in Barat's life was born. 'Even from the start we fought. There was always a spark. Pete had all the front and I was very shy. Pete craved chaos and I longed for security. The Libertines at the release of their self-titled album Eventually that combination is going to become volatile. Something like that is always going to implode. It's just a matter of time. Only we didn't realise it at the time.' Barat and Doherty moved into a squalid basement flat in Camden and plotted their course. The Libertines, they decided, would be no ordinary rock group, but a force that would overthrow the musical establishment and break down the barriers between artist and audience. Their line-up completed with drummer Powell and bassist John Hassall, they began playing live wherever they could -- a condemned pub, a disused factory, even a north London brothel -- and quickly built up a devoted following. 'It was either the top of the world or the bottom of the canal. It wasn't too different from falling madly in love; when you don't even entertain the thought that it could ever end. At the start it was fun. I'd always wanted to be part of a gang. I was part of a gang of cheeky urchins who felt they could take on the world. Then heroin entered the picture...' It was during the making of the Libertines' debut album in the summer of 2002 that trouble first reared its head. Doherty suddenly went AWOL,