The man at the centre of Pete Doherty’s arrest in January has put forward his version of events in today’s Guardian. Max Carlish, the down-on-his-luck documentary film maker admits that he sold photographs of Pete Doherty taking drugs to a national newspaper without the singer’s agreement.
In a slightly bizarre article, Carlish portrays himself as a sort of bumbling but lovable fool, enamoured with the image of the self-destructive rock star flying to close to the flame. His tone is most telling – it smacks of the sort of innocent, self-righteous bollocks we have come to expect from people who start a fight and then pretend they don’t know why the other guy is so upset.
Max Carlish is a man who has found that his main skill is a curious form of self loathing and self deprecation, as can be seen not only in today’s article but in work dating back five years or more. I find it hard to trust the word of a man who simultaneously asks us to trust his version of events and tells us he’s a bit sad. The victim role he plays is unconvincing, and the story lacks some key details, including Carlish’s arrest on drug offences shortly after he sold the photos of the man he professes to love.
Probably, Doherty will be found guilty in the forthcoming criminal case, because it does look as if he has broken the law. But to be fair to him, Max Carlish does sound as if he deserved it: what kind of man would do something like that and expect nothing to come of it?
See also, Max Carlish in Pete in Kate on Channel 4. (the comments are fascinating!)
“Stalking Pete Doherty” was screened on Channel 4 last night. I’ve added my thoughts on this harrowing film on the front page of the site:
http://www.thebadrash.com
Max Carlish is a fuckin twat mate
Carlish – as a journalist, makes a good puddle of watery shite. He is simply a sad old mid 40s virgin who lives with his parents and pretends to have led a somewhat interesting life. Fuck, my dead cat leads a better life than this self-serving little toad of a man.
Max Carlish does tend to attract the most eloquent comments on thebadrash.com
I’m fascinated by the fact that Max appears to have commented on your site himself! I thought your review of ‘Stalking Pete Doherty’ was entirely reasonable, if a little over easy on Max… When I first saw the ‘Stalking…’ documentary I thought it was a Chris Morris spoof, or a reality TV re-adaptation of an Alan Partridge character – I cringed until I could cringe no more, and laughed in utter disbelief. The documentary itself I highly recommend, and offer my respect to the (independent) editor of the film for offering this wonderful insight into the mind of a lunatic (and I’m not talking about Doherty who, in contrast to Mr Carlish, looks the epitome of rationality).
The doc is the most painful hour or so of tv i have ever watched in my life! it brings up a strange mixture of hate, pity, embarrassment, a cringing feeling you can’t shake and the “I WONNA SMACK THAT BLOKE!!! WHAT A TWAT!!!” thought in your head. I hate that doc with a passion but, saying that i don’t hate Max as a person. When you actually take the time to talk to him like i have he is a nice bloke. Okay, so he plays on the mental illness and pity me act a bit but he isn’t as bad as you think he is from the doc. Strange enough, i started chatting to him through the babyshambles official forum where i fully intended to vent my hate for him but he is such a genuine nice person that’s it’s hard to be nasty. I’m not claiming to know him very well or anything but from talking to him on the net and chatting on the phone you realise that he’s not that bad and fair play to him he has always tried to fight back and give his side of the story (whether his side of it is believeable though is another question) when if it was me, i would curl up in a ball and pray that the earth swallow me up! He wants to put the doc behind him now and move on, sadly he never can because he will be forever known as “that stupid twat that Pete Doherty smacked” Max got his fame, however small, the fact that people still talk about him now proves that but not the kind of fame he wanted. He is sad, he does have mental illness and seems a bit lonely and although i don’t know him very well i feel really sorry for him when people say horrible stuff about him, some things people said have been very nasty but then i have to agree with alot of it, it’s a strange one i want to stick up for him but then most of what is said is true… ah i guess i’m just to nice hehe
Just watched the documentary, and to be honest, Max Carlish strikes me as being quite odd; if I knew him vaguely from a pub somewhere, and someone brought his name up in conversation, I would ashamedly say something about Max such as ‘you wouldn’t trust him with your kids’…
Looking at it another way, if I was sat in a hot tub, off my dugs, with Kate Moss, and Max Carlish wanted to get in with a video camera; I would kill him I think – well done Pete Doherty for exhibiting such restraint and just smacking him a couple of times.
What starts off as rather unconfortable viewing, spirals into well Max becoming a stalker. For gods sakes, taking to your bed for two months in a dark depression because Pete Doherty won’t answer your phone calls – it ain’t really normal is it?
I am sure he is a likeable bloke, I am sure he is even good company, but for me, Max Curlish is forever the creepy stalker who was filming a documentary on Pete Doherty (did he ever talk to anyone else from Babyshambles for longer than a couple of seconds?) who was so creepy he eventually got a kicking.
Max Curlish……… if me and Kate Moss are in the bath and you turn up with your video camera, be warned, it will be sodding well going up a natural opening of yours sideways!
Hmm… that comment is really more about having a bath with Kate Moss than anything else innit? 😉
MAX IS A SICK AND TWISTED PERSON
Pete Doherty gets off time and time and again. The bloke needs some serious help. Arrest then bail. Arrest, and again bail. Both of these guys are losers. Pater is about to o.d. any second and everyone thinks its a bloody party. Get your heads out your ass mates and ignore both these fucking bums. Look ma, a heroin and crack addict that plays music! Me lucky day!
hey. you missed out a detail. max attempted to hit pete before pete beat him up. that max guy is just a self obsessed, self centered, arrogant, little retard. but i suppose, if all this hadn’t happened, i’d feel sorry for him and maybe get him into the mental health department.
Isn’t it strange how 2 years on people still comment about him…
very strange… i’d think they’d be over it…
Max is nice and very intelligent.
He has probably achieved more than anyone who has posted here, the majority of whom seem to think it’s fine to go around physically assaulting people (with their hands held behind their back by “entourage?”).
So beating up people is cool?
Is driving around off your trolley ok?
Or walking past someone dead on the pavement after a party cool?
Poor Mark Blanco. He is dead. But, hey, who cares?
Max is a very funny (haha) bloke in the flesh. Well read and erudite. BOTH his parents are/were shrinks so sanity as some of us know it was never an option for him.
Obviously the documentary is cringeworthy balls, but he would never have got that close if he wasn’t fun to be around.
Did Doherty do a single good tune? I think not. That Carlish gets excited over anything.
At least the Stones had Exile on Main Street and Beggars Banquet etc. to justify their excesses. Then again who needs to justify excess?
Anyway, as i have the final word for now i can tell you Max is not at all the utter twat he appears to be in the failed documentary. True individuals are increasingly hard to come by in bland conformist sniffin britain and I raise my hat to him like Doherty must have done to begin with
Pete – I think you’re probably right… I feel bad for slamming Max Carlish so heavily.