The Libertines were heralded as leaders of the UK arm of the 2000s garage-rock revival when they released debut album Up the Bracket in 2002, but there’s a deeper well of ideas informing their music. Sure, they’ve cited the lo-fi sound of The Stooges and proto-punks The Standells as reference points, while The Clash’s Mick Jones, producer of The Libs’ first two albums, taught them to embrace mistakes and static as long as a recording captures your spirit. However, you can also hear the melodic brevity of The La’s and the influence of storytellers from Bob Dylan to Supergrass and The Streets. The Libertines’ brand of fire and tunes places them firmly in the lineage of The Kinks, The Jam and the Buzzcocks—all favourites of Beatles-obsessive bassist John Hassall. But it was barroom bards Chas & Dave and ’80s UK rap pioneer Derek B who first revealed enticing, if very different, portraits of London to Pete Doherty. Meanwhile, Marvin Gaye affirmed the power of detail and nuance to drummer Gary Powell, and David Bowie’s self-belief and individualism inspired Carl Barât from a very young age.