duration of their professional career, the band consisted of Gruff Rhys (lead vocals, guitar), Huw Bunford (lead guitar, vocals), Guto Pryce (bass guitar), Cian C ...
). The band's single, "The Fall of Rome", was released in December 2010.
In 2014, Barât contributed the song "Love Is Not on Trial", co-written with
Davey Ray Moor
Davey Ray Moor (born David Raymond Moore, Beirut) is an England-based songwriter, singer, multi-instrumentalist, composer and producer.
Biography
Davey Ray Moor was born as David Raymond Moore in Beirut, his father was an accountant for the U ...
, for
Marc Almond
Peter Mark Almond (born 9 July 1957) is an English singer-songwriter and musician. He is the lead vocalist of the synth-pop/ new wave duo Soft Cell. He has a distinctive soulful voice and androgynous image. He has had a diverse career as a ...
's album ''
The Dancing Marquis
''The Dancing Marquis'' is the eighteenth solo studio album by the British singer/songwriter Marc Almond. It was released by Strike Force Entertainment / Cherry Red Records on 16 June 2014.
Background
''The Dancing Marquis'' compiles the songs ...
''. He also contributed vocals and guitar to the track.
Carl Barât and the Jackals
In August 2013, Barât announced that his second solo album was complete and he had finished recording it with Joby Ford of
the Bronx
The Bronx ( ) is the northernmost of the five Boroughs of New York City, boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It shares a land border with Westchester County, New York, West ...
. He expressed that it was a return to guitar orientated rock stating "It would seem that my relationship with my guitar is all patched up." Later he said that he wouldn't release the new material until he'd formed a new band.
In early 2014, Barât announced that he would search for a new band online via Facebook. From over 1000 applications for the positions of rhythm guitarist, drummer and bass guitar, Billy Tessio, Jay Bone and Adam Claxton were chosen, respectively. The band was named the Jackals, and their first live concert was on 15 May 2014 in London's XOYO. On 16 February 2015, Barât's previously recorded material was released through Cooking Vinyl with small changes, as the debut album of Carl Barât and The Jackals under the title '' Let It Reign''. It has a score of 67 on review aggregator
Metacritic
Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...
the Moldy Peaches
The Moldy Peaches are an American independent music, indie group founded by Adam Green (musician), Adam Green and Kimya Dawson. Leading proponents of the anti-folk scene, the band had been on Recess (break), hiatus since 2004, but in 2023 announ ...
appeared in a documentary following the pair on a night out in London.
On 7 July 2006, Barât announced that he would become the fifth mentor in the
Road to V
V Festival, often referred to as V Fest or simply V, was an annual music festival held in the United Kingdom during the third weekend in August. The event was held at two parks simultaneously which shared the same bill; artists performed at one ...
competition, which involved a UK search for the best unsigned music talent in the UK, with the winner opening
V Festival
V Festival, often referred to as V Fest or simply V, was an annual music festival held in the United Kingdom during the third weekend in August. The event was held at two parks simultaneously which shared the same bill; artists performed at one ...
in either
Chelmsford
Chelmsford () is a city in the City of Chelmsford district in the county of Essex, England. It is the county town of Essex and one of three cities in the county, along with Colchester and Southend-on-Sea. It is located north-east of London ...
or
Staffordshire
Staffordshire (; postal abbreviation ''Staffs''.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It borders Cheshire to the north-west, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, ...
.
In 2008, he acted in the British film ''
Telstar
Telstar refers to a series of communications satellites. The first two, Telstar 1 and Telstar 2, were experimental and nearly identical. Telstar 1 launched atop of a Thor-Delta rocket on July 10, 1962, successfully relayed the first televisi ...
,'' in the role of
rock 'n' roll
Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock-n-roll, and rock 'n' roll) is a Genre (music), genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It Origins of rock and roll, originated from African ...
singer
Gene Vincent
Vincent Eugene Craddock (February 11, 1935 – October 12, 1971), known as Gene Vincent, was an American rock and roll musician who pioneered the style of rockabilly. His 1956 top ten hit with his backing band the Blue Caps, "Be-Bop-a-Lula", is ...
. The film premiered at the London Film Festival on 25 October 2008 and was released on 19 June 2009. He also featured in an advertisement for BBC Two's ''
The Culture Show
''The Culture Show'' is a British magazine programme about books, art, film, architecture, music, visual fashion and the performing arts. The show was broadcast weekly on BBC Two between 2004 and 2015.
Early history
Launched in November 2004, th ...
'', being asked about British culture. A longer version of his interview can be found on the Culture Show website.
In May 2009 Barât featured as himself in a pilot episode for ''Svengali'', alongside former manager
Alan McGee
Alan John McGee (born 29 September 1960) is a Scottish businessman and music industry executive. He has been a record label owner, musician, manager, and music blogger for ''The Guardian''. He co-founded the independent Creation Records label, r ...
and Welsh actor Jonathan Owen, and went on to appear as himself in the film version of ''
Svengali
Svengali () is a character in the novel ''Trilby'' which was first published in 1894 by George du Maurier. Svengali is a Jewish man who seduces, dominates and exploits Trilby, a young half-Irish girl, and makes her into a famous singer.
Defini ...
'' (2013), directed by John Hardwick. On 25 August 2009, a short video entitled "Two British Dudes" featuring Barât and fellow musician
Har Mar Superstar
Sean Tillmann-Hauser (born February 6, 1978) is an American singer-songwriter and actor. He has performed and released studio albums as Sean Na Na and as a member of hardcore band Calvin Krime, but is best known for his work under the name Har M ...
was released on crappyholidays.net.
In January 2010, he appeared in the stage play ''Fool For Love'' alongside actress
Sadie Frost
Sadie Liza Frost (née Vaughan; born 19 June 1965) is an English actress, producer and fashion designer. Her credits as an actress include ''Empire State'' (1987), '' Diamond Skulls'', also known as '' Dark Obsession'' (1989), '' Bram Stoker's D ...
. The play ran until March 2010 at Riverside Studios in Hammersmith, London.
Barât also narrated a new artist documentary, Mark Donne's ''The Rime of the Modern Mariner''. The film had its world premiere at St Anne's Church in Limehouse, East London, during the ninth
East End Film Festival
The East End Film Festival was one of the UK's largest film festivals. Founded in 2000 and operating in various venues across East London, the festival focused on emerging British, Eastern European, and Asian films. It ceased operations on March ...
Nero
Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus ( ; born Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus; 15 December AD 37 – 9 June AD 68) was a Roman emperor and the final emperor of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, reigning from AD 54 until his ...
in ''Pop'pea'' at the
Théâtre du Châtelet
The Théâtre du Châtelet () is a theatre and opera house, located in the place du Châtelet in the 1st arrondissement of Paris, France.
One of two theatres (the other being the Théâtre de la Ville) built on the site of a ''châtelet'', a ...
in Paris; the show was a
rock
Rock most often refers to:
* Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids
* Rock music, a genre of popular music
Rock or Rocks may also refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wale ...
adaptation of ''Il Nerone''. In the same year he played the role of Gavin Metcalf in Dan Turner's film '' The Man Inside,'' and had a cameo appearance on the
BBC Three
BBC Three is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It was first launched on 9 February 2003 with programmes for a 16 to 34-year-old target aud ...
TV series ''Dead Boss''.
Personal life
In 2005, Barât underwent surgery to remove a tumour behind his ear and spent several weeks recovering from the operation. The tumour and resulting surgery left him partially deaf.
Barât's girlfriend, Edie Langley, gave birth to the couple's first child, a boy named Eli on 9 December 2010. Their second son, Ramone, was born on 26 August 2014. Barât lives with his family in Margate, Kent.
In 2012, Barât was awarded an honorary doctorate by the
University of Winchester
The University of Winchester is a public research university based in the city of Winchester, Hampshire, England. The university has origins tracing back to 1840 as a teacher training college, but was established in 2005.
Winchester University ...
for his contribution to the arts.
Equipment
Guitars
*
Gibson Melody Maker
The Gibson Melody Maker is an electric guitar made by Gibson Guitar Corporation. It has had many body shape variations since its conception in 1959.
Model history Regular issue (1959–71)
The original Gibson Melody Maker was first launch ...
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Gibson Les Paul Junior
The Gibson Les Paul Junior is a solid-body electric guitar introduced in 1954 as an affordable, entry-level Les Paul. It was first released with a single-cutaway body style; models with a double-cutaway body style were introduced in 1958. The Jun ...
(pickguard removed)
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Gibson SG
The Gibson SG is a solid-body electric guitar model introduced by Gibson in 1961, following on from the 1952 Gibson Les Paul. It remains in production today in many variations of the initial design. SG stands for "solid guitar".
Origins
The S ...
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Fender Mustang
The Fender Mustang is a solid body electric guitar produced by the Fender Musical Instruments Corporation. It was introduced in 1964 as the basis of a major redesign of Fender's student models, the Musicmaster and Duo-Sonic. It was produced ...
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Epiphone Dot
The Epiphone Dot is a semi-hollow archtop electric guitar manufactured by Epiphone, a subsidiary of Gibson. It was introduced in 1997Fynn CallumMy Love for the Epiphone Dot, Red Dog Music, 5 February 2013 as a more affordable version of the Gi ...
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Epiphone Coronet
The Epiphone Coronet is an entry-level guitar previously manufactured by Epiphone. The guitar has been manufactured a number of times since its first production on the 1950s.
History
The Coronet was first manufactured by Gibson Guitar Corporatio ...
Amps
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Vox AC30
The Vox AC30 is a Instrument amplifier, guitar amplifier manufactured by Vox (company), Vox. It was introduced in 1958 to meet the growing demand for louder amplifiers. Its "jangly" high-end sound made it widely used by British musicians and oth ...
MXR Micro Amp
Distortion pedals are a type of effects unit designed to add Distortion (music), distortion to an audio signal to create a ''warm'', ''gritty'', or ''fuzzy'' character. Depending on the style of signal Clipping (audio), clipping, the broader cate ...
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Boss
Boss may refer to:
Occupations
* Supervisor, often referred to as boss
* Air boss, more formally, air officer, the person in charge of aircraft operations on an aircraft carrier
* Crime boss, the head of a criminal organization
* Fire boss, ...
TU-2 Chromatic Tuner
Discography
Albums
Solo
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Carl Barât
Carl Ashley Raphael Barât (; born 6 June 1978) is a British musician best known for being the co-frontman with Pete Doherty of the indie rock band the Libertines. He was the frontman and guitarist of Dirty Pretty Things, and in 2010 debuted a ...