Tag: this

  • Listen To This: the stolen 8 foot gorilla ornament that has inspired a new song

    Listen To This: the stolen 8 foot gorilla ornament that has inspired a new song

    Have you heard the story of Gary the Gorilla?

    Gary the Gorilla

    Gary – an 8 foot tall ornament – dutifully welcomed visitors to a garden centre in Scotland for a decade before he was stolen last year. As you can see, he did his bit during the pandemic by wearing a face mask and has also been known to get into the Christmas spirit by donning a Santa hat.

    Gary – well, most of him anyway, as the thieves had sawn a bit of him off – was reunited with his owner, a Mr Andrew Scott (not the guy who played Moriarty in Sherlock or the ‘hot priest’ in Fleabag), in March this year.

    This truly bizarre crime feels uniquely British. As we know from Netflix, the US is full of incredible true crime stories that usually involve murder. Here, we get an 8ft Gorilla ornament nicked from the entrance to a garden centre.

    It’s a story that has captured the imagination of one of my favourite bands, Blossoms. They have announced that their new album will be released in September and that it is named after our gorilla friend.

    Blossoms: Gary – Proper Music

    The band’s frontman, Tom Ogden, wrote the album’s title track about the story of Gary the Gorilla and used some of the lines from news reports about him in his lyrics. He mentions that ‘Mr. Scott hasn’t seen him since’ and the second verse goes like this:

    I heard there’s been a breakthrough
    A registration plate
    His movements they were able to track
    But, you see, hе comes from a fairly extendеd family
    Don’t know how many brothers he has

    This refers to an actual incident:

    Blossoms also look like they had a lot of fun recording the two videos that we’ve seen so far from the album. The band have concoted a story where they are Gary’s captors – but they have been sent on a special mission by, er, Everton manager Sean Dyche. In the follow-up, Mr Scott appears to be played by Rick Astley!

    All that’s left for you to do is watch the video and listen to the song. I think it’s great, I hope you do too.

  • Listen To This: Suck It and See by Arctic Monkeys

    Arctic Monkeys in 2011

    There was a lot riding on the fourth studio album from Arctic Monkeys. 2009’s Humbug had seen the band adopt a daring new sound that divided fans, a big departure from the record breaking debut and the follow up that capitalised on its incredible success. The next effort was pivotal – would they blend everything they’d learned into a hit record, or alienate the people that had made them popular in the first place once and for all?

    In the gap between the Arctics’ third and fourth albums, frontman Alex Turner wrote and recorded six original songs for the soundtrack to Submarine, a film directed by Richard Ayoade – known as Moss from The I.T. Crowd – who had been behind the videos for Arctic Monkeys songs Fluorescent Adolescent and Cornerstone. I was made aware of it by Turner’s involvement but I loved the style, the story and the performances and it has become my favourite film.

    By 2010, Turner was living in New York with his then-girlfriend, the TV presenter and model Alexa Chung. It was there that he wrote most of the twelve songs that would make up the fourth Arctic Monkeys album. In Los Angeles, the band recorded live takes of each track – a different process to Humbug, where they used overdubbing.

    As for the title? It could have been The Rain-Shaped Shimmer Trap, inspired by the ‘colourful’ names often given to guitar fuzz pedals. According to drummer Matt Helders, ‘it were genuinely gonna be Thriller for, about… a week’. Eventually, they settled on the title of the album’s eleventh track to label the entire record: Suck It and See was born.

    The rather sparse cover of Suck It and See – some American retailers found the title offensive and covered it with a sticker

    Track listing

    She’s Thunderstorms
    Black Treacle
    Brick by Brick
    The Hellcat Spangled Shalalala
    Don’t Sit Down ‘Cause I’ve Moved Your Chair
    Library Pictures
    All My Own Stunts
    Reckless Serenade
    Piledriver Waltz
    Love Is a Laserquest
    Suck It and See
    That’s Where You’re Wrong

    Released on 6th June 2011, more than 82,000 copies of Suck It and See were sold in its first week, comfortably knocking Lady Gaga off the top of the albums chart and giving the Arctics another number one. The songs are much less dark than those on Humbug, the band returning to a more accessible pop sound – Q magazine described it as ‘the sound of a band drawing back the curtains and letting the sunshine in’. They remained unafraid of trying something new, however.

    The Hellcat Spangled Shalalala was the first Arctic Monkeys song I ever heard played over the PA system in a football ground, a sign of how mainstream this album was. Brick by Brick featured Matt Helders on vocals, with Turner only belting out the chorus. Some songs were inspired by such innocuous moments as someone telling Turner in the studio ‘don’t sit down, ’cause I’ve moved your chair’. Piledriver Waltz was written for the Submarine soundtrack and was re-recorded with the full band for the album.

    Turner’s insightful lyrics are still very much part of the package. On All My Own Stunts, he sings ‘Been watching cowboy films on gloomy afternoons/Tinting the solitude’, a possible reference to the long days in New York waiting for his girlfriend to come home. The excellent Love Is a Laserquest contains my favourite lyrics on the album:

    And do you still think love is a laserquest?
    Or do you take it all more seriously?
    I've tried to ask you this in some daydreams that I've had
    But you're always busy being make-believe
    
    And do you look into the mirror to remind yourself you're there?
    Or have somebody's goodnight kisses got that covered?
    When I'm not being honest, I pretend that you were just some lover

    Matt Helders has a lot to thank Suck It and See for – it was while recording the video for the title track that he met model Breana McDow. The couple had a daughter in 2015 and were married in 2016, though sadly divorced in 2019.

    Matt Helders and Breana McDow became a couple after shooting this video together

    Suck It and See was another important step for the Arctic Monkeys after Humbug, and paved the way for the huge success of AM that followed.

  • This week in the Euros #2… and #3

    For some reason, I failed to write about the second week of Euro 2020. Having made this great declaration of rounding up each week of the tournament, skipping one when it only lasts for four is poor form. Apologies. Let’s get back on track.

    England beat Germany in a knockout match for the first time since 1966

    Here’s what happened in the second week

    Since my last post, Scotland had their little moment with a heroic 0-0 draw with England (sarcasm is the lowest form of wit) before losing to Croatia and exiting the tournament. Their first major tournament in 23 years was over in eight days, and they’d scored just one goal.

    Hungary held world champions France to a draw before Germany brought their campaign to life with a 4-2 dismantling of Euro 2016 winners Portugal. On Sunday 20th June the final round of group games began with Switzerland sending Turkey – who some of the pundits had picked as their ‘dark horses’ – home winless, while Italy kept up their 100% record with a narrow victory over Wales. The Welsh didn’t mind, though, as they went through to the last 16 along with the Azzurri.

    In Group B, a stirring performance from Denmark saw them thrash Russia 4-1 in Copenhagen, marking a delightful fightback from the trauma of Christian Eriksen’s cardiac arrest and sending them through. At one point it looked like Teemu Pukki and Finland might sneak through but their defeat to Belgium coupled with the Danish result brough their first major tournament to an end at the group stage. On the same day in Group C, unfancied Austria found a way into the second round by beating Ukraine, while plucky North Macedonia bowed out to the flying Netherlands.

    Denmark were superb in beating Russia 4-1 to make it into the second round

    England secured their passage through the group without conceding a goal by beating the Czech Republic at Wembley. Having finished top, they knew they would face the runners up of the feared Group F. The final round of games in that group were thrilling, topsy-turvy affairs – at various stages all four teams occupied second place. Eventually, a pair of 2-2 draws meant that it would be the old enemy Germany who would face England. In the other group, disappointing Poland were knocked out after a 3-2 defeat to Sweden, while Euro 2008 champions Spain reminded everyone what they were capable of with a 5-0 thumping of Slovakia.

    With a 24 team tournament moving into a knockout round of 16 sides, only 8 actually took their leave after the group stage. As well as the top two from each group, the four best third placed sides also got through – Finland and Slovakia were the unfortunate ones to miss out.

    The Welsh are sent packing

    Euro 2016 was the first time since the 1958 World Cup that Wales had appeared at a major tournament, and they memorably made it all the way to the semi-finals before being beaten by the eventual winners Portugal. Having got through the group stage the Welsh had hopes of emulating that achievement. Denmark, however, had other ideas and on a chastening evening in Amsterdam ran out 4-0 winners. The scoreline was a tad harsh (it was only 2-0 until the 88th minute, and Wales received a very dubious red card in stoppage time) but it was a sad end for a proud nation. Their captain and talisman Gareth Bale was rather rudely asked on the pitch immediately afterwards if he would be retiring from international football – the 31-year-old decided the question wasn’t worthy of an answer and simply walked away.

    It took Italy extra time to finally overcome Austria. Former Stoke and West Ham striker Marko Arnautovic thought he had given the underdogs the lead, only for his headed goal to be disallowed by the VAR for offside. Eventually Italy’s quality found a way through and they scored twice in the extra time period, though they did concede their first goal of the tournament with six minutes to go. Austria couldn’t find an equaliser but left Euro 2020 with their heads held high.

    It was a bad day for Gareth Bale and Wales as they were knocked out by Denmark

    The Dutch despair and the champions bow out

    The Netherlands were the favourites going into their last 16 tie with the Czech Republic. Having failed to qualify for both Euro 2016 and the 2018 World Cup, the Oranje had been a welcome addition to the tournament. However, in a cagey game, it was the red card shown to centre half Matthijs de Ligt in the second half that gave the Czechs the impetus. The referee, with the help of VAR, decided that de Ligt’s handball had denied a clear goalscoring opportunity. The Juventus player was sent off, the Czechs scored twice and the Dutch were out.

    Also on their way out were defending champions Portugal, who were beaten by Belgium in a game far more entertaining than the 1-0 scoreline suggests. Half time was approaching when Thorgan Hazard – brother of Eden – curled in from outside the box. Despite their best efforts in the second half, the Portugese couldn’t find a way back, and you have to wonder if Cristiano Ronaldo – who will be 39 by the time of the next one in 2024 – has played his last match at a Euros.

    Manic Monday

    If there is a more exciting day of this tournament than Monday 28th June it would have to be really special. The first game saw 2018 World Cup finalists Croatia take on Spain, and it looked like the Spaniards had sealed their place in the quarter finals with a 77th minute goal from Manchester City’s Ferran Torres putting them 3-1 up. The Croatians weren’t about to give up, however, and a 92nd minute equaliser from Mario Pasalic took it into extra time. You might have thought the momentum would be with Croatia after that but, alas, Spain scored twice in the first period of extra time to finally win 5-3.

    The second match of the day, between France and Switzerland in Bucharest, had a lot to live up to – and it did. Haris Seferovic gave the Swiss a shock lead fifteen minutes in, and they were still leading into the second half when they were awarded a penalty. Defender Ricardo Rodriguez took it, but the chance to give his side an astonishing 2-0 lead went begging as Hugo Lloris of Spurs saved his spot kick. Within four minutes of that failure to convert the penalty, France were in the lead. Karim Benzema – not a nice man – scored twice as the world champions started to show why they were most people’s favourites for the tournament. With fifteen minutes remaining, a fantastic strike from Manchester United midfielder Paul Pogba seemed to put the tie beyond doubt.

    Switzerland pulled one back through Seferovic’s second headed goal of the game, and then in the 90th minute substitute Mario Gavranovic finished superbly to spark wild scenes of celebration. It was 3-3, and just like Croatia v Spain, the game was going into extra time. Unlike Croatia v Spain, neither side could find a goal in the additional 30 minutes and so the first penalty shootout of Euro 2020 was upon us. Switzerland scored all five of theirs. France scored their first four, but their superstar Kylian Mbappe had his saved by goalkeeper Yann Sommer to seal a remarkable victory for the Swiss. In the space of two days the defending European champions, the World Cup winners and the World Cup runners up had all been knocked out.

    Yann Sommer saves Kylian Mbappe’s penalty to send France home

    England finally beat Germany in a knockout match

    The German football team is not what it once was. Having won the 2014 World Cup, they were eliminated at the semi-final stage of Euro 2016 by France and suffered an embarrassing group stage exit at the 2018 World Cup, losing to Mexico and South Korea. In the run up to this tournament they had been beaten at home by North Macedonia and thrashed 6-0 by Spain. But they are still Germany, and England hardly ever seem to beat Germany when it matters. The last time they had managed to do it in a knockout match was the 1966 World Cup final. England’s exits at Italia ’90, Euro ’96 and the 2010 World Cup had all come at the hands of the Germans. Despite possessing the best squad of players in years it just didn’t feel like it could possibly happen for England.

    Well then. At a raucous Wembley containing 45,000 fans, the home side showed their opponents plenty of respect in the first half, being very cautious at the back and hardly venturing forward. On the stroke of half time, a tackle on Raheem Sterling saw the ball loop towards Harry Kane to the left of the German net. The England captain was presented with a golden opportunity to score his first goal of the tournament, but his attempt to take the ball past keeper Manuel Neuer gave defender Mats Hummels the time to put in a crucial tackle. With 75 minutes on the clock, thoughts were already drifting to the prospect of a penalty shootout. But the introduction of Jack Grealish as a substitute had made England more of a threat going forward, and the Aston Villa man laid the ball off for Luke Shaw to drill it across the box, where Sterling was waiting to tap in. Wembley has rarely been louder. England were in front and with less than a quarter of an hour to go.

    Sterling very nearly went from hero to zero as a careless pass backwards allowed Chelsea’s Kai Havertz to put Thomas Muller through on goal. Muller has often been a thorn in the English side but on this occasion he rolled his shot just wide of Jordan Pickford’s right hand post. ‘That never happens!’ bellowed BBC commentator Guy Mowbray. Written in the stars? Maybe. Shortly afterwards, Grealish found himself in a crossing position and played the perfect ball onto the forehead of Kane, who expertly guided it into the ground. The ball bounced up, out of the reach of Neuer and into the net. After a few seconds where no one could believe what they were seeing, the celebrations reached another level as it dawned on us that, this time, it was happening. Germany had no time to make a comeback. England had beaten them in a knockout game for the first time in 55 years.

    The fans inside Wembley marvel at England’s victory over Germany

    England would play the winners of the game that kicked off later that evening between Sweden and Ukraine. Manchester City left back Oleksandr Zinchenko put Ukraine ahead with a thumping finish but Emil Forsberg equalised for Sweden before half time. There were no goals in the second half so extra time was needed – the fourth of the eight knockout matches to go to the additional half an hour. Sweden’s Marcus Danielson was sent off in the first period for a nasty tackle on striker Artem Besedin, a tackle which has since ruled the Ukrainian out for six months. Extra time was an awfully scrappy, stop-start affair which by the end of it saw Ukraine looking like the walking wounded. Just as penalties looked nailed on, Artem Dovbyk headed in an excellent Zinchenko cross to win it for Ukraine and break Swedish hearts.

    The Italians look like the real deal

    After a two day break, the quarter finals got underway with Switzerland taking on Spain in St Petersburg. Spain took an early lead when Jordi Alba’s half volley from a corner was deflected in by the unfortunate Swiss midfielder Denis Zakaria. The Spaniards created plenty of chances but couldn’t add to their advantage against a dogged Switzerland side. Liverpool’s Xherdan Shaqiri equalised in the 68th minute, and despite Remo Freuler being shown a straight red card for a bad tackle thirteen minutes from time, the Swiss held out to take the game all the way to penalties. Sergio Busquets hit the post with the first Spanish penalty, giving Switzerland hopes of repeating their epic victory over France four days earlier, but they missed three of their spot kicks to give Mikel Oyarzarbal the opportunity to put Spain into the semi-finals.

    Later on, a pulsating first half saw Italy go in at the break 2-1 up against Belgium, ranked number one in the world. Nicolo Barella and Lorenzo Insigne scored excellent goals to give their side a two goal advantage, but a penalty in first half stoppage time from Romelu Lukaku kept the Belgians in it. To some surprise there were no goals in the second half but there was some superb football on display from both sides. Italy have been tight at the back, with elder statesmen Giorgio Chiellini (36) and Leonardo Bonucci (34) in the centre, and thrilling to watch going forward. Federico Chiesa seems to shoot every time he gets the merest glimpse of the goal, and this performance really set Italy out as the favourites to go on and win the tournament. As for Belgium, their much vaunted ‘golden generation’ are left trophyless once more, and with an ageing squad and manager Roberto Martinez leaving their chance to win something may have passed them by.

    So there we have it – you are now up to date with Euro 2020. As I write this it’s Saturday afternoon and the other two quarter finals, Czech Republic v Denmark and England v Ukraine, are a few hours away. The next time I write one of these will (hopefully) be just before the final. It’s been a brilliant tournament. What has it got left in store for us?

  • Watch This: Blossoms – Back To Stockport

    As much as I love football, I am getting a bit tired of the daily dose of games beamed live from empty grounds. I’m really starting to miss crowds now. A living, breathing crowd adds so much to sport. Bordered by empty seats, even the biggest games feel like no big deal – Liverpool v Manchester United might as well have been Tranmere v Oldham.

    Last night Arsenal played Newcastle, and, while I would usually have the game on in the background while doing other things, this time I decided to watch something more interesting. I watched Blossoms – Back To Stockport.

    It’s a documentary film about the band Blossoms, exploring their origins and showing their preparations for a big homecoming gig in front of 15,000 people at Edgeley Park, home of Stockport County Football Club, which took place on 22nd June 2019.

    Blossoms. Left to right: guitarist Josh Dewhurst, bass player Charlie Salt, lead singer Tom Ogden, drummer Joe Donovan and keyboard player Myles Kellock

    In case you haven’t heard of them, Blossoms are a five-piece band from the aforementioned town of Stockport, near Manchester. The sort of music they make is probably best defined as psychadelic-indie-rock-pop. They came fourth on the BBC’s Sound of 2016 list, the broadcaster’s annual pick of musicians to listen out for in the year ahead. I first heard about them as I am a listener of Radio X, who included Blossoms on their similar Great X-Pectations list, and gave a lot of radio play to their single Charlemagne.

    Charlemagne, the breakthrough single for Blossoms

    I was immediately drawn to the band I think, in part, because there was a certain groove, a funk, to their songs – a sound that manages to simultaneously feel both modern and retro. I respect the fact that the frontman Tom Ogden writes all the songs and they all seem genuinely great guys who are living the dream. If you know anything about me, you’ll know that I am a total devotee to Arctic Monkeys, so you can imagine how delighted I was to hear in the film that Blossoms started off doing Arctic Monkeys covers and described Alex Turner as an ‘idol’.

    The film is made to a very high standard. It goes in-depth on the back stories of the five members of the band (discovering that all but one of them is younger than me made me feel old), who go against the grain of many rock bands of the past by showing themselves to be best mates in a way that they simply couldn’t put on for the cameras. Footage of the Edgeley Park gig runs as a thread throughout, and there are even little animated inserts to go along with whatever story one of them is telling at that moment.

    In Ogden, the band have a figurehead who demonstrates great showmanship on stage – the long hair and the 70s suits – but away from it he’s a quiet guy who just likes walking his dog. The drummer, Joe Donovan, has been Ogden’s friend since they were at school together and is a ball of energy brilliantly described by the others as ‘like having a fan of the band who is in the band’. Bassist Charlie Salt is a sort of older brother figure (he was born in 1991 for Christ’s sake!) who has the air of someone who would be able to charm his way into anything. Myles Kellock plays the keyboards, but seemingly only half as much as he plays video games – there’s one shot in the film where he’s playing what looks like Mario Kart at the back of a recording studio while the others are working on a song. His keyboards certainly contribute greatly to that modern/retro sound I described earlier, though.

    That leaves my favourite member of the band, lead guitarist Josh Dewhurst. He has a quality that I admire a lot, and that is being funny with a straight face. He doesn’t go out of his way to make people laugh, he just has a dry wit that makes him naturally funny. I’m someone who relies a lot on sarcasm so I can relate. In one scene, the band are being fitted out with the suits they will wear on stage at the big gig and Dewhurst tells a hilarious story about how he’s had to have pockets made on his trousers because, according to the tailor, ‘you don’t have an arse’. He tells it in such a way that makes Ogden in the background crack up, as did I. Dewhurst is also an incredibly talented musician. On the most recent Blossoms album, Foolish Loving Spaces, on the track Your Girlfriend the cowbell-type sound at the beginning was produced by Dewhurst hitting the wheel of a car.

    Your Girlfriend, from the 2020 Blossoms album Foolish Loving Spaces

    The shots of 15,000 people packed tightly onto the Edgeley Park pitch feel like a window into a different world, one in which no one knew what social distancing was. As hard as it is to believe at the moment, those days will return but for now this film is a wonderful tonic for these locked down times.

    I urge you to both give Blossoms a listen and watch the film. Their music appeals to all ages – I gave my mum one of their albums as a present last year and she’s had it on almost constantly in her car ever since – and the film is inspiring, in that a group of lads who a few years ago were playing to fifty people in pubs are now headlining stadium gigs. Watch the trailer below and the film is on Amazon Prime.

    The trailer for Blossoms – Back To Stockport
  • Listen To This: Favourite Worst Nightmare by Arctic Monkeys

    It was only the year 2007 and yet it had already been quite the ride for Arctic Monkeys. Entering their fifth year since forming, they already had two number one singles and the fastest selling debut album by a band to their name. The Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, even claimed to be a fan – though when pushed he couldn’t name any of their songs. The time had come to tackle the difficult second album.

    On 23rd April 2007, Favourite Worst Nightmare was released. Not as raw as the previous year’s Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not, the twelve songs feel more polished. Alex Turner’s superb observational lyrics go a little deeper and branch out further than musings on Sheffield’s nightlife.

    The album opens with Brianstorm, a loud and confident start which apparently describes a man the band met backstage after a gig in Tokyo. ‘Brian’ left such a big impression on the Monkeys – ”Cause we can’t take our eyes / Off the t-shirt and ties combination?’ – that he became the subject of a song. Brianstorm has become an absolute staple of their live sets, a real crowd pleaser, and they are still performing it now. Here it is from Lollapalooza in Argentina in 2019:

    Next comes Teddy Picker. If you’ve ever been to one of the arcades at the seaside, you’ll know what a teddy picker is – those machines that have a claw you try to grab prizes with. Turner uses those teddy pickers as a metaphor for the pursuit of fame and the downside of it. ‘And it’s the thousandth time that it’s even bolder / Don’t be surprised when you get bent over / They told you, but you were gagging for it’. It’s basically a warning to be careful what you wish for.

    Track three is D Is For Dangerous, the chorus of which gives the album its title:

    ‘D is for delightful
    And try and keep your trousers on
    I think you should know you’re his favourite worst nightmare’

    Love is certainly not an unexplored topic in music, but I have always admired the slightly different way Alex Turner approaches the subject. Like in the first album’s Mardy Bum, which describes a row between a couple, D Is For Dangerous is about being in love with someone you know it won’t be easy to deal with.

    Matt Helders, Alex Turner, Nick O’Malley and Jamie Cook in 2007

    The album moves on to a song about casual sex. Balaclava, with its catchy bass throughout, is all about not becoming emotionally attached to the girl you’ve just pulled. ‘The confidence is the balaclava’.

    Next is my favourite song on the album, Fluorescent Adolescent. It’s probably the best known one on it, and the one you’re most likely to have heard somewhere else (it was, for example, on the soundtrack to The Inbetweeners). It starts with two guitars crashing into each other, leading into Turner’s lyrics about getting older. I can do no better than to relay the whole of the first verse:

    ‘You used to get it in your fishnets
    Now you only get it in your night dress
    Discarded all the naughty nights for niceness
    Landed in a very common crisis
    Everything’s in order in a black hole
    Nothing seems as pretty as the past though
    That Bloody Mary’s lacking in Tabasco
    Remember when you used to be a rascal?’

    Turner was just 20 years old when he wrote that with the help of his then-girlfriend Johanna Bennett.

    The band slowed the song down and added a snippet of Dion’s Only You Know to it to make for a highlight of their headline set at Reading in 2009:

    Like most albums, Favourite Worst Nightmare has a slower tune in the form of Only Ones Who Know. I would almost describe the guitars on this song as haunting. It’s great to listen to with headphones on. It feels like a sad song, and sets this album apart from their debut, which had a cheekier tone throughout.

    In Do Me a Favour Turner once again turns the classic break up song on its head by writing it from the perspective of the person in the wrong. It starts with Matt Helders thundering on his drums and describes, in Turner’s words, ‘a goodbye’.

    ‘It’s the beginning of the end
    The car went up the hill and disappeared around the bend
    Ask anyone, they’ll tell you that it’s these times that it tends
    To start to break in half, to start to fall apart, hold on to your heart’

    We are into the second half of the album and This House is a Circus signals a change in tone for the album. A wild night out is described in what Turner calls his favourite song from the record.

    Next, it’s If You Were There, Beware and we are back onto the topic of fame. In this one, Turner talks about how annoyed he is at the way the media treats his loved ones. In terms of the instrumentation it’s the clearest hint we get of what was to come on the third Monkeys album, Humbug, which represented a major shift in sound for the band. Lyrically, it seems Turner’s girlfriend is being hounded by the paparazzi:

    ‘If you were there, beware the serpent soul pitchers
    Can’t you sense she was never meant to fill column inches
    Ain’t you had enough? What you’re trying to dig up
    Isn’t there to be dug; the thieves help the thugs
    As they’re trying to beat the good grace of a sweetheart
    Out to the point she’ll comply’

    The bad thing in Do The Bad Thing is having an affair, and Old Yellow Bricks is all about finally getting out of your hometown and realising that the rest of the world isn’t up to much after all. An interesting one, given that nowadays two of the band live in Los Angeles while the other two have settled back down in their native Sheffield.

    The album closes with 505, a song recently named the best of all Arctic Monkeys songs in a radio station poll and a track the band have used to bring the curtain down on countless live performances over the years. It starts off with the sound of an organ, the same chords you can hear in the Western film The Good, The Bad and The Ugly, and suddenly ups the tempo in the final third of what Turner described as ‘the first proper love song we’ve done’. Additional guitar for this track was provided by Miles Kane, who would form the supergroup The Last Shadow Puppets with Turner later in 2007.

    So there we have it – the twelve songs that made the difficult second album something of a breeze for Arctic Monkeys. Favourite Worst Nightmare went straight to the top of the album chart and secured the band their first headliner slot at Glastonbury. I will leave you with the band’s brilliant performance of 505 from Glastonbury 2013.