Doherty records solo LP for summer 2008

Pete Doherty has begun work on a solo album for a release in the summer of 2008.

The Babyshambles star has started recording tracks with producer Jake Foir, according to NME.

Foir claims that three of the twelve tracks have already been completed by Doherty during secret sessions away from his regular band.

The producer said: "We're recording it piecemeal between two studios in London.

"We go in for two or three hours at a time, usually at about two in the morning, and get stuff down.

"It sounds slower and more intimate [than Babyshambles]. Pete's writing is more universal, rather than about personal experiences."

Doherty's debut LP will contain collaborations with his Babyshambles bandmates, The Thirst and rapper Klashnekoff, says Foir.

Talking about the sessions, he added: "I just spent a weekend with him - just me, him and the cats.

"He's out there in a 28-room mansion - it's very '60s-style and cool, I keep expecting Marianne Faithfull to come walking through one of the doors!"

However, Foir also revealed that Doherty hasn't yet received the go-ahead for the album to be released officially by Parlophone.

He explained that the record company has so far been unhappy with the idea of the singer working solo and in secret.