The story of The Libertines' What a Waster
3 June 2026, 12:50
The Libertines' debut single has reached its 24th anniversary.
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The Libertines' What a Waster is 24 years old today.
The band's debut single saw them pull no punches, but despite it being one of their most-loved songs to date it had very little love on the radio airwaves.
There's absolutely no denying the power of The Libs' banger, but what makes What a Waster so controversial and what is it about anyway?
Remind yourself of the indie banger here:
What a Waster
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What a Waster was released on 3rd June 2002. The first ever single to from the Camden-based rockers came from the writing partnership of Pete Doherty and Carl Barât and tells a depressing tale of drugs and excess.
Apparently dubbed by Doherty as "the most self-explanatory song in the history of pop," the expletive-driven song conjures up images of a woman who appears to have fallen on hard times, but spends what she does have irresponsibly as it goes "straight up her nose".
What a waster
What a f***ing waster
You p***ed it all up the wall
Understandably, the song wasn't played on the radio at the time, due to its excessive use of expletives alongside its adult themes.
However, the single was released to much hype and praise, causing excitement across the alternative music scene and making its way onto many indie dance floors.
On the week it was released, the band graced the cover of NME for the first time - with an iconic shoot courtesy of the band's longtime photographer Roger Sargent - and the single made it to No. 37 in the UK Singles Chart.
Despite this, What a Waster didn't even feature on the original UK edition of the band's debut album, Up The Bracket, which was produced by Suede guitarist Bernard Butler and released on 14th October the same year.
When the album was reissued on 8th September 2003, What a Waster was added as a bonus track at number 13 - finally earning its rightful place on their debut, which contained some of The Libertines' most raw and crucial material.
In fact, the song is such a part of the history of the band that when they opened their bed and breakfast and studios, The Albion Rooms in Margate, they paid tribute to the song by having its famous lyrics tiled on their lavatory floor.
See them modelled expertly by Radio X's own Sunta Templeton below:
24 years later and the song is still a mainstay of The Libertines setlist and a firm favourite among their fans and has since been placed at No. 96 in NME's 500 greatest songs of all time.
Not too shabby for a 'banned' single...
Read more:
- The Libertines thank fans as All Quiet On The Eastern Esplanade album scores UK No.1
- The Libertines bring On The Beach Brighton to a triumphant close
- The Libertines' Pete Doherty and Carl Barât almost joined the army
The Libertines on nearly joining the Army!
