Paul Dufour is dead. The former drummer of The Libertines died on September 6, 2022. The cause of death is not yet known. Dufour sat on drums in the early days of the British indie rock band in 2000. He was then replaced by Gary Powell, who is still part of the reformed group around Pete Doherty and Carl Barât.
The Libertines announced Dufour’s death on their social media channels on Wednesday evening. They posted an old band photo and wrote: “Paul Dufour, our much loved drummer from the early days, passed away last night. We are all in great shock and sadness. Sending love and thoughts to Paul’s friends and family. It was honor to play with you Mr Razzcocks. Forever in our hearts x”
Paul Dufour, our much loved drummer from the early days, passed away last night. We are all in great shock and sadness. Sending love and thoughts to Paul’s friends and family. It was honor to play with you Mr Razzcocks.
Forever in our hearts x pic.twitter.com/Y21OU96iYb
— Libertines (@libertines) September 7, 2022
On Twitter, a fan responded to this tweet with a photo showing him and Dufour earlier this year:
Had the pleasure of meeting him earlier this year. Was a really nice block that spoke very highly of his time in the band. Spoke to him for ages about it all. pic.twitter.com/eytTQmu0QE
— Jack O’Beirne (@thfcjack14) September 7, 2022
The Libertines formed in 1997. Their acclaimed debut UP THE BRACKET was released in 2002 with Powell on drums. The follow-up THE LIBERTINES was released in 2004, after which the band broke up due to a dispute and Doherty’s drug problems. They reunited in 2014, released their comeback album ANTHEMS FOR DOOMED YOUTH in 2015 and have been touring again ever since. A new album is said to be in the works.