Dirty Pretty Things were a band fronted by former member of The Libertines Carl Barât. The formation of the band was announced in September 2005, after The Libertines had split up in 2004 due to a falling out between Barât and Peter Doherty. Barât had done some work with Vertigo Records and had previously revealed that his new project was with the label. Didz Hammond announced he was leaving The Cooper Temple Clause to join the band alongside ex-Libertines drummer Gary Powell and guitarist Anthony Rossomando, who had filled in for Doherty following his departure from the Libertines. ...show more

Dirty Pretty Things were a band fronted by former member of The Libertines Carl Barât. The formation of the band was announced in September 2005, after The Libertines had split up in 2004 due to a falling out between Barât and Peter Doherty. Barât had done some work with Vertigo Records and had previously revealed that his new project was with the label. Didz Hammond announced he was leaving The Cooper Temple Clause to join the band alongside ex-Libertines drummer Gary Powell and guitarist Anthony Rossomando, who had filled in for Doherty following his departure from the Libertines.

They split in October 2008. Dirty Pretty Things played their first shows in October 2005 in Italy and France. Initially, the choice of name caused some troubles. A four-piece band from Salisbury had been playing as "Dirty Pretty Things" since early January of 2005, claiming to have already copyrighted the name in the UK; the two groups ended up coming to an agreement over the name.

An Australian band had also been playing under that name since 2003, though since opted to change it. Dirty Pretty Things began recording their first album in Los Angeles, California, with high-profile producer Dave Sardy (producer of the Oasis album Don't Believe the Truth), and in Glasgow, Scotland with producer Tony Doogan. The first track of the band's to be released on the CD format was "You Fucking Love It" which was made available on a free CD with the April 1, 2006 issue of NME entitled "NME and MTV2 present Best Newbands Showcase 2006". The band's debut album, entitled Waterloo to Anywhere, was released on May 8, 2006 reaching #3 on the music charts and receiving critical approval. ...show less