Atkin thinks that Doherty "sees himself in us" and speaks to "big brother" Pete once a week, and says that despite his problems, Doherty has helped them more than anybody else "He takes us on tour and mentions us on TV," says Atkin. "Ever since we first met him, he has looked after us and took us under his wing," says Atkin. "When he introduced me to Kate she went: 'Ah! Are you the little Tommy...' or something like that I said 'nice to meet you' It was a bit weird. But she is beautiful.""I last spoke to Pete when his tour bus got raided in Shrewsbury for drugs. We had just done three dates with them," says Lloyd.Helping out new bands -"the cycle of rock stars" as The Paddingtons see it - is the etiquette of the new London music scene. "The thing about the scene is that we are all friends, we get on," says Atkin.
This is precisely why they have no time for Liam Gallagher, who described The Paddingtons as "bloody awful". "I take it to Tom first - my stuff is quite acoustic and folky - and then the band turn it into full-on punk-rock." Lloyd, who had just come out of a relationship when they signed to Poptones, has used this heartache as the subject matter for many of the songs. "50 to a Pound" is about "first love going sour" and "Sorry", the latest single, is about "closure of the relationship" ("And when you are coming down, it doesn't matter about you"). Their album is produced by Owen Morris, the producer of the album that kick-started Britpop, Oasis's Definitely Maybe and after being enthralled by the band at Slimane's hot party, Pet Shop Boys are keen to remix their music.The Paddingtons' influences are English and American punk - The Clash, The Sex Pistols, the Buzzcocks, The Strokes, The Libertines - and their favourite band at the moment is The Cribs Lloyd writes most of the melodies and the lyrics. "We didn't even try to get a record deal, we just wanted to be in a band," they recall.Then Steve Bedlow, the original singer in The Libertines, invited the gang of five to London, to play at a squat in King's Cross with Doherty. They claim not to have had an early night since, but now have four singles to their name, all of which have reached the Top 50.
Lloyd will admit to working in a bingo hall, while Grant Dobbs and Atkin worked for Atkin's dad's insulation firm. The rest of their time was taken up with band practice, and driving up and down to London in a Vauxhall Nova - with tents to camp in and "eating crisps and noodle sandwiches" - and playing gigs they'd advertised on the internet. Mind you, I'd been wearing that outfit for a whole month because I only had one pair of jeans. But the whole collection was largely based on us - and Pete - but more clean-cut. My vest top had blood on it, theirs had glitter, and it was more snazzy."Atkin puts moodily in the corner, pulling on a cigarette.