Carl Barat - "The View, they've got the spirit"

DIRTY Pretty Things singer Carl Barat says fulfilling all his commitments with former band The Libertines almost finished him.

Carl, who rose to fame with The Libertines and bandmates Pete Doherty, John Hassall and Gary Powell, admitted bringing the group to a close in 2004 after touring without Pete took him to his lowest ebb.

He told this week's NME: "Finishing off The Libertines almost killed me. Going around honouring commitments and trying to give every song what it deserved - it wasn't easy.

Carl also spoke out against some of the new bands who have been competing for The Libertines' crown.

He said: "These bands are traitors. Without naming any names I feel they're all merging into the corporate greyness which we were fighting in the first place.

"If you want to shift units, you should be working with a bank."

Carl did however shed some light on his opinions of The Arctic Monkeys and The View. He said of The Arctics: "Hat's off to them. It's all a bit George Formby though, isn't it? They're like rabbits in the headlights."

Of Dundee wild boys the View, he said: "I like The View, they've got the spirit. They still care."

Carl and the boys are now working on their second album and play at Glasgow's Carling Academy on December 8.

NME, 28th November 2006