The Libertines claim to own the bathtub Jim Morrison died in
The Libertines, who recently released their long-awaited fourth album All Quiet On The Eastern Esplanade, have claimed to be the owners of the bathtub that The Doors frontman Jim Morrison died in.
Morrison passed away in Paris, France, on July 3rd, 1971. He moved to the European country following a conviction in the United States for indecent exposure and open profanity after exposing himself on stage during a Miami gig in 1969. The iconic rock figure was sentenced to six months in jail, but fled to Paris while appealing the verdict.
The Doors frontman’s body was found in the bathtub of his apartment by his partner, Pamela Courson. It’s widely accepted by the public that Morrison had suffered an overdose, but no autopsy was made on his body, therefore, this has never been confirmed.
While the bathtub is a morbid artefact, it still represents a significant part in rock history, and if they are to be believed, it’s now owned by The Libertines.
Pete Doherty made the revelation during a new interview with Apple Music 1’s Matt Wilkinson after his bandmate Carl Bârat discussed buying one of Jimi Hendrix’s jackets. Bârat revealed: “Someone convinced me to buy it in an auction. It was going cheap. It was because there was about to be a movie come out and Andre 3000 was playing Jimi Hendrix, and it was going to really revitalise the Hendrix estate and all of the sort of bric-a-brac..”
In a bid to outdo his fellow Libertine, Doherty stated: “Yeah, this is a bit of an exclusive, this, for your show, we’ve also got the bathtub that Jim Morrison died in, which we’re going to be putting in one of the rooms. There’s a fellow who my wife’s cousin knows, and his cousin was basically the landlord.”
Doherty elaborated: “And he’s not interested in music, and even less interested in music mythology, and so he’s just been going on about this bathtub which people who have been trying to buy off him. He doesn’t want it. He thinks it’s morbid to make money off it. So I said, ‘Well, we’ll take it for the hotel.'”
While this story sounds fabricated, and Doherty admits he has occasionally told untruths over the years, he’s adamant this is an entirely genuine tale. The singer-songwriter concluded: “And so I said to Carl, and obviously Carl’s known me for years, knows I do have a tendency to exaggerate and… Well, lie, but this one is the bang honest truth and it’s actually there.”
The Libertines are currently on-course to secure their first number one album in 20 years with All Quiet On The Eastern Esplanade, which is currently top of the midweek charts. If they are to be victorious, they will need to successfully beat strong competition from Khruangbin, Vampire Weekend, The K’s and The Black Keys.
In a four-star review of All Quiet On The Eastern Esplanade, Far Out wrote: “The album celebrates The Libertines’ past success with instrumental nuance centred in Latin flourishes and an embrace of several previously untrampled territories in rock history. Meanwhile, Barât and Doherty maintain a track record of incisive poetry, reflecting on ghosts of the past and remaining eternally relevant with sociopolitically incisive lyrics.”
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