Some curiosities about Alex Turner that you might not know!
Now that the Arctic Monkeys are back on tour, which is always good news, it's time to talk about its charismatic frontman Alex Turner who seems to have left behind the rockabilly style of recent years but continues to arouse passions wherever he goes. In fact my girlfriend herself wouldn't hesitate for a moment to dump me for this sickeningly talented British. I don't blame her. In any case if you too have wet dreams about Alex, here are a few interesting curiosities about him that you might not know!
01 - Born with no siblings on January 6, 1986 in Sheffield as Alexander David Turner, his mother taught German and his father taught physics and music at Rawmarsh Community School.
Alex Turner with his parents (and Alexa Chung)
02 - Alex's father played the saxophone, clarinet and piano and he was a member of different jazz bands. He was the one encouraging Alex to take piano lessons at the age of 8 and the one buying him his first guitar at the age of 15.
03 - Alex Turner school teachers described him as someone talented for sports such as basketball but quite reserved, different, bright and clever. Alex was indeed very shy back then and he initially didn’t want to be the frontman of the band. Reason why the original singer back in 2002 was a fellow student named Glyn Jones.
04 - Alex attended his first gig in 2002 when he saw The Vines in Manchester. One year later, together with Matt Helders and Andy Nicholson he traveled to London to see The Strokes play at Alexandra Palace where they met Libertines’ member Pete Doherty in the audience.
05 - Alex worked as a barman in Sheffield’s legendary club The Boardwalk, reason why Arctic Monkeys named their first demo “Under the Boardwalk”. This music venue opened in the 30’s as a jazz club and it’s where The Clash played their first ever gig.
06 - Oliver Sykes and Alex Turner went together to school and college in their hometown Sheffield. No wonder that Bring Me The Horizon’s frontman has always been vocal about Arctic Monkeys being one of his favorite bands.
Alex Turner and Oliver Sykes
07 - When they were still in High School, Matt Helders started dating a girl named Lauren Bradwell. Shortly after she dumped Arctic Monkeys’ drummer and started dating Alex Turner. This relationship inspired “Bigger Boys and Stolen Sweethearts”, one of Arctic Monkeys’ first ever singles.
08 - Despite being their very first hit and the song that made them famous, Alex does not like “I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor” having said about the song: “It’s a bit shit. The words are rubbish. It could be a big song, but I’d hate to be just known for that song because it’s crap.”
09 - The song "Fluorescent Adolescent", usually described as a ballad about sex, ageing and nostalgia for youth, goes about a woman who dreams of her youth while her current sex life is unsatisfying and boring. The song, released as the second single from Arctic Monkeys second studio album “Favorite Worst Nightmare” (2007) was co-written by Alex Turner and his girlfriend at the time Johanna Bennet (now married to Kings of Leon lead guitarist Matthew Followill) in a hotel room while they were playing crossword puzzles.
10 - In 2007, together with Miles Kane (The Rascals), James Ford (Simian Mobile Disco) and Zach Dawes (Mini Mansions) he started the supergroup (a supergroup is a musical group whose members are successful as solo artists or as members of other successful groups) ‘Last Shadow Puppets’. Over the years they have released two studio albums.
11 - In 2011 Alex Turner released his debut solo EP, consisting of six original songs for the film Submarine. In his first effort as a solo artist, Turner changed his habitual rock style and delivered five different acoustic songs. The song "Piledriver Waltz" was later re-recorded by Arctic Monkeys, for their fourth album “Suck It and See”.
12 - Today Alex is considered one of the best lyricists of his generation and although he didn’t write poetry in school, it was then when his English teacher introduced him to British “punk poet” John Cooper Clarke’s poetry in class. Alex paid tribute to the “punk poet” and his great inspiration to his writing, adding music to one of his poems in what today’s one of Arctic Monkeys most famous songs, “I Wanna Be Yours”.
13 - The songs “She’s Thunderstorms” and “Suck it And See about her” are about Alexa Chung, the British fashion designer and long time girlfriend of Alex Turner. It would be another girlfriend, this time American actress Arielle Vandenberg who would inspire Alex to write the song Arabella.
14 - After six years living in LA, where according to his own words he moved because “It’s built on rock’n’roll so the best studios and equipment are there. Well, that and the fact that the sun always shines and you can ride your motorcycle in December” since 2020 he is now back in London because of his girlfriend, singer-songwriter Louise Verneuil who wanted to be closer to France, where she has her own career.
