50 incredibly geeky facts about Arctic Monkeys

1
 

Intriguing continuity alert: explaining ‘Humbug’’s title, Alex Turner said it was named after the hard boiled sweet. He said, “You’ve got to suck it and see”. Two years on, ‘Suck It And See’ is also the name of their new album.

2
 

Influences on ‘Suck It And See’ included country music’s Johnny Cash, George Jones and Patsy Cline.

3
 

Alex Turned was named the 16th ‘Richest Brit Under 30’ last year, with a fortune of £7.5 million, just below Cheryl Cole and Amy Winehouse.

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4
 

The first track Josh Homme heard of ‘Humbug’, before agreeing to produce the majority of the album, was a demo of ‘Dance Little Liar’.

5
 

Radiohead’s Thom Yorke hit out against the band’s success, saying: “The fact that (the) poor Arctic Monkeys are getting so much attention is purely based on the fact that the mainstream music business is such a bunch of fucking retards as far as I’m concerned.”

6
 

We don’t think the band were bothered. Matt Helders said he once ‘nearly fell asleep at the wheel’ after listening to a Radiohead album.

7
 

Of his songwriting process behind ‘Humbug’, Alex Turner said: “I wrote a lot during the middle of the night. I’d wake up, jot things down, then get back to sleep. And some of them became songs about that time of day, when you’re not as alert.”

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8
 

The Kills’ Alison Mosshart helped write (and provides backing vocals for) ‘Humbug’s ‘The Fire And The Thud’.

9
 

Matt Helders has been known to write messages on electrical tape and tape them to his bass drum instead of a band logo. Phrases he has written include: ‘Guilty Feet Have Got No Rhythm’, ‘The Funk Might Fracture Your Nose’ and ‘Agile Beast’.

10
 

‘Fluorescent Adolescent’ was co-written by Alex Turner’s then girlfriend Johanna Bennett. It was penned when the two were on a Mediterranean holiday. The two were reminiscing about characters they knew at school.

11
 

When asked why he got Alex Turner to write songs for his film Submarine, Richard Ayoade said (with a large dose of sarcasm): “It was him or Jay Kay (or Jamiroquai). It actually came down to a coin toss in the end. It was the only fair way to do it.”

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12
 

Jamie Cook still plays for his local team, Packhorse FC.

13
 

Last Shadow Puppet and now solo star Miles Kane plays guitar on the studio version of ‘505’ and ‘The Bakery’.

14
 

Lauren Socha who played ‘Nina’ in the band’s film Scummy Man went on to star in Misfits.

15
 

Matt Helders is inspired by Led Zeppelin’s deceased drummer John Bonham. He said Bonham was “my biggest hero. I think he just inspires me to play drums in general.”

16
 

In 2007, the band joked they wanted Girls Aloud’s Sarah Harding to join the band. “Third album, we’ll get Sarah Harding to front this band,” he said at the time. Sadly, that never happened.

17
 

Matt Helders famously joined P Diddy’s Dirty Money band for a performance on Friday Night With Jonathan Ross.

18
 

‘Suck It And See’ briefly had the working title of ‘Thriller’.

19
 

Josh Homme joined the band for a gig at Pappy and Harriet’s in California

20
 

Alex Turner has said that his favourite album is ‘Rubber Soul’ by The Beatles.

21
 

The lyric in ‘I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor’ (“Your name isn’t Rio, but I don’t care for sand”) is a reference to the Duran Duran song ‘Rio’.

22
 

Matt Helders released his cover of Livin’ Joy’s ‘Dreamer’ with singer Nesreen Shah on his ‘Late Night Tales’ compilation.

23
 

When asked what Madonna song they would, if forced, cover Alex Turner said ‘Holiday’, Matt Helders said ‘Beautiful Stranger’.

24
 

Before the band premiered ‘Crying Lightning’ on Radio 1, Alex Turner told Zane Lowe: “This was deemed the best signifier of the record. It was a favourite during recording.”

25
 

‘Potion Approaching’ was allegedly inspired by Alex Turner’s love of his Mini. The car is apparently named ‘Floyd’.

26
 

The Sugababes covered ‘I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor’ in 2006.

27
 

While the band have covered Amy Winehouse’s ‘You Know I’m No Good’ for Radio 1’s Live Lounge.

28
 

Alex Turner’s former English and Drama teacher Steve Baker recalled  to The Guardian: “I remember giving a class a bollocking once, and he was sitting there like Gromit from Wallace And Gromit.”

29
 

‘Teddy Picker’ contains another Duran Duran reference. The lyrics: “I don’t want your prayer, save it for the morning after,” allude to their track ‘Save A Prayer’.

30
 

Alex Turner denied that ‘My Propeller’ was about, erm, his propeller. He said: “If that was a euphemism, then I wouldn’t be saying that my propeller wouldn’t spin- ‘cos you wouldn’t wanna go shouting that out, would you?”

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