More About Arctic Monkeys.
As mentioned in my blog “The Best Known Indie Artists and Bands’, Arctic Monkeys is an English rock band formed in Sheffield in 2002. The indie band is known for being one of the first bands to come to public attention via the Internet, representing the possibility of a change in the way new bands are promoted and marketed.
The band’s key sound is lead singer and frontman Alex Turner who sings in a particularly Sheffield accent and is known to deliver intricate lyrics quit rapidly. Turner, born Alexander David on 6 January 1986, is the only child of two teachers Penny (teaches German) and David Turner (teaches physics and music). David was a musician and because of him, Alex was exposed to all kinds of music as a child. He also learnt the piano as a child.
Alex was quite reserved while at school and his teachers were fond of him. They remember him as a pleasantly clever student. He was involved in a lot of sports at Stocksbridge High School, particularly basketball. he was never too fond of studies, which worried his mother. He eventually persuaded his parents to let him take a year off from studies to pursue music. During those days he made his living as a barman. Unsure about his career in music, he half-heartedly even filled forms for college and hoped to study in Manchester.
Turner’s parents gifted him a guitar for Christmas in 2001. By 2002, Turner, Cook, Nicholson and Helders had come together to form a band, inspired by friends who played at local pubs. Initially Turner was not confident about himself and did not want to become the frontman. All the friends tried to become the frontman, but it did not work out. They were all beginners with music as well as singing. They would practise at the garage of their house or later at unused garages; where they were found playing table-tennis half of the time!
If their parents wanted to hear them, they would have to silently enter the place and stand out of sight, or they would all stop singing. Their songs had nonsense words when they started. Then Turner, unsure and shy, started sharing his lyrics with the band. He thought everybody would laugh at him.
When people form a band, they know what they want to do and work towards achieving it. He calls himself “easily influenced” and believes it was important for him to be with these friends to be doing the right thing in life. This band was formed for the lack of something better to do, and they practised for one year, putting bits and pieces of music and lyrics together, before they performed live for the first time.
Turner calls Lannon his biggest inspiration. When he started writing, he wanted to write like Lonnon. He says when the words make no sense and still make the listeners want to hear them over and over, that is an achievement. He worked hard to write like Lannon. He examined human behaviour at nightclubs in the culture of his hometown on release of their first album. He further explored growing old, failed relationships and nostalgia in further albums, with the band taking up aggressive sound.
Their first gig was on 13 June 2003, supporting The Sound, at a local pub called The Grapes. They performed on eight songs, with three covers and five self-composed songs. Barradale later drove the band around to venues across the north of England to establish their reputation, handing out copies of the CDs after each show. Fans began sharing the unofficial demo compilation online and, by the end of 2004, audiences knew the words to the songs of the album that later came to be known as “Beneath the Boardwalk”.
Turner is known to be reluctant to interviews. The band even abandoned a press interview in Paris, for their suspicion of the media and disinterest in self-promoting. While Turner is loud and confident on stage, he is still a quiet speaker. He is quietest among the members of the band. While being interviewed, he thinks about the answer so much that at last he ends up being unsure of his own words.
I hope all Alex Turner fans find this information interesting. Please share all that you know about him and I will include it in my future blogs.
