Released on 30 August 2004, it is particularly biographical of the relationship between frontmen Carl Barât and Pete Doherty.

[13][14] The song "Arbeit Macht Frei" featured in the 2006 film Children of Men.

The album's front cover art features a photograph of Carl Barât and Pete Doherty taken by Roger Sargent during the emotional "Freedom Gig" at the Tap 'n' Tin club in Chatham, Kent, on 8 October 2003, when Doherty reunited with the Libertines for a gig just hours after being released from jail, where he was sentenced for breaking into Barât's flat and stealing various items, including an old guitar and a laptop computer.

[15] Doherty returned to the Tap 'n' Tin club on 20 December 2008 for a one-off gig with Chas & Dave.

[18] On the other hand, The Libertines was voted the third-most overrated album ever made in a 2005 BBC public poll.