# Up the Bracket

Up the Bracket is the debut album by English indie rock band The Libertines, released in October 2002. It reached #35 in the UK Albums Chart. The album was part of a resurgence for the British indie/alternative scene and received widespread praise from critics and has quickly become considered one of the greatest albums of the 2000s.
The album's cover is based on an image of riot police squaring up to protesters during the Argentine economic crisis of 1999–2002.

## Title

The title Up the Bracket alludes to a phrase used by English comedian Tony Hancock, of whom the Libertines' Pete Doherty is an avid fan. In Hancock's Half Hour, "Up The Bracket" is a slang term meaning a punch in the throat. Hancock is also referenced in the opening track, "Vertigo" – "lead pipes, your fortune's made", being a line from the Half Hour episode "The Poetry Society".

## Release

The album was re-released on 8 September 2003 with an additional track, "What a Waster" and DVD featuring the promotional videos for the singles: "Up the Bracket", "Time for Heroes" and "I Get Along".
In 2022 the album was reissued as 20th anniversary editions and box set that featured Live at the 100 Club disc, a disc of studio outtakes, a disc of demos/radio sessions/b-sides/live tracks, a cassette of early demos and DVD with music videos and live performances.

## Reception

Professional ratings :
| Aggregate scores ||
| Source | Rating |
| Metacritic | 78/100 |
| Review scores ||
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic | |
| Blender | |
| Entertainment Weekly | A− |
| The Guardian | |
| NME | 8/10 |
| Pitchfork | 8.5/10 |
| Q | |
| Rolling Stone | |
| Spin | A |
| The Village Voice | A |
Upon release, Up the Bracket received generally favourable reviews. Online music magazine Pitchfork placed Up the Bracket at number 138 on their list of top 200 albums of the 2000s, and it was placed 44 on a similar list by Uncut. NME placed the album tenth in a list of the greatest British albums ever, as well as calling it the second greatest album of the decade. NME also placed the album number 70 on its list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. Rolling Stone placed the album number 61 on its list of the 100 Greatest Debut Albums of All Time and number 94 on its list of the 100 Greatest Albums of the 2000s.
In April 2008, BBC Radio 1 DJ Zane Lowe chose the album as one of his Masterpieces, playing the album in full with interviews from the band members, fans and fellow musicians who were influenced by the album.

## Track listing

All songs written by Pete Doherty and Carl Barât.
* "Vertigo" – 2:37
* "Death on the Stairs" – 3:24
* "Horror Show" – 2:34
* "Time for Heroes" – 2:40
* "Boys in the Band" – 3:42
* "Radio America" – 3:44
* "Up the Bracket" – 2:40
* "Tell the King" – 3:22
* "The Boy Looked at Johnny" – 2:38
* "Begging" – 3:20
* "The Good Old Days" – 2:59
* "I Get Along" – 2:51

### Bonus tracks

* "What a Waster" is listed as track 13 on US, Canadian, Spanish, Japanese and UK reissue editions

## Chart performance

| Chart (2002–03) | Peak position |
| French Albums (SNEP) | 120 |
| Japanese Albums (Oricon) | 49 |
| Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan) | 59 |
| UK Albums (OCC) | 35 |
| US Heatseekers Albums (Billboard) | 13 |

## Footnotes

* 1 2 "The Top 200 Albums of the 2000s: 200–151". Pitchfork. 28 September 2009. Archived from the original on 19 July 2012. Retrieved 1 October 2009.
* ↑ "11 years on: 11 facts about The Libertines' debut, Up The Bracket". Gigwise.
* ↑ Davies, Hugh (21 December 2005). "Stone me! Tony Hancock is Pete Doherty's hero". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 3 March 2016.
* ↑ Barât, Carl (13 February 2013). "lead pipes, fortune made is from Hancock's half-hour, the poetry society episode ..." Twitter. Retrieved 3 March 2016.
* ↑ "The Libertines - Up the Bracket (20th Anniversary Edition)". roughtraderecords.com. Retrieved 29 January 2025.
* ↑ "Reviews for Up The Bracket by The Libertines". Metacritic. Retrieved 25 July 2015.
* ↑ Phares, Heather. "Up the Bracket – The Libertines". AllMusic. Retrieved 25 July 2015.
* ↑ Pemberton, Andy (April 2003). "The Libertines: Up the Bracket". Blender (15): 124. Archived from the original on 3 February 2010. Retrieved 25 July 2015.
* ↑ Brunner, Rob (29 November 2002). "What's Rocking Our World". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 11 August 2015.
* ↑ Simpson, Dave (18 October 2002). "The Libertines: Up the Bracket". The Guardian. Retrieved 25 July 2015.
* ↑ Needham, Alex (19 October 2002). "The Libertines: Up the Bracket". NME.
* ↑ Carr, Eric (5 January 2003). "The Libertines: Up the Bracket". Pitchfork. Retrieved 25 July 2015.
* ↑ Grundy, Gareth (December 2002). "The Libertines: Up the Bracket". Q (197): 103.
* ↑ Christgau, Robert (11 March 2003). "The Libertines: Up The Bracket". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 1 May 2009. Retrieved 25 July 2015.
* ↑ Klosterman, Chuck (May 2003). "The Libertines: Up the Bracket". Spin. 19 (5): 109. Retrieved 25 July 2015.
* ↑ Christgau, Robert (1 April 2003). "Consumer Guide: As Long As I Still Can". The Village Voice. Retrieved 25 July 2015.
* ↑ "Log into Facebook – Facebook". Facebook. {{cite web}}: Cite uses generic title (help)
* ↑ "NME's best British album of all time revealed". NME. Archived from the original on 6 February 2006. Retrieved 1 October 2009.
* ↑ "NME's The Top 100 Greatest Albums of The Decade". NME. Retrieved 1 October 2009.
* ↑ BBC. "BBC – Radio 1 – Zane Lowe – Masterpieces – The Libertines – 'Up The Bracket'". bbc.co.uk.
* ↑ "Lescharts.com – The Libertines – The Libertines". Hung Medien. Retrieved 3 March 2016.
* ↑ "ザ・リバティーンズ". Oricon. Retrieved 19 July 2009.
* ↑ "Swedishcharts.com – The Libertines – The Libertines". Hung Medien. Retrieved 3 March 2016.
* ↑ "The Libertines | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart. Retrieved 3 March 2016.
* ↑ "Up the Bracket – The Libertines (Awards)". AllMusic. Retrieved 3 March 2016.