Barat: 'Libertines will always be volatile'

Carl Barat has claimed that there will always be a destructive element at the centre of The Libertines.

The singer-guitarist told The Observer that the atmosphere in the the now-reunited band is as explosive as it was before their split.

Barat said of the comeback: "I'd already said no to it quite a few times. This time it just felt right. There seems to have been enough water under the bridge. I hope.

"But it's the nature of any relationship that's that productive - there's always some destructive element in there."

When asked if things in the band are as volatile as before, he said: "Totally, and they always will be, because of the nature of its ingredients. I don't really enjoy it - I spend my whole life trying to make some sort of order out of chaos.

"But I've got better at managing my own chaos and that puts me in a better position. Fear is such a poison - I was in the thick of Libertines terror five years ago.

"I worried about everything - maintaining everything we'd achieved, coming up with the goods - it's all pretty textbook stuff but there were the added difficulties of drug problems and unpredictability."

Describing his relationship with co-frontman Pete Doherty, he said: "It's as deeply horrible and beatifically brilliant as the depths of any relationship can allow.

"He'd probably say something really clever. He'd go from bathos to utter genius that would stop your heart. He's got a habit of doing that. But he has his downsides too."