Gang Of Gin

Hasn't been a comment in a few months, but hopefully Pete Doherty's new solo album will spark a renewed interest in his catalog. This ditty is a fine example of Pete's lyrical genius. And the new album is specatcular -- perhaps the biggest disappointment is that this beautifully tragic song is not on the album. If you're new to the music and story of Carl and Pete, who could have been the next Beatles were it not for curruption and drugs, this song is your primer. These meanings may be obvious to some. Let's start with the oft-overlooked title:

Gang of Gin: Pete's referencing a gang-gin, a farm building built around central machinery, which allows the walking of a group of horses around the machinery to turn wheels by being attached through a harness. He is essentially calling he and his Libertines band mates workhorses, or perhaps more appropriately "slaves to the [music industry] machine".

Alan McGee/Carl Barat - Carl was Pete's artistic partner and they formed the Libertines together back in 97. Carl and Pete both brought different styles to the table, took turns as frontmen, and much in the style of the Beatles, they shared the limelight quite well in the early days. Their combined talent was magical. Their first album was a critical success. Alan McGee of Creation records (he's attributed with discovering Oasis), took the helm as manager during the recording of their second self titled album. McGee eventually (from Pete's perspective) broke up the band in an effort to weed out Pete and his drug abuse and elevate Carl to solo frontman of the Libertines. This song was written after Carl and Pete completed their second album, amidst infighting, arrests, rehab stints, etc...this is the time when both artists were working on initial releases for their respective side projects (Carl - Dirty Pretty Things, Pete - Babyshambles)

Knowing this, the rest of the songs references should work themselves out for you...

A lot of people are confused by the woman referenced in the second verse. It's certainly a bit of a refrain from the rest of the narrative. Some of the best sounding lyrics in the song. Maybe Pete sees himself as this woman who is performing sexual favors in alleyways for crack or heroin who ends up being slashed with a knife "from ear to ear". Who knows? It just sounds great.

Looking forward to hearing the thoughts of others....