The trials, tribulations and tabloid elevation of Peter Doherty over the past year or so have all conspired to cloud the reason why most of us fell for The Libertines in the first place: the music. It's also overshadowed the fact that the Libs were made up of four very different, equally important characters, whose input all contributed to making that band what it was.
Always viewed as 'the quiet one' of the quartet, bassist JOHN HASSALL often exuded calm within the eye of the hurricane and managed to scramble away from The Libertines' messy, and very public implosion with significant reserves of dignity and respect intact. What few people realised previously, though, is that John is also a talented singer/ songwriter in his own right as well as being a consummate musician, and since playing what could be the very last Libertines show in Paris before Christmas, he's been concentrating on his new band YETI. Their recent debut single "Never Lose Your Sense Of Wonder" is as sublime a three minutes of chiming pop glory as you'll hear all year and more than reason enough for W&H to speak to the man himself as he kicks back on a rare day off from the band's high-profile supports to Razorlight.
John is gentle, intelligent and posseses a quiet charisma that's the very antithesis of The Libertines' anarchic antics. That's refreshing in itself, but aside from that, it's impossible not to warm to him as a person, and he's quite possibly the most likeable guy this writer has had the pleasure of speaking to. We're here to concentrate on Yeti and the future, but inevitably the shadow of The Libertines also occasionally appears on the horizon.
John, I assume Yeti is a full-time project for you now?
"Yeah, very much so," John replies.
"I've been involved with Yeti on and off for a while, but it was originally more of a part-time project while I was committed to The Libertines, though of course that commitment isn't there now. It's great now for me because it's been really interesting to spend an intensive spell on the road with Yeti because we hadn't the chance to do that before. It's been a wonderful experience getting to know each other properly."
It's clear John hasn't lost his faith in love and music, and Yeti are certainly more than reason enough to follow his progress, but - let's get the obvious one out of the way - if the circumstances changed enough for everyone involved to be together enough - could you realistically record or play with The Libertines again?
"Well yeah, hypothetically," says John evenly. "But it couldn't happen in the present state of affairs. But you never know, I guess."
John is by no means against discussing his time with The Libs, but we're not here to dwell on what has already been overly documented in some quarters. One aspect of his new role with Yeti that has surprised many, though, is his songwriting ability. This writer remembers reading in an NME interview that the Barat/ Doherty songwriting partnership was effectively a closed shop in terms of input from anyone else, so when did you seriously begin writing your own material, John?
"Well, I did used to write songs in The Libertines a long time ago, when it all started," John points out.
"I was in the band for about three years, but before they signed to Rough Trade I left and went to college. Pete, Carl and Gary got signed and they asked me back. I rejoined, but the creative axis had shifted and by then it was very much Pete and Carl's thing. They were happy without creative, songwriting input from other people, so because of that The Libertines stopped performing any of my songs. I had tons of songs, though, some of which are ancient now, but they still sound good. We've certainly got plenty of songs for Yeti's first album."
Cool. Well, we'll come back to that in a little while, but tell us how you got together with the boys in Yeti to begin with. Were you all friends previously?
"Well, we all met up through a variety of routes," John replies.
"Mark (aka Harmony Williams - vocals/ guitar) was an old friend of Carl (Barat)'s and they were actually flatmates at one point. I used to go round and see Mark with Carl and have a strum on the guitars. Mark has a wonderful voice, he can play Beatles songs, anything you like, he's very versatile. So I had him in mind to work with if the chance arose."
"With the other guys," he elaborates, " Brendan (Kersey - bass) often played at Filthy McNasty's (legendary Islington watering hole - Pub Ed) the same time as the early Libertines, about 7 years ago, while with Andy (Deian-Jung - lead guitar), we met through mutual friends, and we got Graham (Blacow - drums) through 'Loot's classifieds. So it all quietly fell into place."
I wanted to ask you about Andy (Deian-Jung). He's some guitar player, very tasteful. To these ears, though, he reminds me of people like influential late Byrds guitarist Clarence White or even James Burton, who played guitar with Elvis and Gram Parsons, rather than the usual contemporary names. Would he like those comparisons?
"Yeah, he would probably be flattered, he's a big country fan," John muses. "He's an excellent guitarist with very original ideas. He's by no means limited to country-rock influences either, there's a lot going on beneath the surface there."
Another obvious question about your role in Yeti, John: do you feel pressure to succeed with Yeti after having been with an influential band like The Libertines?
"No, I don't really, I don't think much is expected from me," says John, far too modestly.
"I don't even play bass in Yeti and I don't think people can assume much as they've no idea what my singing or guitar playing is like. To me, it's pretty much like having a clean sheet. I mean, yes I was in The Libertines, but I don't have any proven history of songwriting, so in that sense I'm entirely an unknown quantity."
He pauses for a moment, and picks up the thread.
"But at the same time I feel pressure from myself and my band members in Yeti to create something everyone's happy with. Regardless of any commercial considerations, that's the ultimate test for us as a band."
Certainly "Never Lose Your Sense Of Wonder" is a great start. It's an excellent debut single: bright, catchy and positive. Was their a specific inspiration behind the song? It sounds pretty autobiographical....
"Yes, well it is in many respects," John confirms.
"Basically, it's about not being disillusioned with life in general. Like, it's very easy to get dejected: you know, you wake up, go out, get on the bus or whatever and look at your fellow passengers. It's easy to feel petty hatred and anger and let all that build up within you, and it's unnecessary. So, the song's really a plea to retain feelings of love and philanthropy against all the negative things life throws at you. I know that probably sounds horribly naive," he finishes, chuckling.
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Maybe, but entirely laudable too. Meanwhile, I hear persistent rumours that another of Yeti's songs "Merry Go-Round" is about your time as a Libertine. Is that the case?
"No, not really," says John, quite emphatically.
"It's just about touring in general. It's a strange existence, because you're just in your own bubble on the bus. It can be quite melancholy actually," he says quietly.
You mean like Charlie Watts' infamous quote about "5 years hard work, and 25 years sitting around"?
"Yeah, yeah," laughs John. "It's that thing about forever moving to new places, with just glimpses of life in between, all these fleeting pleasures passing you by. It's all transitory, really."
To get back to the sound of the single, one possible influence on your songwriting who springs to mind is Lee Mavers, the legendary lost La's frontman. Were they a band who appealed to you?
"Yeah, definitely," says John. "Everyone's a La's fan really, aren't they? Apparently it's official they've actually got back together at last and have signed up for the summer festivals in Japan..."
Wow - news to me!
"Yeah, well we've all been hearing the same rumours for the last year or so, but it hadn't previously materialised. They are definitely an influence with Yeti and I have an awful lot of respect for them. Everytime I hear their album it inspires me. There again, The Beatles piss on The La's if you want to make comparisons!"
Ooh, controversial! I take it you're a huge Beatles fan from way back, John?
"Yeah, I can't deny they're my favourite band," says John, "but it's not a competition, or at least it shouldn't be. Actually, I think one of the great things about Yeti is that we have all sorts of different influences coming in. Andy likes country as I was saying, Brendan likes ska and Mark's into musicals. It's a real melting pot and it's exciting."
Yes, talking of that, there's that odd little bluesy thing called "Midnight Flight" that features on the promo of the single. It appears to be about serial killers. Not what people may have expected from John Hassall, perhaps?
"Ah, well that's Mark's song," John confesses.
"He's written lots of quirky songs. We do another one called "Insect Eating Man", which is like Noel Coward! Really good lyrics. And he's plenty more along those lines, believe me," John laughs.
Cracking. But back to the reality of Yeti's curent spate of activity. You're mid-way through gigging with golden boy Johnny Borrell and his rather fabulous Razorlight. Whether we like it or not, he's another link with the earlier days of The Libertines. How's your relationship with him these days and how have the shows been?
"They've been by far the biggest things we've done as Yeti," says John, sounding both excited and just a little blown away, all at once.
" I mean, we've been getting used to playing in pubs to 100 people," he laughs, "and now we're about to play Ally Pally (Aexandra Palace - Ed) with Razorlight. It's been great and very successful and fascinating to see how Yeti would transpose to playing through a huge PA. I've been realy pleased, because really no-one knew how we'd sound. We're in a slightly unusual position with Yeti really, because we;re completely new, yet we have a reputation of sorts. As for my relationship with Johnny, I've always got on really well with him. He's great, we went to school together, so we go way back."
Excellent. But you mentioned having enough songs for an album earlier. What's the next move for the band? More singles and then the album?
"Yeah, there will be more singles first," John replies.
"We need to get a record contract as such, that's the next step. Ideally I'd love to record it all now because we've got loads of songs, but you have to be realistic, and at the same time I'd like to take our time over it, because everything we've done so far has been quite rushed in terms of recording. Anyway, we've plenty to occupy us at the moment, not least all the touring. Everyone's really into it, which is great."
Brilliant, well John, we know you've gotta go prepare for that Ally Pally show, and time waits for no man, so we'd best leave you for now. One final question, though: as you said this is all a new role for you. How do you like the idea of being the man in the limelight all of a sudden?
"It's a mixed bag," John muses.
"It's a wonderful opportunity to be able to articulate your feelings and it's incredible to be there. But at the same time there's much more responsibility and it's certainly a learning curve for me as it's not something I've ever experienced before. It's my own litle personal struggle and a challenge for me, but that's fine. I'm not one to shy away from a challenge either."
Asolutely. And with Yeti, it seems John has every right to rise to this challenge. Despite the mythical nature of the band's name, the inherent quality of their work can only become a reality to the public at large.
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