The Libertines frontman Pete Doherty has admitted the band's decision to invest in a hotel in Kent saved him as he finally had a a proper place to live for the first time in years.
The rocker, who turned 42 today, was previously kicked out of the group in 2004 before rejoining them in recent years.
The band, co-fronted by Carl Barat, bought a five-storey Victorian terrace house in Margate back in 2017 with a plan to renovate it and turn it into a studio and hotel.
It took three years to transform the building and start welcoming paying guests and it opened in 2020 as The Albion Rooms.
Pete has opened up about the hotel venture and insisted it gave him a place to call home after spending years struggling to pay rent.
He told the Guardian: "Carl [Barat] found this gaff and said they were not going to pay me for a certain amount of gigs and then I was going to have a sixth share.
"It's been the saving of me. It was a dream having a place where I didn't have to worry about rent for the first time.
"Just having a roof over my head, not having a gun to my head with the threat of eviction or: 'You have to shag me or you’re out on your ear.'"
He added of his sex-for-rent claims: "There have been certain individuals whose dark, lustful lifestyles...
"I don’t want to be shared or passed around like a fucking tin can used as an ashtray at a party.
"I don’t want to be a Primrose Hill dildo."
When asked to explain what a "Primrose Hill dildo" is, Pete - who previously dated Kate Moss - replied: "Good-looking lads who make the mistake of falling in love with people who are incapable of falling in love back.
"I did a f*****g good impression of one for a while."
During the renovations, Pete was allowed to stay in the building while other members of the band also lived there over the course of the project.
However, he did eventually have to move out before they opened up the hotel to guests in 2020.
It's now a stylish hotel with a recording studio, cafe and restaurant that's open to the public.
