More about: The Libertines

Swervedriver frontman Adam Franklin has given an interview where he claims that he 'decked' The Libertines Pete Doherty, during an altercation at a hotel in Hong Kong last month where both bands were on tour. 

Both acts were in Hong Kong on 28 November 2015, where the band were playing Cockenflap festival alongside the likes of New Order and Damien Rice. The 'Gunga Din' and Anthems For Doomed Youth Albion indie heroes when were then invited back to Swervedriver's hotel room where things took a somewhat ugly turn. 

"The hotel bar at the W Hotel in Kowloon was finally closing on Saturday night and someone invited Doherty and a few others back to our hotel room where there was a little after-party going on," Franklin tells NME.  

"He can't have been in the room for more than a minute or two before some kerfuffle broke out across the room - you'd have to ask him what that was about, although good luck getting anything out of him as he surely won't fucking remember - and he fell across to the side of the room where I was sat having a chat with Gary [Libertines drummer] and a couple of friends."

Franklin then claims that Doherty "suddenly took a swing at me and missed, I stood up and decked him and that was it. Gary, who I have to say is a lovely bloke, helped get him out of the room and [Doherty] was screaming "He hit me! He hit me!" while people were pointing out to him that he had in fact tried to hit me first." 

Watch our documentary - The Libertines' London

Franklin continued: "Apparently I had said "so you're the famous Pete Doherty?" as I stood over him before they dragged him out, which entertained everybody else in the room and probably annoyed him but what was I supposed to say? He hadn't even introduced himself!

"I'm  not one to pre-judge people based on reputation but when you indiscriminately lash out at someone for no reason you're gonna get laid out big time".

The Swervedriver man added: "He's apparently really great with his fans but I might have been his biggest fan for all he knew. I mean, I'm not - I think he's astonishingly inept and pretentious - but I could have been. The bloke's a fucking disgrace. I wish him all the best."

A spokesman for The Libertines has since said: "With adrenaline running high after the show in Hong Kong, there was an unfortunate short altercation/misunderstanding of which no one was injured and apologies were made soon after." 

Dates are below for The Libertines' 2016 arena tour. Tickets are on sale now, and you can buy them here.

21 January - GLASGOW, SSE Hydro Arena
23 January - MANCHESTER, Arena
25 January - NOTTINGHAM, Capital FM Arena
26 January - CARDIFF, Motorpoint Arena
27 January - BIRMINHAM, Barclaycard Arena
29 January - BOURNEMOUTH,  BIC
30 January - LONDON, The O2

More about: The Libertines