Luke Owain Boult speaks with The Libertines drummer Gary Powell about reuniting and the road ahead.
How does it feel to be playing music as The Libertines again?
GP: It feels great, more importantlyĀ Iām back with my buddies. Back in the day, we started off a little doo-hicky Ā outfitĀ with absolutely nothing and I look at them now and say, they’re still my guys,Ā back in 2002, 2001 when, you know, weĀ were outside of the public eye, theyāre still the same people that they always were, which is more important than the fact that we are now kind of labelled as The Libertines. You know, Pete as far as Iām concerned is Pete, Carl is Carl. John is John.Ā I donāt look at those guys any differently then I would have done back in the day.
It’s more important that weāve renewed our friendship and relationships
LOB: Of course.
GP: One of the things that our label said to us when we were recording the first album was if our album was picked up, donāt lose the relationships that we have because everything we do is based on a relationship. Itās all based on a relationshipĀ and if it works, itās because itās based on the relationship that we have. Itās more important to actually focus on the fact that we came together as an ensemble and hopefully created something that captured peopleās imagination. Iām glad to be back with those guys.
LOB: What do you think it is about your music thatās touched so many people?
GP: I think itās kind of… itās quite weird, actually… itās definitely something to do with the emotiveĀ Ā content as delivered by Pete and Carl, but I also think itās the fact that when you actually listen to the music, you can actually tell that itās each individual member delivering something that is emotionally dynamic as well. You know, you listen to certain genres of music and itāll leave you nostalgic if youāre coming from one particular viewpoint, or itāll be a viewpoint that has been misconstrued and changed into something else, one that somebody else has an opinion as to how it should actually sound and it doesnāt sound free and organic. I think thatās the one thing that can be said about it –Ā everything that we do is kind of free and organic. I didnāt realise that until we played with Dirty Pretty Things. When we played with DPT we started working with a big-time producerĀ andĀ all they did was try to change everything that we did. So I do kind of feel sorry for artists who are placed in that position where they canāt actually express themselves 100% how they would like to. It’s hard toĀ work with producers coming to an agreement as to how things should go.
Iām like, āNah, sorry, Iām the drummer, if you think youāre better than me pick up a pair of sticksĀ and weāll have a drum-off!ā
LOB: Who influenced you as a drummer?
GP:Ā I listen to so many different sounds of music that itās really, really difficult for me to put my finger on one particular drummer.
I guess I was always looking atĀ drumming as a way of expressing myself in a way that wasnāt just laid down in a groove in the background. I guess a little bit like Ringo did. Thereās always been a running joke that Ringo was easily the best drummer in The Beatles. Thereās nobody, I think, that could deliver the groove that Ringo delivered apart from Ringo. That is what people identify with when they listen to The Beatles ā part of that is The Beatlesā groove and you know, itās very, very expressive and probably less rudimentaryĀ and more expressive than people actually give him credit for.
LOB: Yes, heās very underrated. He gets a bad rap really.
GP: Yeah, he gets a really bad rap.Ā There are a lot of different musicians who have helped me develop the style that I have. I canāt actually put it in any other way. Sometimes Iām looking at it from the point of view of adding colours as opposed to laying down an actual groove. You know, Iām looking at it from the point of view of actually helping the vocalist express himself or giving the guitar a bit more room. Itās not just about laying down a groove.
LOB: So are you still working on The Invasion Of?
GP: Iād like to get back into that, actually. I was doing it, then I had a childĀ and had to putĀ it on the back burner for a while. But actually Iāve been doing a bunch of writing. Iāve been constantly writing in the background anyway because Iāve been writing for different commercials, fashion designersĀ and so on.Ā Iāve been doing lots of different writing in the backgroundĀ and working with different artists as well on their own individual projects, so Iāve got a huge backpack of work itās just a question of actually putting that band together that will help me kind of deliver it in a way that, again, is organic. I donāt want to be the guy that says, āright, Iāve written the whole songā. Thatās kind of what I did with The Invasion Of – I wrote everythingĀ andĀ then I let everyone express it in the way that they wanted.
LOB: So itās important not to let one person overshadowing another.
GP: Yeah, you know Iām constantly thinking about doing it again. Iāve never had the opportunity… it was heading in the right direction, but then I wentĀ and got my missus pregnant didnāt I? Silly boy.
LOB: Iād love to hear some more stuff like that in the future. Just a really different sound. Itās really, really good.
GP: I guess it just comes from the habit of just listening to so many different things. It wasnāt necessarily stereotypical in any genre of music. I wanted to just lay myself on the lineĀ and really push my own kind of creative ability with writingĀ and producing.
LOB: Any messages for your fans in Wales?
GP: Keep on supporting new music.
LOB: They will do ā Iāll tell them that.
GP: Just keep on supporting new music – I canāt think of anything else. Buy me whisky, I like whisky.
LOB: Iām guessing Welsh whisky. Have you had Penderyn?
GP: No, I donāt think so… Iāll have to give it a try…
L:Ā If youāre nearby go to Brecon. Thereās a place called the Penderyn Distillery. Itās Welsh whisky. Itās quite nice.
GP: Penderyn? Yeah, well, Iām a lover of whisky, so hey I ought to get it. Brecon, Penderyn Distillery, got it.
LOB: So what have the highlights of the reunion been so far?
GP:Ā One of the highlights has been sat around a table in CamdenĀ drinking with the guys playing guitar, sitting there all night…Ā that was a definite highlight. Followed by Hyde Park, which was a smashing highlight ā Iāll never forget that. Glastonbury was a highlight, but to be fair, that was three days before it actually happened we were told we couldnāt actually hire a car, any car, to be picked up. We had to work that out, what was actually happening, so we had to make our own way to Bristol to rehearse.
We all got on a train. Unfortunately all of us had to go through Paddington Station, where everybody who was going to Glastonbury was. That was quite funny trying to explain what the heck we were doing there.