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Artist News
Libertines to share Sargent-directed short film, as Pete D writes from rehab
By Aly Barchi | Published on Tuesday 25 November 2014
A short filmic ‘recap’ from Roger Sargent, first played as an intro to The Libertines’ big reconciliation shows at Hyde Park earlier this year, is to be released ‘soon’ online, it was confirmed yesterday.
Sargent has collaborated heavily with Carl, Pete et al in the past; taking various iconic photos and directing 2011 Libertines doc ‘There Are No Innocent Bystanders’.
This news arrives as the band’s co-lead singer Pete Doherty has written, via the Independent’s ‘Voices’ feature, a letter from a Thai rehabilitation centre claiming that he is now ‘in recovery’ from addiction to drugs.
In it, Doherty looks back on his life, and thanks the various people who’ve helped him get to his present stage. He says: “It’s so peaceful here. When I can’t sleep at night I can just step out and it’s quiet, maybe I can hear a frog or crickets”.
He continues: “It’s an informal atmosphere, but it’s definitely not a holiday camp, there’s quite a few ‘successful’ people here but there doesn’t seem to be that much ego, I’m with a great group of people, everyone seems really interconnected and we help each other. I’ve been eating and sleeping regularly, but I’ve been a bit slack with the 6:30am exercise. I’ve only recently finished detoxing; I had my last dose of methadone a few days ago. It seems really weird to say that I am clean, it doesn’t really seem possible”.
And he adds: “To anyone struggling with addiction, I would say this: just hang on, hang on. There is a way out. You will heal. I don’t care how much damage you’ve done, you can heal. I would say ask someone for help, just get yourself along to an NA or AA meeting, you’ll be amazed. I know I was. You’ll be amazed at the power. You might think it’s just some mad old duffer babbling on, but it’s like it’s you sitting there. They’re just like you. Only they’re clean now, and it’s amazing”.
