Dirty Pretty Things (band)

Dirty Pretty Things
Dirty Pretty Things performing at the Øya Festival in 2008. From left: Didz Hammond, Carl Barât, Gary Powell (on drums), Anthony Rossomando
Background information
Origin	London, England
Genres	Indie rock, garage rock revival
Years active	2005–2008, 2022–present
Labels	Vertigo
Past members	Carl Barât Didz Hammond Gary Powell Anthony Rossomando

Dirty Pretty Things were an English rock band fronted by Carl Barât, a member of The Libertines. The formation of the band was announced in September 2005, after a dispute between Barât and Pete Doherty led to the breakup of The Libertines in 2004. Barât had worked 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^[1] to join the band alongside Libertines drummer Gary Powell and guitarist Anthony Rossomando, who had filled in for Doherty following his departure from The Libertines. They played their first shows in October 2005 in Rome,^[2] Italy and Paris, France. They announced their split on 1 October 2008 and played their final shows during November that year.^[3]

After adopting the name Dirty Pretty Things, problems arose - a four-piece band from Salisbury had been playing as "Dirty Pretty Things" since early January 2005, claiming to have already trademarked the name in the UK.^[4] The two groups came to an agreement over the name, and the other band was renamed Mitchell Devastation. An Australian band had been playing under "Dirty Pretty Things" since 2003, although they also opted to change it. The name was shared by Barât's club nights in venues throughout London; they assumed the name "Bright Young Things" to avoid confusion.