Pete Doherty leaves the Garage in London after a gig on Monday. Photograph: Mark Lees/PA
The Times tells us that Carl Barat of the Libertines has signed a solo deal with Vertigo, an imprint of Universal, for £1m. The deal, says the paper, will set up an implicit contest between him and former bandmate Pete "troubled" Doherty.
The part of me that likes to think of itself as a grown-up industry observer thinks the Times is right; it will be fascinating to see if the fuss about Doherty turns out to have been misplaced when we realise that it was Barat who had all the tunes. But the other part of me, the part that says "cool" too often and likes to stick a finger up at the boss behind his back, thinks the deal marks the end of the contest.
Doherty continues to accrue more rock'n'roll points by the day - supermodel girlfriend, addiction, court case - and stays with indie label Rough Trade. Barat meanwhile sells out to the major labels for six figures, and effectively turns the remaining Libertines into his session band. Like, that is way uncool.
