Rock singer Pete Doherty, the former frontman of The Libertines, has been charged with robbery and blackmail, police said.
The 25-year-old musician was arrested Wednesday after a reported fracas at a London hotel. He appeared at Highbury Corner Magistrates’ Court Friday. His lawyer, Sean Curran, said the singer would spend the weekend in jail because the $280,000 bail couldn’t be raised immediately.
Another musician, Alan Wass, 23, was charged with the same offenses and was granted bail. Wass is a guitarist with rock band Lefthand.
Doherty’s spokesman, Tony Linkin, said the singer was arrested over allegations he assaulted filmmaker Max Carlish, who was making a documentary about Doherty’s new group, Babyshambles.
Carlish was quoted as telling British media that he sold pictures to a Sunday newspaper of Doherty taking heroin. He said Doherty assaulted him in a hotel after he refused to give the singer money.
Curran said both men “ferociously deny the allegations against them” and were confident they would be found innocent.
Doherty, who is widely reported to be dating supermodel Kate Moss, was kicked out of The Libertines after failing to curb his publicly acknowledged drug problems.