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Alexander David Turner (born 6 January 1986) is an English musician. He is the lead vocalist and songwriter of the rock band Arctic Monkeys. Turner is known for his lyricism ranging from kitchen sink realism to surrealist wordplay, which has been praised by music critics. All but one of Turner's studio albums have topped the UK Albums Chart. He has won seven Brit Awards, an Ivor Novello Award, and a Mercury Prize among other accolades.

When Turner was 15, he and three friends formed Arctic Monkeys in 2002. Their debut album, Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not (2006), became the fastest-selling debut album in British history and, along with the band's fifth studio album AM (2013), appeared on Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time and other lists. The band has experimented with desert rock, indie pop, R&B, and lounge music. He also co-founded The Last Shadow Puppets with Miles Kane in 2007, who have released two orchestral pop albums: The Age of the Understatement (2008) and Everything You've Come to Expect (2016).

Turner provided an acoustic soundtrack for the feature film Submarine (2010), which additionally served as his solo debut extended play (EP). He co-wrote and co-produced Alexandra Savior's debut album Belladonna of Sadness (2017).

Early life

[edit]

Alexander David Turner was born in Sheffield on 6 January 1986,[1][2] the only child of secondary school teachers Penny (née Druce)[2] and David Turner.[3] He was raised in Sheffield's High Green suburb.[4] He has said that his parents came from "very different backgrounds"; his mother, from Amersham, Buckinghamshire,[5] taught German and was "fascinated by language".[6] His father, a Sheffield native,[5] taught music and physics.[7] Turner's parents were both music fans and his earliest musical memories involve the Beatles[8][9] and the Beach Boys.[10] During car journeys, his mother played music by Led Zeppelin,[11] David Bowie,[12] and the Eagles.[13] His father was a fan of jazz and swing music,[12] particularly Frank Sinatra,[8] and had played the saxophone, trumpet, and piano in big bands.[9][14] Turner himself was taught some scales on the family keyboard by his father[14][15] and took professional piano lessons until he was eight years old.[16][8]

From the age of five, Turner grew up alongside neighbour Matt Helders; they attended primary school, secondary school, and college together.[17][18] At their primary school graduation ceremony, Turner and Helders joined some other friends in a mimed performance of Oasis' "Morning Glory"—Helders played the role of Liam Gallagher while Turner pretended to play the bass guitar, using a tennis racket as his instrument.[13][19] The two met Andy Nicholson in secondary school,[20] and the three friends bonded over their shared enjoyment of hip-hop artists such as Dr. Dre,[21] the Wu-Tang Clan,[13] Outkast,[13] and Roots Manuva.[13] They spent their time playing basketball, skateboarding, riding BMXs,[22] and "making crap hip-hop" beats using Turner's father's Cubase system.[23][9] Turner and his friends became interested in rock music following the breakthrough of the Strokes in 2001.[24] His father let him borrow a school guitar to learn a "couple of chords" when Turner was 15[9] and, for Christmas that year, his parents bought him an electric guitar.[25]

Turner was educated at Stocksbridge High School from 1997 to 2002. His former teacher, Mark Coleman, characterised him as a "bright" and "popular" student who excelled at sports rather than music.[26] His English and drama teacher, Simon Baker, remembered him as a clever pupil who was "quite reserved" and "a little bit different".[27] He noted that Turner had an "incredibly laid-back" approach to his studies, which worried his mother and led to criticism from other teachers.[27][28] While there were books at home,[29] Turner did not read regularly[30] and was too self-conscious to share his writing with others.[31] Nonetheless, he enjoyed English lessons.[27] Turner then attended Barnsley College from 2002 to 2004. Given the opportunity to "get away without doing maths", he largely opted out of the "substantial" subjects required for university entry.[9] He studied for A-levels in music technology and media studies, as well as AS-levels in English, photography, and psychology.[32]

Career

[edit]

Arctic Monkeys

[edit]

Early years and foundation

[edit]

At the age of 15, Turner's weekends revolved around girls and drinking cider with his friends.[33] Joe Carnall, a schoolfriend, has said Turner was "always the quiet one" in their social circle.[34] After friends began forming bands and playing live,[35] Turner, Helders, and Nicholson decided to start Arctic Monkeys in mid-2002.[33][36] According to Nicholson, Turner already had "instruments about the house" and was conversant in the basics of musicianship because of his father's job as a music teacher.[22] Helders bought a drum kit,[37] while Turner suggested that Nicholson learn bass guitar, and invited Jamie Cook, a neighbour who attended a different school, to play guitar.[22] Initially, Turner played guitar in the instrumental band; he became the frontman when two other school friends declined to sing.[38] Helders considered Turner the obvious candidate for lyricist – "I knew he had a thing for words" – and he gradually began to share songs with his bandmates.[39][40] Before playing a live show, the band rehearsed for a year in Turner's garage[37] and, later, at an unused warehouse in Wath.[18] According to Helders' mother, who drove the teenagers to and from their rehearsal space three times a week: "If they knew you were there, they would just stop so we had to sneak in."[18] Their first gig was on Friday, 13 June 2003, supporting The Sound at a local pub called The Grapes.[41] The set, which was partly recorded,[42] comprised four original songs and four cover versions of songs by the Beatles, the White Stripes, the Undertones, and the Datsuns.[43][44]

In the summer of 2003, Turner played seven gigs in York and Liverpool as a rhythm guitarist for the funk band Judan Suki, after meeting the lead singer Jon McClure on a bus.[45][46] That August, while recording a demo with Judan Suki at Sheffield's 2fly Studios, Turner asked Alan Smyth if he would produce an Arctic Monkeys demo. Smyth obliged and "thought they definitely had something special going on. I told Alex off for singing in an American voice at that first session."[47] An introduction by Smyth led to the band acquiring a management team, Geoff Barradale and Ian McAndrew.[48] They paid for Smyth and Arctic Monkeys to record numerous three-song demos in 2003 and 2004.[49] Turner was quiet and observant during studio sessions, remembered Smyth: "Whenever anyone popped in the studio, he would sit and listen to them before he would say anything."[47] At their rehearsal room in Yellow Arch Studios, Arctic Monkeys developed a reputation as particularly hard workers; the owner lent the band touring equipment while the owner's wife helped Turner with his singing.[50] Barradale drove the band around venues in Scotland, the Midlands, and the north of England to establish their reputation as a live band.[20] The band handed out free copies of the demo CDs after each show[51][52] and fans began sharing the unofficial Beneath the Boardwalk demo compilation online.[53]

After finishing college in mid-2004, Turner took a year out to focus on the band[32] and deferred vague plans to attend university in Manchester.[9][54] He began working part-time as a bartender at the Sheffield music venue The Boardwalk. There, he met well-known figures including musician Richard Hawley and poet John Cooper Clarke.[55][56] By the end of 2004, Arctic Monkeys' audiences were beginning to sing along with their songs[57] and the demo of "I Bet You Look Good on The Dancefloor" (then called Bet You Look Good on The Dancefloor, as it was then the Beneath the Boardwalk version) was played on BBC Radio 1 by Zane Lowe.[58]

National rise to prominence

[edit]
Turner performing in Newcastle Academy, 2006

Arctic Monkeys came to national attention in early 2005. They received their first mention in a national newspaper in April, with a Daily Star reporter describing them as "the most exciting band to emerge this year".[59] They self-released an EP, featuring the single "Fake Tales of San Francisco", in May[60] and commenced their first nationwide tour soon afterwards.[61] In June, in the midst of a bidding war, Arctic Monkeys signed to the independent label Domino Recording Company.[62] After initial sessions with James Ford and Mike Crossey,[63] they recorded an album in rural Lincolnshire with producer Jim Abbiss.[62] In October, the single "I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor" debuted at number one on the UK Singles Chart.[64] Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not, Arctic Monkeys' debut album, was released in January 2006, and debuted at number one on the UK Albums Chart. Turner's lyrics, chronicling teenage nightlife in Sheffield, were widely praised.[65] Kelefa Sanneh of The New York Times remarked: "Mr. Turner's lyrics are worth waiting for and often worth memorizing, too ... He has an uncanny way of evoking Northern English youth culture while neither romanticizing it nor sneering at it."[66] Musically, Alexis Petridis of The Guardian noted that the album was influenced by guitar bands "from the past five years ... Thrillingly, their music doesn't sound apologetic for not knowing the intricacies of rock history."[67]

It was the fastest-selling debut album in British music history and quickly became a cultural phenomenon.[68] Turner was hailed by British press outlets as "the voice of a generation".[66] In interview profiles, however, he was described as quiet and uncomfortable with attention.[69] The band dismissed the hype, with Cook saying their goal was "to be able to grow like The Clash. When they started, it was a very basic, punky record. Then they started to take off and move in lots of directions. That's what we want."[70] Less than two months after the album's release, Turner declared that Sheffield-inspired songwriting was "a closed book": "We're moving on and thinking about different things."[71] Years later, Turner said that the attention during this period made him "a bit frightened or nervous":[72] "We shut a lot of people out, just to try to keep some sort of control."[73] The band turned down many promotional opportunities[74] and quickly released new material – a five-track EP Who the Fuck Are Arctic Monkeys? in April, and a stand-alone single, "Leave Before the Lights Come On", in August. That summer, the band made the decision to permanently replace Nicholson,[75] who had taken a touring break due to "fatigue",[76] with Nick O'Malley, another childhood friend.[77][78] Nicholson was informed at a band meeting, during which "Al did the speaking."[79] Turner and Nicholson stopped speaking for two years[80] but later repaired their friendship.[81][82]

Turner performing at Coachella in May 2007

Arctic Monkeys' second album, Favourite Worst Nightmare, was released in April 2007, just over a year after their debut.[83] It was produced in London by Mike Crossey and James Ford.[84] As of 2020, Ford has produced every subsequent Turner project.[85] Lyrically, the album touches on fame, love, and heartache.[86] Johanna Bennett, Turner's then girlfriend, was credited as a co-writer on "Fluorescent Adolescent".[87][88] While uninterested in the songs concerning fame, Marc Hogan of Pitchfork said the album displayed Turner's "usual gift for vivid imagery" and explored "new emotional depth".[86] Petridis of The Guardian noted that the band were "pushing gently but confidently at the boundaries of their sound", with hints of "woozy psychedelia" and "piledriving metal".[89] The album was a commercial success, debuting at number one in the UK,[90] while Arctic Monkeys headlined Glastonbury Festival in the summer of 2007.[91] Also that year, Turner began to collaborate with other artists. He worked with rapper Dizzee Rascal on the Arctic Monkeys B-side "Temptation", a version of which also featured on Rascal's album Maths and English.[92] He co-wrote three songs on Reverend and The Makers' debut album The State Of Things, after briefly sharing a Sheffield flat with the frontman Jon McClure.[93] Another Sheffield singer, Richard Hawley, featured on the Arctic Monkeys' B-side "Bad Woman" and performed with the band at the Manchester Apollo, as part of a concert film directed by Richard Ayoade.[94]

Turner has described Arctic Monkeys' third album, Humbug, released in August 2009, as "a massive turning point" in the band's career.[95] They travelled to Joshua Tree, California to work with producer Josh Homme of Queens of the Stone Age; it was the band's first experience of working in a studio for an extended period of time.[96] Homme has said the album's heavier sound was initiated by the band themselves, while he encouraged Turner to embrace longer guitar solos[97] and to develop his newfound "crooning" style of singing.[98] While Petridis of The Guardian found some lyrics "too oblique to connect", he was impressed by the band's "desire to progress". He described "Cornerstone" as a "dazzling display of what Turner can do: a fabulously witty, poignant evocation of lost love."[99] Joe Tangari of Pitchfork felt the album was a "legitimate expansion of the band's songwriting arsenal" and described "Cornerstone" as the highlight.[100] During a break in the UK Humbug tour, Turner joined Richard Hawley on stage at a London charity concert,[101] and played a seven-song acoustic set.[102] Homme joined Arctic Monkeys for a live performance in Pioneertown, California.[103]

Turner wrote Arctic Monkeys' fourth album, Suck It and See, in New York[104] and met up with his bandmates and James Ford for recording sessions in Los Angeles. Marc Hogan of Pitchfork enjoyed the album's "chiming indie pop balladry" and "muscular glam-rock".[105] Petridis of The Guardian remarked that Turner's new lyrical style of "dense, Dylanesque wordplay is tough to get right. More often than not, he pulls it off. There are beautifully turned phrases and piercing observation."[106] Richard Hawley co-wrote and provided vocals for the B-side, "You and I", and performed the song with the band at the Olympia in Paris.[107] Turner joined Elvis Costello on stage in New York to sing "Lipstick Vogue".

International breakthrough

[edit]

By 2012, Arctic Monkeys were based in Los Angeles, with Turner and Helders sharing a house.[108] Arctic Monkeys toured the US as the support act for the Black Keys in early 2012. While they had previously opened for Oasis and Queens of the Stone Age at one-off shows, it was the band's first time to tour as a supporting act.[109] They released "R U Mine?" as a standalone single in preparation for the tour. Later that year, Arctic Monkeys performed "I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor" and a cover of "Come Together" by the Beatles at the 2012 London Summer Olympics opening ceremony. In early 2013, Turner provided backing vocals for the Queens of the Stone Age song "If I Had a Tail"[110] and played bass guitar on "Get Right", a Miles Kane B-side.[111] Arctic Monkeys headlined Glastonbury Festival for a second time in June.[112][113]

AM was released in September 2013.[114][115][116] Ryan Dombal of Pitchfork said that the album, dealing with "desperate 3 a.m. thoughts", managed to modernise "T. Rex bop, Bee Gees backup vocals, Rolling Stones R&B, and Black Sabbath monster riffage".[117] Phil Mongredien of The Guardian described it as "their most coherent, most satisfying album since their debut": "Turner proves he has not lost his knack for an insightful lyric."[118] Arctic Monkeys promoted the album heavily in the US, in contrast to previous album campaigns where, according to Helders, they had refused to do radio promotion: "We couldn't even have told you why at the time. Just stubborn teenage thinking."[11] Arctic Monkeys spent 18 months touring AM; they were joined onstage by Josh Homme in both Los Angeles and Austin.[119][120]

Turner performing at the Royal Albert Hall in 2018

Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino, Arctic Monkeys' sixth album, was released in May 2018.[121] After receiving a Steinway Vertegrand piano as a 30th birthday present from his manager, Turner wrote the space-themed album from the perspective of "a lounge-y character".[122][123] He recorded demos at home, alone and later with Helders,[124] and shared them with Cook in early 2017. Cook was initially taken-aback by the change in direction but was "very, very excited by what he'd come up with."[125] By mid–2017, the whole band was recording the project, produced by Turner and James Ford, in both Los Angeles and France.[123] They were joined by musicians from the bands Tame Impala, Klaxons, and Mini Mansions.[126]

Upon release, Jonah Weiner of Rolling Stone characterised Tranquility Base as "a captivatingly bizarre album about the role of entertainment – the desire to escape into it, and the desire to create it – during periods of societal upheaval and crisis."[125] Alexis Petridis of The Guardian found it "quietly impressive" that the band chose to release the "thrilling, smug, clever and oddly cold album" rather than more crowd-pleasing fare.[127] Jazz Monroe of Pitchfork declared it "a delirious and artful satire directed at the foundations of modern society."[128] The album became the eighth number one album of Turner's career in the UK.[129] The band toured the album from May 2018 to April 2019.[130][131]

After unsuccessfully attempting to write heavier guitar riffs for the next album, Turner's songwriting took a similar subdued tone on Arctic Monkeys' seventh studio album, The Car, which was released in October 2022.[132][133] The album heavily featured a string section co-arranged by Turner and its lead single, "There'd Better Be a Mirrorball", was accompanied by a video co-directed by Turner.[134][135][136] In 2023, the band headlined Glastonbury Festival for the third time, despite Turner having been diagnosed with acute laryngitis days before.[137]

The Last Shadow Puppets

[edit]
Turner performing with the Last Shadow Puppets in 2008

Turner announced plans in 2007 to form a side-project band, the Last Shadow Puppets, with Ford and Miles Kane, whom he had befriended during a tour in mid-2005.[138][139] The Last Shadow Puppets' debut album, The Age of the Understatement, was released in April 2008, shortly after Turner had moved from Sheffield to east London.[140][141] Co-written by Turner and Kane, the album was recorded in the Loire Valley, France[142] and featured string arrangements by Owen Pallett.[143] Hogan of Pitchfork noted that, lyrically, Turner was "moving from his anthropologically detailed Arctics brushstrokes to bold, cinematic gestures."[144] Petridis of The Guardian detected "the audible enthusiasm of an artist broadening his scope" and praised "a certain fearlessness on display".[145] During a tour with the London Philharmonic Orchestra, Turner said Kane's presence gave him "somewhere to hide" on stage.[146][147] The Last Shadow Puppets gave a surprise performance at Glastonbury Festival, with both Matt Helders and Jack White making guest appearances.[148] Alison Mosshart performed with the band at the Olympia in Paris, and provided vocals for a B-side.[149][150] Also in 2008, Turner formed a covers band with Dev Hynes for a one-off show in London[151] and recorded a spoken word track "A Choice of Three" for Helders' compilation album Late Night Tales.[152]

The Last Shadow Puppets released their second album, Everything You've Come to Expect, in April 2016. Turner, Kane and Ford were joined by Zach Dawes of Mini Mansions, with whom Turner had collaborated on the songs "Vertigo" and "I Love You All The Time" in 2015.[153][154] Owen Pallett again composed the string arrangements, this time working in the studio with the band rather than remotely.[155] According to Turner, the album featured "the most straight-up love letters" of his career, written for American model Taylor Bagley whom he dated from 2015 to 2018.[156][157] Laura Snapes of Pitchfork detected an air of "misanthropy" in the album. However, she acknowledged that Turner was "no less a gifted lyricist than ever" and described some songs as "totally gorgeous ... the structures fluid and surprising".[158] Alexis Petridis of The Guardian enjoyed Turner's "characteristically sparkling use of language" and "melodic skill". However, he felt the pair's "in-joking" during interviews and Kane's "leery" encounter with a female Spin journalist sullied the album.[159] From March until August 2016, they toured in Europe and North America.[160] Turner's father David played saxophone at a Berlin show.[161]

Solo work and collaborations

[edit]

While living in Brooklyn, New York, where he had moved in the spring of 2009,[162] Turner wrote an acoustic soundtrack for the coming-of-age feature film Submarine (2010);[163] it was released as an EP in March 2011.[164] Director Richard Ayoade initially approached Turner to sing cover versions[165] but, instead, he recorded six original songs in London, accompanied by James Ford and Bill Ryder-Jones.[166][167] Two of the songs had already been written; Turner wrote the rest after watching dailies from the film set.[168] The songs existed within the world of the film as a mixtape made by the main character's father.[169] Paul Thompson of Pitchfork felt "Turner's keen wit and eye for detail" had created a "tender portrayal" of adolescent uncertainty.[170] Ben Walsh of The Independent said the "exquisite" soundtrack was "reminiscent" of Cat Stevens's work on Harold and Maude.[171] In 2014, the Submarine soundtrack appeared on The Times's list of 100 Soundtracks to Love.[172] Turner also co-wrote six songs for Miles Kane's debut solo album Colour of the Trap (2011) and co-wrote Kane's standalone single "First of My Kind" (2012).[173]

Columbia Records approached Turner about working with Alexandra Savior in 2014, and he co-wrote her debut album, Belladonna of Sadness, in between Arctic Monkeys' touring commitments. Turner and James Ford co-produced the album in 2015, with Turner also playing bass, guitars, keyboards, and synthesisers.[174][175][176] An additional song "Risk" was recorded with T Bone Burnett for an episode of the crime drama True Detective.[177] While Turner and Savior performed together in Los Angeles in 2016,[178] the album was not released until April 2017. In reviewing it, Hilary Hughes of Pitchfork remarked: "Turner's musical ticks are so distinct that they're instantly recognizable when someone else tries to dress them up as their own."[179] Savior later said the press attention surrounding Turner's involvement was overwhelming: "I'm so grateful for him, but I'm also like, 'Alright, alright!'"[176]

In 2022, Turner composed the music for the audiobook version of Richard Ayoade's The Book That No One Wanted to Read with the instrumental interludes being performed himself and James Ford.[180] He also composed the music for the audiobook version of Ayoade's subsequent book, The Unfinished Harauld Hughes, released in 2024.[181]

Artistry

[edit]

Influences

[edit]
Turner performing in 2011

Turner was "into hip-hop in a big way" as a teenager.[13] When he first started writing lyrics, Roots Manuva's Run Come Save Me was his main influence.[182][183] He also listened to Rawkus Records and Lyricist Lounge compilations,[184] and artists such as Dr. Dre,[183] Snoop Dogg,[185] Outkast, Eminem[13] and the Streets.[183][186] He has repeatedly cited Method Man as one of his favourite lyricists,[13][183][187] and has referenced the Wu-Tang Clan in his own lyrics.[188]

For Turner, the Strokes were "that one band that comes along when you are 14 or 15 years old that manages to hit you in just the right way and changes your whole perception of things."[189] He changed his style of dress and began to take an interest in guitar music.[190] He has since referenced the band in his lyrics.[190] The Vines were the first band Turner ever saw live and Craig Nicholls provided inspiration for his early stage persona.[191] Other early guitar influences included the Libertines,[192] the Coral,[193] The Hives[19] and The White Stripes.[194] In his late teens, Turner began "delving" into older music and discovered lyricists including Elvis Costello,[8] Ray Davies of The Kinks,[8][13] Jarvis Cocker of Pulp,[195] Paul Weller of The Jam,[196] and Morrissey of The Smiths.[197][198] Turner has since performed with Jack White of The White Stripes,[148] Costello and Johnny Marr of The Smiths.[199]

John Cooper Clarke, whose poetry Turner first encountered at school, was a "massive" source of early inspiration.[200][27] Turner was working as a barman at The Boardwalk in Sheffield in late 2004 when Clarke appeared on stage as the opening act for the Fall.[56] The performance made a big impression on the eighteen-year-old: "He's talking 100 miles an hour, and he's really funny ... It just blew my mind."[201] He was inspired by Clarke's use of a regional accent and the early Arctic Monkeys song "From the Ritz to the Rubble" was his homage to Clarke's style ("my best shot at it, at least").[202] Later in his career, Turner requested to interview Clarke for Mojo Magazine, published two Clarke poems as part of a single's artwork[203] and used another ("I Wanna Be Yours") as the lyrical basis for a song.[204] In 2018, Arctic Monkeys invited Clarke to perform his reading of "I Wanna Be Yours" at one of their Sheffield arena shows.[205][206]

Nick Lowe,[207] Jake Thackray,[208] Nick Cave,[207] John Cale,[183] Leonard Cohen[209] and Bob Dylan[210] are among the lyricists Turner admires. He has spoken of his respect for country music songwriters like Roger Miller, Willie Nelson, Townes Van Zandt,[211] and Hank Williams.[212] He has been drawn to artists who reinvented themselves throughout their careers: "The Beatles, David Bowie… the big ones."[213][214] When forming The Last Shadow Puppets in 2007, Turner was inspired by the music of Bowie, Scott Walker, Serge Gainsbourg, David Axelrod and Ennio Morricone.[215] Songs that Turner has discussed repeatedly in interviews are Michael Chapman's "You Say",[216][217][218] Leon Russell's "A Song for You"[219][182][220] and Dion's "Only You Know", describing the latter as "one of my favourite tunes of all time".[46][221][222] He has described himself as a Beyoncé fan.[223][224]

Turner's work is also influenced by movies. Tranquility Base Hotel and Casino was inspired by films such as 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968), World on a Wire (1973), Le Cercle Rouge (1970), Spirits of the Dead (1968), Inherent Vice (2014) and The Last Waltz (1978).[225] In the song "Hello You", there are references to post-war British movie Tread Softly Stranger (1958) and Stanley Kubrick's unmade script for Napoleon.[226][227] He has also said he's interested in film production and editing and has read about those topics, citing In the Blink of an Eye (2005) by Walter Murch as a book "that feels connected to the process and also the feel or lyrics on [The Car]."[228] Turner has also cited Raymond Chandler's Philip Marlowe series[229] and works by authors David Foster Wallace and George Saunders as inspirations for The Car.[230][231]

Songwriting

[edit]

Kate Mossman of the New Statesman described Turner as "one of the great lyricists of the 21st century", writing that his songs are "full of lovingly extended metaphors" and "mordant Morrissey-style observations".[232] Mike Laws of the Village Voice characterised him as "a writer without peer in virtually all of rock" and identified "rapid-fire prosody and facility with internal rhyme" as Turner's trademarks.[233] Simon Armitage, writing in The Guardian, said: "Of all those writing lyrics today, Turner is among the most poetic. His use of internal rhyme exists to be admired and envied ... Turner is a storyteller and scene-setter."[234] "Like all the estimable British lyricists, be it Noël Coward or Morrissey, Turner has always been willing to risk a delicious irony or witty turn of phrase, even in a sad song."[235] Kitty Empire of The Observer considers him "probably the finest lyricist of his generation."[236] Turner's frequent collaborator Owen Pallett said of him: "There are many contemporary rock songwriters who I admire, but none more than Alex, [...] there seems to be no limit to his lyrical inventiveness… It would be impossible to overpraise him."[237]

Turner's early songs chronicled teenage nightlife in England,[238] and, according to Armitage, were "of the kitchen-sink, social-realism variety."[234] Sasha Frere-Jones of the New Yorker described him as "a prodigy at both character sketches and song form."[239] Turner drew comparisons to Alan Bennett[240] and Victoria Wood.[241] As Turner has aged, Laws of the Village Voice noted: "His lyrics have shied away from making themselves amenable to easy reading. [They have become] more oblique and abstruse — more apt, too, to adopt the perspective of somebody else entirely, and so more editorially unreliable."[233] Turner himself acknowledges that, after writing "so directly" on his early songs, he went through a period of "wanting to reject that and, you know… just be the walrus for a bit."[242] He first "attempted to write lyrics that weren't so observational" with his side-project The Last Shadow Puppets, later remarking that he had sometimes veered too far "into abstraction".[243] He considers the lyrics on 2018's Tranquility Base Hotel and Casino to be the most direct since his earliest songs: "I think that was something I was trying to get away from, and perhaps I've returned to it now."[244]

Turner has said his songs are preoccupied with romance,[242] loneliness, and longing.[245] Jazz Monroe of Drowned in Sound remarked: "Turner seems part of an elite club of songwriters whose best love songs are the requited ones."[246] Similarly, in reviewing 2013's AM, Mossman found the depiction of romantic partners "two-dimensional. In "Fluorescent Adolescent", or the memorably titled "Mardy Bum", he somehow managed to tell a girl's side of the story even in the act of mocking her."[232] Neil McCormick of The Telegraph noted "a particularly North of England, working-class quality of sarcastic misanthropy" in Turner's lyrics[238] while Frere-Jones of the New Yorker said Turner "manages to summon the intractable bleakness of someone three times his age".[239] Later songs have alluded to "questions of consumerism, hyper-reality, [and] accelerating technology".[247] Monroe of The Independent highlights "anti-industry sloganeering", "lyrical abstraction", "postmodern scepticism", and a "rejection of the entire rock construct" as the "through-line in Turner's work".[247]

Turner himself says that his songwriting is "absolutely not" poetry: "Poetry and the written word are harder, you've no melodies to hide behind."[51][242] After initial reluctance,[248] he began publishing his lyrics with Arctic Monkeys' fourth album.[242] In an in-depth conversation about songcraft with New York's Lane Brown, he said: "I don't really get the 'I wrote the whole song on the back of a cigarette packet in 20 minutes' sort of thing ... I would keep adding or changing words forever if somebody didn't stop me."[249] Turner has said writing melodies is the more difficult part of the songwriting process for him.[250][251] Alexis Petridis of The Guardian believes "Turner's melodic skill sometimes gets overlooked" because he "arrived in the public consciousness words-first."[252]

He has also said that "there absolutely are images in [his] head when [he] writes", making The Car, their "most cinematic sounding record".[253] There's a "grandiose, cinematic quality" that "carries on throughout the album"[254] "while making things more grander, colorful and cinematic."[253] Talking about Mr Schwartz, he said he imagined the character present while "a production is going on".[255]

Voice

[edit]

In the early years of his career, Turner performed in a strong Sheffield dialect.[256] Simon Armitage remarked: "I can't think of another singer whose regional identity has been so unapologetically and naturally intoned through his singing voice."[257] By 2018's Tranquility Base Hotel, Alexis Petridis of The Guardian said: "The Yorkshire dialect that was once his USP is now deployed sparingly, as a jolting effect."[258] On his accent change, former Arctic Monkeys bassist Andy Nicholson, said: "I don't think he thinks he's Elvis, I don't think he's an actor, I think he sometimes probably can live up to the character people are expecting him to be. I mean, he has lived in America, he lived in New York for a long time, and he lived in LA for a long time […] he soaks accents up a lot, 'cause when he started hanging around with Miles quite a lot, he started to get a bit of a Scouse twinge to his accent."[259] One critic said that the tone of Turner's voice has also transformed over time, from a "fidgety whine" to "a worn-in baritone croon".[260] About his vocals, Turner told Rolling Stone Germany, "I find the sound and presentation of the voice to be at least as meaningful as the lyrics."[261]

Stage persona

[edit]

"When you think about that, and the clothes, I wasn't doing that with Suck It and See or Humbug. It wasn't grease in the hair. Normally, the record you make encourages a certain style of performance. But thinking about the performer in relation to Tranquility, or even this thing – [The Car] – I have considered that you can invert that. The performer can influence the music, rather than the other way around."

— Turner about Performance and BRIT Awards Speech, 2022[262]

In an otherwise positive review of a 2006 show, Richard Cromelin of the Los Angeles Times noted that Turner seemed "a little spooked by the attention" and hoped he would learn "to reach out more to the audience" in time.[19][263] In 2007, Kitty Empire of The Observer noted that he was a "reserved" presence on stage: "He chats a bit to about 15 people in the middle of the front rows, and only looks up at the balcony, once, a little apprehensively."[264] Following Arctic Monkeys' headlining appearance at Glastonbury Festival in 2007, Rosie Swash of The Guardian remarked upon Turner's "steady, wry stage presence": "Arctic Monkeys don't do ad-libbing, they don't do crowd interaction, and they don't do encores."[91] Simon Price of The Independent said Turner seemed "to freeze like a rabbit in the spotlights" during a headlining set at Reading Festival in 2009.[265]

In late 2011, Turner began to change his stage persona and style, most notably changing his hairstyle to a "rockabilly-inspired quiff".[266] Brian Hiatt of Rolling Stone noted of his "newfound showmanship" that he "puts his guitar down to strut and dance, drops to his knees for solos when he does play, [and] flirts shamelessly with the female fans".[11] In reviewing a 2013 concert, Dorian Lynskey [Wikidata] of The Guardian said, "Turner, a shy sort for a frontman, used to seem unnerved by attention and he's coped by adopting a tongue-in-cheek persona that suggests a comic-strip version of a 50s rock star, a Blackpool Buddy Holly: all quiff and quips. It's a curious pose, entertaining but alienating in the same way as some of his more arch lyrics. [...] Turner always holds something back, which makes the band more interesting but somewhat distant."[267][268] Ben Beaumont-Thomas of The Guardian noted in 2018 that Turner ironically "played with the role" of being a rockstar but simultaneously "can't help but be a real rock star".[269] While reviewing a 2023 concert, Sian Cain of The Guardian said, "There are few frontmen touring today who lean into the theatrics of rockstardom as effortlessly as Alex Turner", and felt there were similarities to the performance styles of Bob Dylan and David Byrne, adding, "He's fond of a campy turn and stare".[270]

Turner has described public speaking as almost being his "worst nightmare"[271] and does not consider himself a "born performer", stating that he "enjoy[s] the studio side of it more than touring".[272] Although an admitted "control freak" by nature,[242] he describes being a frontman as an "awkward" and "strange" experience that he does not "take too seriously".[273] He said, "I can't go out there and absolutely be myself. The situation is so fundamentally unnatural. [...] It's not a full-on, 'right, get into character' thing ... [sometimes] part of how you actually feel comes out. But I think I always feel weird about that afterwards."[274] Turner felt that being on stage and his songwriting are "a series of intermittent interpretations and impersonations of various artists I admire [...] colliding aggressively and rapidly enough with one another that the origins of the inspiration are largely obscured and from it comes something original."[275]

In a 2022 interview with The Guardian, referencing his 2014 BRIT Awards speech, Turner acknowledged for the first time the use of personas, separating himself from what he described as, the "performer" – a fractured reflection of himself– of each album.[262] Turner has named one of his former "performers" Mr Snarl, due to the disdainful way in which he sang, Turner said "Sometimes Mr. Snarl shows up", further adding, "It feels completely insane to embody this guy singing to a carpeted room. There I stand, staring at the carpet and wondering how do you sing a damn song like 'Teddy Picker'? But I'm counting on it all making sense again once other people are in the room."[261]

Personal life

[edit]

Despite significant media attention, Turner rarely discusses his personal life. From 2005 to January 2007, he dated British musician Johanna Bennett and she was credited as a co-writer on "Fluorescent Adolescent".[276][87][88] He started dating British TV presenter and model Alexa Chung in July 2007, and left Sheffield in March 2008, to live with her in London.[277] In the spring of 2009, they moved to Williamsburg, Brooklyn, New York together, but later relocated to London.[162] They ended their relationship in July 2011[278] and briefly reunited in the summer of 2014.[279] From late 2011 to early 2014, he dated American actress and model Arielle Vandenberg.[280][281] In March 2015, he started dating American model Taylor Bagley. They lived together in Los Angeles and their relationship came to an end in July 2018.[282][283] He began dating French singer Louise Verneuil in mid–2018.[262]

He is an avid reader and has cited authors Joseph Conrad, Ernest Hemingway, Vladimir Nabokov,[284] David Foster Wallace, and George Saunders[229][230][231] as some of his favourites. He is a fan of the science fiction genre, and this has inspired his writing on numerous occasions, including on Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino.[285] He is also a cinephile, and has shown interest in photography, a hobby he shares with bandmate Matt Helders.[286][287][228] He is a fan of the works of Stanley Kubrick, Federico Fellini, Jean-Pierre Melville, and Rainer Werner Fassbinder among others.[288][225] Turner is a supporter of Sheffield Wednesday F.C. and practices Muay Thai in his free time.[289] Turner has shown his appreciation for biker culture and got his A licence in 2011.[290] He has since owned a customised Yamaha XS 650[291] and a Kawasaki W800.[290]

Politics

[edit]

Turner was reticent to voice his political opinions, and let them show in his music: "I'm aware of what's going on to a degree, but… I just don't think I'm equipped to soundtrack the times. There might be someone out there who can do that, but I haven't cracked it."[292] After the release of Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino Turner said: "I'd never wanted anything political to get into the music and that was because I didn't know how to do it. It's not as though these are protest songs necessarily, but I'm more confident about putting myself across." Adding, "I seem to remember feeling like I hadn't given sufficient consideration to these issues to be able to discuss them, which I'm not sure is necessarily a bad attitude towards it. They often are complex."[282]

Speaking on the 2011 England riots, he criticised the lack of analysis the media had regarding the causes that originated the violence.[293] In an interview with the Sunday Times, Turner said he voted remain in the Brexit referendum, and so did his close circle.[282] At the time Turner was living in Los Angeles and felt disappointed with the result: "I woke up with a bitter, strange taste in my mouth. Especially when we had to put on the glitter jacket, go on stage and ensure the show. Strangely, it makes me want to come back and live in England: we can not leave the country to those who want to isolate it. Many of my American friends said they would go live in Canada if Trump was elected. Yet it is now that the United States needs them most. Otherwise, we let the ditches widen."[294]

In 2014, it became known that Turner and the rest of Arctic Monkeys were involved in Liberty's tax avoidance scheme. Each member paid between £38,000 and £84,000 in fees to shelter between £557,000 and £1.1 million between 2005 and 2009.[295] In the same Times' interview, Turner said, "We were given some poor advice and I made a poor decision, but I always paid my taxes in full, on time," he further added that they saw the possibility of paying less tax, but pulled out of the scheme when they realised it was not the right thing to do.[282]

Discography

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Solo

[edit]

Extended plays

Collaborations

[edit]

Bands

[edit]

With Arctic Monkeys

Main article: Arctic Monkeys discography

With The Last Shadow Puppets

Main article: The Last Shadow Puppets discography

References

[edit]
[edit]
Revisions and contributorsEdit on WikipediaRead on Wikipedia

Alex Turner

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Alexander David Turner (born 6 January 1986) is an English , and best known as the frontman, primary songwriter, and rhythm guitarist of the rock band . Turner formed the band in High Green, , in 2002 at age 16 with school friends Jamie Cook, , and , initially as a garage rock outfit drawing from and indie influences. Arctic Monkeys' debut album, Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not (2006), achieved immediate commercial success, selling nearly 120,000 copies on its first day of release in the and becoming the fastest-selling debut album in British history. The record earned the band the that year, recognizing its cultural impact and reinvigoration of the music scene through raw, observational lyrics and energetic performances. Subsequent albums, including AM (2013), topped global charts and secured multiple , with Turner credited for evolving the band's sound toward psychedelic and lounge elements while maintaining critical acclaim. Beyond , Turner co-founded the supergroup with , releasing albums that explored , and has pursued solo endeavors, including a 2020 EP under the pseudonym The Last Shadow Puppets' style influences. His songwriting, characterized by witty and evolving stylistic experimentation, has positioned him as one of the UK's most influential rock figures of the , though later works have divided fans over shifts from indie urgency to polished crooning.

Early life

Family background and upbringing

Alexander David Turner was born on 6 January 1986 in , , as the only child of Penny Turner and David Turner, both teachers. His mother specialized in teaching German, reflecting her interest in languages, while his father engaged with music through personal pursuits, including membership in a local and playing at events. Turner grew up in the High Green suburb of , a semi-rural area on the city's outskirts amid its post-industrial landscape of declining steel and manufacturing sectors. This setting offered middle-class stability through his parents' professional incomes, without the acute economic hardships associated with central 's during the 1980s and 1990s. Family life emphasized education and cultural exposure, with Turner recalling early car trips featuring his parents' record collection of acts such as Led Zeppelin, , and the Eagles, which introduced him to diverse musical styles beyond the local punk and indie scenes emerging in Sheffield's clubs. The household dynamics fostered a degree of independence, as Turner navigated the suburb's close-knit community—marked by garage practices among peers—while developing a pragmatic outlook shaped by Sheffield's resilient, no-nonsense working environment, though not as a direct driver of later achievements. This upbringing contrasted with romanticized narratives of rags-to-riches origins, prioritizing instead the empirical security of dual-teacher parental roles in a recovering from .

Education and early musical influences

Turner attended in from 1997 to 2002, where he was described by his form teacher as a well-liked student who excelled in sports such as rather than academics or . His academic interests gravitated toward English literature and writing, which later informed his songwriting, though he showed limited engagement with formal scholastic pursuits. Following high school, Turner spent two years at (2002–2004) studying English, in his first year, music technology, and media, but declined university admission to focus on independent musical endeavors. Exposed to eclectic music at home by his parents—his father a physics and music —Turner took lessons until age eight, learning basic scales on the family keyboard but abandoning formal instruction thereafter. Around age 15, in 2001, his parents gifted him an for Christmas, which he mastered independently using Oasis chord books and by replicating simple tunes like the , bypassing professional guitar tuition. Early inspirations included Oasis for technical basics and the Strokes' 2001 album , which resonated deeply during his mid-teens, alongside home staples like and that fostered a broad, unguided appreciation over specialized training. This self-directed method emphasized iterative practice and experimentation, enabling skill acquisition through direct engagement rather than institutionalized .

Career

Arctic Monkeys

Alex Turner co-founded the English rock band in High Green, , in 2002 at age 16, alongside drummer and guitarist Jamie Cook, with bassist joining shortly after; Nick O'Malley replaced Nicholson in 2006. As , rhythm guitarist, and principal songwriter, Turner has shaped the band's lyrical focus on working-class , relationships, and introspection, drawing from his upbringing. The band's independent rise began with self-recorded demos shared via in 2005, leading to a bidding war among labels and signing with . Arctic Monkeys achieved immediate commercial breakthrough with their debut album Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not, released on 23 January 2006, which debuted at number one on the and sold 363,735 copies in its first week, setting a record for the fastest-selling debut in UK chart history. The album earned the in 2006 and has sold over 1.5 million copies worldwide. Subsequent releases, including (2007) and (2009), solidified their international presence, with the band touring extensively and incorporating production collaborations like for the latter. By 2013's AM, Turner's evolving style—blending with R&B and hip-hop influences—propelled singles like "Do I Wanna Know?" to global airplay success, the album topping charts in the , , and elsewhere while accumulating over 20 million equivalent units sold. The band's sound under Turner's guidance shifted further toward psychedelic and orchestral elements in (2018) and The Car (2022), prioritizing experimental songcraft over mainstream rock conventions, with The Car reflecting lounge-inspired arrangements Turner described as music he personally wanted to create. Arctic Monkeys have sold over 45 million equivalent album units globally, maintaining critical acclaim for Turner's articulate, narrative-driven lyrics amid stylistic reinvention, though later works faced mixed reception for diverging from their raw indie roots. Turner remains the creative anchor, contributing to the band's seven studio albums and enduring live performances.

Formation and domestic breakthrough (2002–2006)

Arctic Monkeys formed in mid-2002 in High Green, , when , then aged 16, joined school friends Jamie Cook (guitar), (drums), and (bass) to create an informal group initially focused on covering songs by bands such as and . Turner quickly emerged as the primary songwriter, penning lyrics drawn from direct observations of local nightlife, pub culture, and social dynamics in Sheffield's working-class districts, themes that critiqued superficial hedonism and pretension without romanticizing them. The band rehearsed sporadically and played their first gigs at local venues and house parties, building a following through word-of-mouth rather than formal promotion. By early 2005, the band had recorded a series of demos under the moniker , which they uploaded to , where tracks spread virally among UK fans via shares and downloads, amassing hundreds of thousands of plays and attracting attention from labels without traditional industry intermediaries. This online buzz led to a signing with , and the demos were refined into their debut album, Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not, recorded between June and September 2005. Released on 23 January 2006, the album debuted at number one on the , selling over 363,000 copies in its first week—setting a record for the fastest-selling debut album in British chart history at the time—and spawning hits like "I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor," which critiqued club culture's performative excess. The album's success propelled extensive domestic tours across the in 2006, including headline slots at festivals like Reading and , where the band's raw, high-energy performances reinforced their image as a relatable "lads' band" rooted in northern English , emphasizing authenticity over polished artistry. In September 2006, Whatever People Say I Am won the , awarded for the outstanding British or Irish album of the year, validating their rapid ascent based on commercial metrics and critical acclaim for unvarnished songcraft rather than hype. This period marked their breakthrough in the UK market, with over a million domestic sales achieved within months, driven by empirical demand evidenced in chart performance.

International success and stylistic shifts (2007–2012)

The Arctic Monkeys solidified their international breakthrough with the release of their second album, , on 23 April 2007, which debuted at number one on the and marked their expansion into North American markets through extensive touring. The lead single "", issued on 9 July 2007, reached number five on the UK Singles Chart, contributing to the album's commercial momentum with over 225,000 copies sold in its first week in the UK alone. That June, the band headlined the Pyramid Stage at on 22 June 2007, performing to a crowd of approximately 100,000 and signaling their rising status among major festival circuits. A subsequent North American tour in September 2007, including dates at venues like Summerstage, helped cement their U.S. presence amid growing radio play and media coverage. By 2009, internal adjustments had stabilized the lineup, with bassist Nick O'Malley— who had been filling in since Andy Nicholson's departure in 2006 amid the pressures of rapid fame—formally integrating as a core member, enabling focused creative evolution. The band's third album, , released on 24 August 2009, represented a deliberate stylistic pivot toward a darker, more expansive sound, recorded at Josh Homme's studio in , where Homme co-produced tracks emphasizing psychedelic and hard-rock elements over the frenetic indie punk of prior works. This shift, while attributed in part to Homme's influence on looser arrangements and atmospheric production, was described by as an organic response to maturing songwriting, though Homme later clarified it as a collaborative extension rather than a unilateral overhaul. debuted at number one in the UK and entered the U.S. at number 17, its sales bolstered by tours across and that exposed audiences to the album's heavier, introspective tone. Alex Turner's evolving media profile during this era, marked by candid interviews on themes like fame's isolating effects and lyrical maturation, underscored the band's adaptive pressures, as he discussed in outlets like Uncut how scrutiny influenced their retreat into studio experimentation. The 2011 follow-up, , released on 6 June 2011, refined this trajectory with a brighter pop-rock sheen, drawing on structures while retaining psychedelic undertones, and debuted at number one in the UK with combined sales exceeding 450,000 units there. Supporting tours, including slots and arena shows, sustained global momentum, though early indicators of creative strain emerged in band reflections on balancing commercial demands with artistic risk, evident in the album's more melodic, hook-driven compositions amid ongoing fame-induced introspection.

Later evolution and commercial peaks (2013–present)

The Arctic Monkeys' fifth studio album, AM, released on 9 September 2013, marked a commercial pinnacle, achieving seven-times platinum certification in the United Kingdom by January 2025 for sales exceeding 2.1 million units. The record fused rock elements with R&B and hip-hop influences, driven by prominent riffs and rhythmic grooves, which propelled singles like "Do I Wanna Know?" to sustained chart success. This era earned the band a Grammy nomination for Best Rock Performance for "Do I Wanna Know?" at the 2015 awards. Following AM, frontman Alex Turner shifted primarily to composition, stating that the guitar had "lost its ability to give me ideas," influencing a departure toward more experimental sounds on subsequent releases. The sixth album, , arrived on 11 May 2018, emphasizing lounge-inspired piano rock and conceptual lyrics over traditional guitar-driven rock. This evolution continued with the seventh album, The Car, released on 21 October 2022, which incorporated orchestral arrangements and jazz-inflected lounge styles, reflecting Turner's auteur-driven vision amid the band's core instrumentation. Extensive touring supported these albums, including a North American leg in 2023 promoting The Car, sustaining the band's global fanbase without indications of dissolution. Despite periodic rumors of breakup fueled by touring hiatuses post-2023, empirical signs of continuity—such as the band's August 2025 launch of a new recording company and website updates—counter claims of disbandment, signaling potential future activity under Turner's stylistic direction. This pivot, while commercially riskier than AM's rock-R&B hybrid, underscores Turner's causal role in the band's maturation, prioritizing artistic experimentation over formulaic replication of prior peaks.

The Last Shadow Puppets

The Last Shadow Puppets is a supergroup formed in 2007 by Alex Turner of Arctic Monkeys and Miles Kane of the Rascals, after the latter's band supported Arctic Monkeys on tour, fostering their friendship and shared interest in 1960s orchestral pop and film scores. The project originated as a creative diversion, with Turner and Kane recording demos backed by producer James Ford, emphasizing lush string arrangements and baroque pop elements distinct from their primary bands' rock-oriented sounds. Their debut album, , was released on 21 April 2008 via , debuting at number one on the and featuring tracks evoking Scott Walker and influences through understated orchestras and exotic soundtrack aesthetics. The record's 12 songs, including singles "The Age of the Understatement" and "Standing Next to Me," prioritized collaborative songwriting and vocal harmonies, with live performances incorporating full ensembles to highlight the material's cinematic scope. Following an eight-year hiatus during which Turner and Kane focused on their respective groups, the duo reconvened with Ford and additional musicians for Everything You've Come to Expect, released on 1 April 2016, which adopted a more expansive and introspective tone while retaining orchestral flourishes and pop rock structures. The album's 11 tracks, such as the title song released as a single on 10 March 2016, explored mature themes through sophisticated arrangements, supported by touring that underscored the project's emphasis on joint artistry over individual band dynamics. With only two studio albums to date, has functioned primarily as a limited creative outlet for Turner and Kane, allowing experimentation in orchestral and without competing for resources from their main endeavors, entering hiatus after 2016 amid ongoing solo and band commitments.

Solo recordings and side projects

Turner's debut solo release was the EP , consisting of six original songs composed for Richard Ayoade's coming-of-age film . The EP was released on 14 March 2011 by , featuring tracks such as "Piledriver Waltz", "Stuck on the Puzzle", and "Hiding Tonight". Recorded primarily by Turner with assistance from James Ford, the project marked his first independent musical output separate from , emphasizing acoustic arrangements and introspective themes tailored to the film's narrative. Beyond , Turner's side endeavors have primarily involved songwriting collaborations, notably co-authoring six tracks on Miles Kane's debut album Colour of the Trap, released in May 2011. This included contributions to songs like "Come Closer" and "Take the Night from Me", blending Turner's lyrical style with Kane's mod-influenced rock. He also co-wrote Kane's 2012 single "First of My Kind", which peaked at number 28 on the UK Singles Chart. These partnerships, stemming from their prior work together, provided outlets for creative exchange without forming new ensembles. As of 2025, Turner has not released a full-length solo album, having expressed disinterest in pursuing one to avoid disrespecting his bandmates. In interviews, he has clarified that material initially developed independently, such as elements of the band's 2018 album , was never intended for solo release, underscoring his commitment to group dynamics over individual ventures. These limited projects have enabled targeted experimentation, such as the stripped-down intimacy of , which informed subsequent band evolutions without the demands of a standalone solo career.

Artistry

Songwriting and lyrical themes

Turner's early songwriting for focused on sharp, observational satire of working-class youth culture in , capturing the mundane absurdities and performative excesses of nightlife and social posturing. In tracks like "I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor" from the 2006 debut Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not, he dissects the mechanical rituals of clubbing—lines such as "Avoiding all work is a bare-faced lie / You don't wanna work, you wanna play" expose the self-deceptive hedonism driving avoidance of responsibility, grounded in direct eyewitness accounts of local scenes rather than personal confession. Similarly, "" lampoons indie poseurs fabricating glamorous narratives, with lyrics deriding "the blue orchid and the bowl of flakes" as emblematic of contrived authenticity, reflecting causal patterns where social climbing incentivizes exaggeration over genuine experience. His compositional process emphasizes foundations before , typically beginning with guitar or riffs in home or rehearsal settings, which then dictate rhythmic and melodic constraints for words. Turner has described emerging spontaneously in early mornings or late nights, jotted in notebooks, but refined through persistence rather than improvisation—early demos were band-collaborative jams, while later solo demos on allowed for denser phrasing. This method yields an observational detachment, prioritizing external behavioral dynamics over ; for instance, he avoids first-person , instead narrating archetypes whose actions reveal underlying incentives like status-seeking or . As principal songwriter, Turner holds primary credits on over 90% of ' original catalog, co-writing with bandmates on melodies but dominating lyrical content, which has sustained the band's output across seven albums since 2006. Lyrical themes evolved toward abstract, cinematic vignettes by the mid-2010s, shifting from gritty realism to surreal of fame's hollow pursuits and normalized indulgence. In (2009) and (2011), narratives incorporate literary metaphors, as in "Fire and the Thud"'s depiction of infatuation through improbable imagery like "love hiding ," underscoring emotional disconnection amid hedonistic excess. Later works like (2018) and The Car (2022) amplify this into conceptual absurdities, with "" self-referentially mocking rock-star aspirations—"I just wanted to be one of / That was going nowhere but make it loud"—exposing fame's causal trap of escalating pretension without fulfillment. These motifs, developed over years from piano motifs aspiring to film scores, how cultural incentives perpetuate cycles of superficial thrill-seeking, observable in the band's progression from pub anthems to orchestral unease.

Vocal style and delivery

Turner's vocals on the Arctic Monkeys' debut album Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not (2006) were characterized by a thick accent and a rapid, half-spoken delivery that aligned with the album's energy, emphasizing rhythmic punch over melodic polish. This style, evident in tracks like "I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor," prioritized urgency and regional authenticity, with clipped consonants and elongated vowels reflecting Northern English phonetics. By the band's third album (2009) and fourth (2011), Turner's delivery shifted toward greater melodic control and sustain, reducing the raw rapidity while retaining accent traces, as production influences like encouraged mid-range phrasing suited to psychedelic and textures. The 2013 album AM marked a pivot to a smoother croon with R&B-inflected slurs and flourishes, audible in songs like "Do I Wanna Know?," where lowered pitch and added seductive depth but diluted the original accent's sharpness. In later releases Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino (2018) and The Car (2022), Turner's style adopted a pronounced lounge —featuring elongated diphthongs and affected Americanized intonations—that complemented orchestral arrangements but drew criticism for clashing with the band's rock origins, with some observers noting reduced intelligibility and perceived pretension in the slurred phrasing. Fan discussions and linguistic analyses highlight this evolution as a phonetic shift away from roots, potentially prioritizing stylistic experimentation over accessibility, as evidenced by lower lyrical comprehension scores in user-reported metrics for these albums. Acoustic data from vocal range databases indicate Turner's span extends from E2 to G5 across recordings, with evidence of expanded upper register access (up to B5 in isolated peaks) through sustained practice, though this has coincided with a trade-off in the high-energy projection of early work, favoring nuanced over volume. No formal vocal training is documented, but iterative refinement is inferred from consistent improvements in control and stability between 2006 and 2013 releases.

Stage presence and persona evolution

In the band's early years, Alex Turner's stage presence embodied youthful energy and relatability, characterized by casual attire such as pullovers and jeans, contrasting with his later polished image. During performances around the release of Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not in 2006, he appeared as a slim, casually dressed teenager, engaging audiences with direct, high-energy delivery that mirrored the raw punk influences of Sheffield's scenes. By the 2013 tour supporting AM, Turner's persona reached a peak of confident swagger, with reviewers noting the band's commanding stage dynamics and his stylish, assured movements that amplified the album's rock-oriented swagger. undertook a 100-date worldwide tour beginning in May 2013, headlining major festivals like that June, where Turner's performance drew acclaim for its relaxed cockiness despite emerging criticisms of his evolving accent as detached from northern roots. Post-2018, with albums like and The Car, Turner's live style shifted toward a theatrical, lounge-lizard aesthetic, featuring crooned vocals, ironic asides, and lounge-inspired mannerisms that some observers linked to prolonged fame's influence on authenticity. In 2022-2023 tours, this manifested in shimmering, slowed arrangements and a charismatic yet self-aware delivery, sustaining headlining slots at festivals like 2023 amid divided fan reactions. Audience discussions highlight a split, with some perceiving the changes as arrogant pretension rather than artistic evolution, though empirical draw persists via sold-out arenas and repeat festival bookings.

Musical influences and experimentation

Turner's early musical influences rooted in and , including Oasis, whom he and drummer emulated by dressing up and performing as the band during a . These drew from acts like , shaping the raw, energetic sound of ' debut Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not (2006). As his career progressed, Turner expanded into eclectic sources, citing David Bowie's stylistic versatility and Serge Gainsbourg's (1971) for its narrative and bass tone, which influenced ' later albums. He incorporated elements from Leonard Cohen's songwriting and Dr. John's New Orleans , evident in the lounge-jazz textures of (2018). Black Sabbath's heavy riffs also impacted the harder-edged rock of AM (2013), blending with hip-hop cadences Turner admired in artists like . Experimentation intensified post-2013, when Turner rejected guitar-driven composition due to its failure to generate new ideas, opting instead for as the primary instrument. This pivot, starting with a piano in 2016, yielded Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino, a fusing cosmic lounge, orchestral swells, and film-noir lyricism inspired by sci-fi and historical pulp aesthetics. The approach persisted in The Car (2022), prioritizing sparse structures and string arrangements over traditional rock hooks to sustain creative momentum. Such adaptations addressed stagnation by realigning with instruments that sparked innovation, though they shifted focus from riff-centric accessibility to atmospheric narrative depth.

Personal life

Romantic relationships

Turner's first publicly noted romantic relationship was with British musician , the frontwoman of the band Totalizer, beginning around 2005. Bennett co-wrote the Arctic Monkeys single "" with Turner, developing lyrics during jam sessions, and the partnership ended in 2007 amid the band's rising fame. From 2007 to 2011, Turner dated British model and , forming a prominent indie celebrity couple frequently covered by tabloids and media. The relationship, which drew intense public scrutiny and contributed to Turner's wariness of media intrusion, influenced lyrical content in songs like "Piledriver Waltz," a waltz-time track from the 2011 soundtrack evoking personal intimacy and separation. Post-breakup, brief reconciliations were rumored in 2014, but no sustained reunion occurred, with the split highlighting tensions between Turner's creative process and external pressures. Subsequent relationships included American model Arielle Vandenberg from 2011 to 2014, during which they attended events like Coachella together, and Taylor Bagley from 2015 to 2018, marked by relative privacy and the joint adoption of a dog named Scooter. Since 2018, Turner has been in a relationship with French singer-songwriter and model Louise Verneuil, whom he met in Paris; the couple maintains a low public profile, with Verneuil occasionally appearing at Arctic Monkeys performances but avoiding joint interviews. As of October 2025, they remain together without children, and their partnership has coincided with Turner's more introspective songwriting, though Turner rarely discusses personal details explicitly. These dynamics underscore how romantic involvements have both inspired thematic depth in his work—such as reflections on love's transience—and amplified privacy conflicts amid persistent tabloid interest.

Lifestyle and residences

Turner relocated from his native to in the mid-2000s following the ' breakthrough success, establishing a primary base in the city to facilitate band activities and industry connections. By the early , he spent extended periods in , where the band recorded their 2013 album AM, though this was more temporary than a permanent residence. In the late , Turner acquired a property in , aligning with the band's U.S.-focused touring and recording phases, before selling or vacating it around 2020 to return to the . He now maintains homes in both and , the latter reflecting personal ties and enabling a trans-European lifestyle that supports creative work without over-reliance on any single location. These property choices underscore a of diversification and asset accumulation, bolstered by earnings from the ' sustained commercial output, including high-grossing tours and merchandise sales. Estimates place Turner's at around $25 million as of recent assessments, providing the to prioritize residences conducive to and inspiration over ostentatious displays. In daily habits, Turner favors introspective pursuits such as reading literature and watching films, which he has credited as fueling his artistic process amid the demands of touring. While he participates in occasional social events and —hallmarks of rock musician circles—he emphasizes routines that preserve focus and avoid the pitfalls of unchecked excess, opting for measured to sustain long-term output. This pragmatic approach contrasts with rock archetype excesses, prioritizing sustained creativity over transient indulgences.

Political and social views

Turner has historically maintained an apolitical public persona, with early output focusing on interpersonal and cultural observations rather than ideological positions. In a 2018 interview promoting , he indicated a shift toward greater comfort incorporating contemporary political elements into songwriting, specifically referencing the U.S. as a topic he felt more confident addressing indirectly. This approach aligns with his self-described observational style, influenced by personal experiences rather than or endorsements. Lyrics on the album have drawn interpretations linking them to events like and the Trump administration, such as "Golden Trunks," which alludes to a flawed "leader of the free world" in a context evoking democratic peril. Turner has not explicitly confirmed these as direct commentary, emphasizing instead narrative detachment over partisan intent. Absent overt endorsements or campaigns, his engagements remain subtle and non-committal, prioritizing artistic ambiguity. On fiscal matters, Turner and bandmates participated in the Liberty tax avoidance scheme in 2014, deferring liabilities on earnings estimated between £1.5 million and £3.7 million through legal investments marketed as compliant with rules. He later attributed the choice to misguided advice, while stressing consistent full and timely payments, reflecting pragmatic over anti-government . This stance counters framings of moral failing, as avoidance via structured vehicles was a widespread strategy among high earners until regulatory scrutiny intensified. Socially, Turner has voiced reservations about fame's erosive effects and media overreach, avoiding to sidestep performative pressures and futile disputes. He favors unmediated individual agency and merit-based narratives, critiquing collective hype in favor of authentic , as evident in his guarded approach to public life. No record exists of sustained involvement in social causes, underscoring a preference for private realism over public advocacy.

Controversies

Tax optimization and public backlash

In July 2014, revealed that all four members of —Alex Turner, , Nick O'Malley, and Jamie Cook—had invested in the avoidance scheme between 2005 and 2009. The strategy, promoted by financial advisors to high earners, involved purchasing contrived losses from offshore entities in to offset taxable income, enabling investors to defer or reduce liability on earnings routed through these structures. For , participation reportedly shielded up to £1.1 million in collective earnings, with individual fees of £38,000 to £84,000 paid to implement protections on sums ranging from £557,000 to £1.1 million. The disclosure prompted immediate media scrutiny and public criticism, framed by outlets such as —which emphasized the band's Sheffield working-class roots and portrayed the moves as a betrayal of their "men of the people" image—as emblematic of elite hypocrisy amid austerity measures. Fan reactions varied, with some invoking band lyrics like "What a scummy man" in online derision, though others defended it as lawful optimization advised by professionals and widespread among entertainers, including and in the same scheme. HMRC challenged Liberty's legitimacy, leading to settlements without prosecutions, as the arrangement constituted avoidance—legal structuring to minimize tax—rather than evasion. Alex Turner offered limited contemporary comment, but in a interview, he attributed involvement to "poor advice" and a "poor decision," clarifying that the band paid all taxes in full and on time after correcting the arrangement upon realizing its flaws. This incident highlights how systems, with rates exceeding 45% for top earners, incentivize such advisor-driven strategies as rational , a practice routine in industry despite selective media outrage that often conflates legal planning with failing. No further legal repercussions ensued, underscoring the scheme's technical compliance prior to retrospective scrutiny.

Accusations of arrogance and stylistic pretension

Alex Turner's onstage persona and artistic choices have drawn accusations of arrogance, particularly highlighted during the ' acceptance speech at the 2014 for their album AM. In the remarks, Turner mused, "That , eh? That , it just won't go away. It might hibernate from time to time, and sink back into the swamp, but it's always waiting there for you again," which critics and peers interpreted as a smug dismissal of modern music's diversity. frontman Gus Unger-Hamilton publicly labeled the speech "arrogant," reflecting broader perceptions of Turner's growing confidence bordering on amid the band's peak success. Turner subsequently explained the delivery as a product of nerves, intended to evoke rock's enduring essence for those unfamiliar with the term, rather than condescension. Stylistic pretension critiques intensified post-2013, as pivoted from the gritty, guitar-driven of their early career and AM toward lounge-like experimentation, evident in (2018) with its sparse piano, spoken-word verses, and retro-futuristic themes. Detractors, including outlets, have dismissed this as self-indulgent posturing, recycling influences without innovation and prioritizing affected cool over substance—"pretentious, and in all the wrong ways," as one analysis put it, contrasting Turner's perceived detachment from rock's raw energy. Fan communities exhibit stark divides: early enthusiasts praise the initial authenticity, while post-AM shifts prompt backlash framing Turner as a "try-hard lounge act," with forum discussions revealing widespread frustration over lyrics and delivery veering into perceived phoniness, such as elongated vowels and lounge swagger alienating core audiences. In a September Guardian interview promoting The Car, Turner articulated ease with eschewing pop conventions—"I'm comfortable with the idea that things don’t have to be a pop song"—underscoring his commitment to non-conformist structures amid ongoing evolution. This stance aligns with no formal retractions or concessions, positioning artistic above appeasing detractors; empirically, sustained commercial viability across phases suggests creative risks yield longevity, though causal factors like fame's insulating bubble may foster prioritization of internal vision over external validation, yielding polarizing yet substantive shifts rather than mere ego.

Other public disputes

In 2008, Arctic Monkeys frontman Alex Turner was involved in a physical altercation with The Kooks' singer Luke Pritchard during a festival performance, stemming from Pritchard's accusation that Turner had sabotaged their equipment. Pritchard later recounted kicking Turner in the face in response, describing the incident as a "weird row" rather than ongoing rivalry, with both bands maintaining professional distance thereafter. Turner also engaged in a verbal with member , criticizing Barlow's songwriting and public image in a 2006 interview as overly commercial and inauthentic. The comments, which included Turner calling Barlow a "wet" figure lacking edge, prompted backlash from Barlow's supporters, but Turner issued a public apology in 2011, expressing regret for the personal tone while standing by artistic critiques. The 2006 departure of original Arctic Monkeys bassist from the band generated internal frictions, initially framed as fatigue-related but later described by Nicholson as a "soul-destroying" process involving burnout and mismatched touring commitments. In a 2019 interview, Nicholson revealed the exit led to severe struggles, including , though he emphasized no lasting acrimony with Turner or remaining members, attributing resolution to time and personal growth. In 2018, Turner's comments on incorporating into ' lyrics—such as finding "" in themes like the U.S. —drew mixed responses from fans and critics, with some praising increased topicality and others viewing it as a departure from the band's apolitical roots. These remarks, made amid the release of , elicited minor online debates but subsided without escalation, as Turner clarified his intent was exploratory rather than activist.

Reception and legacy

Critical assessments

Arctic Monkeys' debut album, Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not (2006), received widespread critical acclaim for its raw, energetic portrayal of working-class , earning a score of 82/100 based on 25 reviews. Critics praised its unpolished lyricism and influences, with highlighting its punkish edge and comprehensive coverage of British musical touchstones. This enthusiasm reflected a consensus on the band's immediate authenticity, though some early noted hype overshadowing substance. Subsequent albums maintained strong but increasingly varied reception, with Metacritic scores ranging from 74 for (2011) to 81 for AM (2013), indicating consistent critical regard amid stylistic shifts toward psychedelic and lounge elements. (2009) scored 75/100, lauded for darker tones but critiqued for uneven experimentation. Later works like (2018) polarized reviewers, achieving 76/100 while drawing accusations of overambitious cleverness that prioritized concept over accessibility. The Car (2022) exemplified this divide, garnering an 80/100 critic score yet facing specific barbs for Turner's "gooey" lyricism and self-reflexive arrangements that risked pretension. noted the album's inward turn post-AM as innovative yet distant from the band's rock roots, while observed Turner treading a line between cryptic depth and excess. Such critiques underscore a trend where Turner's evolving sophistication earns respect for artistic risk but invites debate over diluted immediacy, with aggregate metrics affirming mid-to-high consistency rather than universal peaks.

Commercial impact and achievements


Arctic Monkeys, led by Alex Turner as primary lyricist and co-writer on all tracks, have generated over 8 million album sales worldwide, with their 2013 release AM accounting for more than 3 million units alone. The band's catalog has accumulated upwards of 25 billion streams on Spotify, reflecting enduring listener engagement two decades after their debut. This commercial trajectory stems from grassroots dissemination of early demos via online platforms, escalating to arena-level demand without reliance on extensive promotional machinery. Key milestones include the 2006 Mercury Prize win for debut album Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not, which sold nearly 3 million copies globally and certified 7x platinum in the UK. Multiple Brit Awards followed, including British Group in 2007 and 2014, affirming peak chart performance with successive number-one albums in the UK and atop global charts. AM debuted at number one in seven countries, including the US where it sold over 655,000 copies, and has surpassed 2 million combined sales in the UK as of 2024. Turner’s songwriting contributions, handling lyrics and melodic structures collaboratively with bandmates, underpin this output; no Arctic Monkeys album credits external writers. Recent stadium tours, such as the 2023 outing supporting The Car, consistently sold out major venues, with no evident erosion in ticket sales velocity indicating persistent commercial viability. Overall, these metrics quantify a progression from independent releases to multimillion-unit benchmarks, attributable to inherent artistic merit over transient trends.

Cultural influence and enduring debates

Arctic Monkeys, under Turner's leadership, contributed to the mid-2000s resurgence of guitar-driven rock in the by blending raw energy with sharp lyricism, drawing from influences like Oasis and to energize the indie scene. Their rapid ascent via demos demonstrated a pragmatic adaptation to , influencing subsequent UK acts such as The Courteeners and Royal Blood, who emulated the band's spiky guitar pop and sludgy riffs. This ripple extended to broader indie revivalism, with Turner's versatile songwriting—spanning kitchen-sink realism to —prompting younger bands to prioritize narrative depth over generic revivalism. Debates persist over Turner's stylistic evolutions, particularly the shift from the frenetic punk-infused sound of Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not (2006) to the lounge-inflected crooning on Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino (2018), which some critics and fans label as pretentious detachment from rock authenticity. Proponents argue these changes reflect genuine artistic maturation, incorporating diverse inspirations like Serge Gainsbourg and Scott Walker, rather than capitulation to commercial trends, countering "sellout" accusations by emphasizing sustained creative control amid label pressures. Such discussions highlight tensions between purist expectations of unchanging indie grit and the realism of long-term band adaptation, with Turner's persona—often caricatured as aloof—fueling perceptions of opportunism over organic genius. In the 2025 streaming landscape, Turner's influence endures through ' catalog amassing billions of plays, yet critiques question whether their post-2013 niche appeal—dominated by retrospective fandom rather than chart dominance—overstates his role as a rock innovator amid hip-hop and electronic shifts. Skeptics, including some online commentators, portray him as an overhyped opportunist who leveraged early hype without equivalent sustained output, while defenders cite his lyricism's causal depth in dissecting modern ennui as evidence of pragmatic realism over mythic "indie savior" narratives. These debates underscore a broader cultural realism: Turner's career trajectory reveals how empirical success in evolving tastes trumps ideological fidelity to genre origins, even as mainstream outlets, prone to nostalgic bias, amplify selective acclaim.

Discography

Arctic Monkeys albums

Alex Turner has been the lead vocalist, primary songwriter, and rhythm guitarist for all studio albums, with increasing emphasis on and keyboards in later works.
Album TitleRelease DateUK Albums Chart PeakUK BPI Certification
Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not23 January 2006#18× Platinum
23 April 2007#14×
24 August 2009#1
6 June 2011#1
AM9 September 2013#17×
11 May 2018#1Gold
The Car21 October 2022#2-
Turner co-wrote the majority of the tracks on each album, drawing from personal experiences and observations for the lyrics.

The Last Shadow Puppets releases


The Last Shadow Puppets, with Alex Turner serving as co-frontman providing lead vocals and co-writing songs alongside Miles Kane, released their debut album The Age of Understatement on April 21, 2008, through Domino Recording Company. The record emphasized orchestral arrangements inspired by 1960s pop and film scores, marking a departure from Turner's typical indie rock output with Arctic Monkeys. It debuted at number one on the UK Albums Chart, reflecting strong initial commercial reception. Preceding the album, the title track single "The Age of the Understatement" was issued on April 14, 2008, followed by other singles such as "Standing Next to Me." The project garnered a dedicated cult following for its sophisticated, chamber-pop style, though sales remained moderate compared to Turner's main band endeavors. The duo reconvened for a second album, Everything You've Come to Expect, released on April 1, 2016, also via Domino. Produced by David Sitek of TV on the Radio, it expanded the orchestral elements with additional session musicians, including string sections and brass, while Turner continued handling primary vocals and collaborative songwriting with Kane. The album similarly topped the UK Albums Chart upon release. Singles included "Bad Habits," "Miracle Aligner," and the title track, contributing to the band's sustained niche appeal without broader mainstream breakthroughs.

Solo and collaborative works

Turner's solo output remains sparse, with no full-length album released as of October 2025 despite longstanding rumors of one dating back to at least 2018. His primary solo endeavor is the EP , comprising original songs for the soundtrack of Richard Ayoade's 2010 coming-of-age film Submarine, based on Joe Dunthorne's novel. Issued on March 14, 2011, by , the EP includes six acoustic tracks: "Stuck on the Puzzle (Intro)," "Hiding Tonight," "Glass in the Park," "It's Hard to Get Around the Wind," "Stuck on the Puzzle," and "Piledriver Waltz." Recorded primarily with guitar and sparse piano or drums, it peaked at number 35 on the and charted in and . From , "Piledriver Waltz" was released as a single on March 21, 2011, serving as the EP's closer with its melancholic structure and lyrics evoking fleeting time. "It's Hard to Get Around the Wind" also appeared as a standalone single release tied to the project, emphasizing Turner's introspective folk-leaning style distinct from his band work. In collaborative efforts outside his bands, Turner has contributed under the pseudonym alongside and , yielding five tracks released as B-sides to singles between 2007 and 2011, including "Bad Woman," "The Bakery Song" (2009), and "Standing Next to Me" (2011). These informal recordings, often blending with lounge influences, highlight Turner's ties to Sheffield's music scene but remain ancillary to his main projects. Turner has also joined Hawley for live performances, such as a 2009 rendition of ' "Only Ones Who Know," though no dedicated joint studio releases beyond exist.

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  134. https://audiophix.com/why-did-andy-nicholson-leave-band-arctic-monkeys
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  145. https://chartmasters.org/most-streamed-artists-ever-on-spotify/
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  147. https://www.radiox.co.uk/features/where-are-the-mercury-prize-winners-now/
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  151. https://www.meer.com/en/72367-the-evolution-and-impact-of-the-arctic-monkeys
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  163. https://genius.com/artists/Arctic-monkeys/albums
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  165. https://www.officialcharts.com/artist/4018/last-shadow-puppets/
  166. https://www.dominomusic.com/releases/the-last-shadow-puppets/everything-youve-come-to-expect/deluxe-cd
  167. https://www.officialcharts.com/chart-news/the-last-shadow-puppets-scoop-second-number-1-album__14520/
  168. https://music.apple.com/us/album/submarine-ep/422325910
  169. https://www.officialcharts.com/artist/6806/alex-turner/
  170. https://beatsperminute.com/listen-alex-turner-piledriver-waltz/
  171. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KDVg2yNASUw
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