Plan A / Other (The Libertines)

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Plan A was a plan of action formulated in 2001 by lawyer and band manager Banny Poostchi to get The Libertines signed to Rough Trade Records by the end of that year.

Poostchi had acted as The Libertines' manager in their early years before parting ways with them for several months when their career failed to take off. During this period, bassist John Hassall and then-drummer Paul Dufour also left the band. By the time Poostchi observed the rise of The Strokes and invited Peter Doherty to their live performance in London, Doherty and Carl Barat had also separated. Poostchi then returned to managing The Libertines, determined to emulate the success of The Strokes by ordering Doherty and Barat to reunite and compose six new songs that would be pitched to the heads of Rough Trade. These tracks, which would become central to The Libertines' first album Up the Bracket, saw the band change directions from a mellower, ska/skiffle sound to a full-fledged punk and garage rock outfit.

Doherty and Barat wrote a song describing this transformation process and the emotional impact it caused, Plan A , which was later released as a B-side to single Up the Bracket.