December 25, 2007 10:30

Arctic Monkeys pay tribute to James Brown at Christmas

'He was super bad' say Alex Turner and co.

Photo Gallery: Arctic Monkeys

Arctic Monkeys have paid tribute to the late James Brown this Christmas, a year on from his death.

Brown died on December 25, 2006, aged 73.

The band explained how they had paid tribute to Brown when he was alive, taking the stage to the sound of one of his songs.

“We were big fans of James Brown,” bassist Nick O’Malley told NME.COM.

Frontman Alex Turner added: “The first ever gig we did, we walked onstage to ‘The Payback’. And at college I had a pair of jeans I’d written on in red marker, ‘I’ve got soul and I’m super bad’.”

“It was one of those things [Brown’s death] when you heard, you didn’t want to believe it,” O’Malley continued. “A bit like Steve Irwin.”

For the full interview with Arctic Monkeys, get the bumper Christmas issue of NME, on newsstands now.