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Pete Doherty: 'I'm not sure about complete abstinence'

Pete Doherty

Pete Doherty

Babyshambles leader speaks about drugs and rehab

Pete Doherty has talked about his recent stint in drug rehab and his current drug intake today (October 12), describing himself as “healthy, physically”.

Speaking on BBC 6Music, the Babyshambles frontman revealed that he was only allowed access to his guitar twice a week for an hour at a time.

“I’m healthy, physically, a bit wobbly,” he told Steve Lamacq. “I’m not sure about complete abstinence [from drugs]. But it’s a 12 step philosophy. It’s one day at a time I suppose.”

Doherty went on to talk about the psychological assessments he received in rehab.

“Apparently I’ve got loads of self-esteem issues,” he said, before joking: “I thought I was alright!”

Doherty then spoke about the troubled recording sessions his band experienced with producer Stephen Street, revealing that Street told the band that “if you carry on like this, I’m going home”, referring to Doherty’s drug intake during recording sessions.

“It’s important to have someone who knew what he wanted,” Doherty added. "We worked 11 to eight with no weekends. It was a contradiction to how we would have chosen to work."

Doherty also debuted a new song during the interview called ‘1939 Returning’, which he had started writing two days earlier. He said that the song was inspired by a dream he had, in which he was washing the windows of an Italian 1930s butchers.

The lyrics of the song included the lines: “Tread carefully upon the drifting lights/When you’re behind enemy lines/Caught behind enemy lines in 1939/For Germany he sacrificed his life”.

Doherty also played an acoustic cover of Culture Club's 'Karma Chameleon' and admitted that he was hoping to see his favourite football team Queens Park Rangers play again soon.

"Last time I went the club secretary threatened to resign and I had to leave at half time," he explained, adding that after his rehab he hoped to be allowed back declaring, "it's all different now."

Babyshambles tickets:

Comments (1)

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Smoocher 

Oct 15, 2007

'1939 Returning' has already been written, it's a really good song by The Crockets. No wonder it came to him in a dream, it was probably playing on the radio in the background. Silly twonk.

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