Kevin EG Perry

“Solíamos pasar el tiempo por aquí”, dice Pete Doherty mientras señala fuera de la ventana. “Allá están las torres de Albion, justo del lado opuesto de Scala. Ese fue mi pequeño campanario”, agrega Carl Barât, “hay una habitación pequeña en la cima”. Estamos en el St Pancras Renaissance Hotel, el lugar perfecto para nuestro encuentro con The Libertines. La arquitectura del lugar es una bella fantasía gótica. La suite Sir John Betjeman lleva el sello de sus actuales ocupantes: la mesa está cubierta de vasos vacíos y restos de cigarrillos.Barât toma un libro y lee en voz alta “A Child ill: Oh, little body, do not die…”, mientras tanto, el resto esperamos nuestros tragos. El atardecer cae fuera del hotel y la escena es increíblemente decadente. Sería imposible acusar a The Libertines por no permanecer en sus personajes.Ha pasado mucho desde que Doherty, Barât, Gary Powell (batería) y John Hassall (bajo) clavaron su primera jeringa en las venas del rock británico. Entre tantos raperos millonarios y gente de negocios, The Libertines llevaban su ingenio e inteligencia bajo la manga. La prensa los amaba. En 2002, la NME los sacó en su portada antes, incluso, de que lanzaran un álbum. Su visión sobre Gran Bretaña era un compuesto entre Pete and Dud (un par de comediantes) con su distintiva arrogancia inglesa. El foco de atención fue, desde el inicio, la relación codependiente y maldita entre Doherty y Barât. Esta pareja de poetas románticos tenía más de John Keats, que de los Kinks.

‘We used to squat around here,’ says Pete Doherty, gesturing out of the window. ‘Albion Towers. There, the place opposite the Scala.’ ‘That was my little belfry,’ adds Carl Barât. ‘There’s a tiny little room at the top.’ We’re in the St Pancras Renaissance Hotel. It’s the perfect place for The Libertines to complete the circle: a London gothic fantasy. The Sir John Betjeman suite bears the stamp of its current occupants: the table is covered in empty cocktail glasses, one of which serves as a mausoleum for a steady stream of dead Marlboro Lights. Barât picks up a book of the late poet laureate’s and reads from ‘A Child Ill’: ‘Oh little body, do not die…’ as we wait for our drinks; they’re called Ring of Roses, a potent concoction of vodka, champagne and elderflower. The summer evening is falling outside: all the scene needs is Chatterton dead on the couch. You can never accuse The Libertines of not staying in character. A lot has happened since Doherty and Barât, along with drummer Gary Powell and bassist John Hassall, first stuck a needle in the arm of British rock ’n’ roll. Among music’s millionaire rappers and business-class casuals, the Libs wore their wit and mercurial intelligence on their sleeve. The press loved them: in 2002 the NME put them on the cover before they’d had a record out. Their vision of an English ‘Albion’ was a composite of Pete & Dud, ‘Steptoe and Son’ and ‘Oliver!’, with a distinctive London seediness and swagger. At their heart was the singular rela

Rudimental are one of London’s great homegrown success stories. Their Mercury Prize-nominated 2013 debut album ‘Home’ spawned a slew of massive hits including ‘Feel the Love’, which launched the career of John Newman, and ‘Waiting All Night’ which did the same for Ella Eyre. Fresh from touring America in the company of their old mate Ed Sheeran, this summer sees Piers Agget, Amir Amor, DJ Locksmith and Kesi Dryden return to the UK to take the Friday headline slot at this year’s Lovebox festival in Victoria Park. They also have a brand new record primed for imminent release. We caught up with Amir Amor to find out how they’re handling their swift rise.You’re headlining Lovebox this summer. Will it feel like a homecoming?‘Definitely. Most of the boys are from Homerton and our studio is in the nice part of east, which is Shoreditch, obviously. I live in Bow, so it’s just round the corner. It takes us back to a few years ago when we did our first-ever festival set in front of a few thousand people at Hackney Weekender. It feels like we’re playing on our home turf.’Will you get a chance to see any other acts?‘I can’t wait to see Snoop. We played before him in Miami once. There was definitely a haze of smoke going on. As long as he plays 'Doggystyle' and the old-school stuff he’ll be great.’How are you dealing with the step-up becoming festival headliners?‘We’ve been playing together for seven or eight years and headlining festivals is something we dreamed of from the very beginnin