In the fall of 2004, the Libertines split up and the elegant and phlegmatic song writer Carl Bârat started working on his new project. Signed by Vertigo immediately after the band separated, he worked alone on his new songs, enlisting his previous drummer Gary Powell for his new band, the Dirty Pretty Things. He also hired as a second guitarist Anthony Rossomando, who had already replaced on stage an absent Pete Doherty. The bass player Didz Hammond left The Cooper Temple Clause to join the adventure. In the fall of 2005, the band was complete and played its first gig in Paris, where the Libertines had made their last stand.