Alex Turner

Arctic Monkeys says always being friends has kept band together

Arctic Monkeys

Arctic Monkeys think being childhood friends has kept them together.

The British quartet – Matt Helders, Jamie Cook, Nick O’Malley and Alex Turner – have been pals since growing up in Sheffield, North England, and think their solid bond has stopped them succumbing to the
pressures of fame.

Alex said: “Our friendship definitely has something to do with it [staying together]. We grew up pretty much on the same street. So we’d hung around with each other a long time before we were a band and that
helps you bypass a lot of those pitfalls.”

However, the ‘Mardy Bum’ hitmakers admit they occasionally row, but think their arguments are normal.
Alex said: “You’re bound to argue, but I think we get around a lot of that stuff. It’s maybe something about where we’re from. We’re all pretty laid back.

“Everyone gets aggravated but there aren’t too many tantrums.”

Nick added: “Even if you ran a shop with your brother, you’d have fights. It’s that natural sibling rivalry thing.”

Arctic Monkeys singer Alex Turner says living in America only made him ‘more English’

Arctic Monkeys

The ‘Don’t Sit Down ‘Cause I’ve Moved Your Chair’ hitmaker had a stint living in New York, where he wrote the band’s latest album, ‘Suck it and See’, but for him, the experience only highlighted how much he identified with his homeland.

He told the Metro newspaper: “I did live in America for a minute. But we’ve pretty much moved back to England now.

“Thing is, if anything, I think I get more English when I spend time in America. I wrote a lot of the new album while I was living in New York and I found myself using more English colloquialisms than ever.”

Although he always sings in a distinctly northern English accent, Alex admits he drops it when he’s performing karaoke, especially on US rap tracks.

He added: “My karaoke tune of choice is Tupac’s ‘California Love’. Me and our drummer, Matt, we also do a good Eminem and Dr Dre, ‘Guilty Conscience’, and a mean version of R Kelly’s ‘Bump N’ Grind’.

“But I’m almost ashamed to admit that I do rap in an American accent when I’m doing karaoke. Maybe I should try and do Tupac in a Yorkshire accent. That’ll be interesting.”

Arctic Monkeys are currently on tour across the US.

Arctic Monkeys new album will be ‘more poppy’ than their last.

Arctic Monkeys new album will be 'more poppy' than their last

The group will release ‘Suck It And See’ on June 6 and drummer Matt Helders has promised the 12-track record will be more accessible than their last effort, 2009′s ‘Humbug’. He said: “Some of the songs are a bit more instant. A bit more poppy, certainly than ‘Humbug’ was.

“It’s enjoyable for us and the listener. And it’s maybe a bit more easy going. Not easy listening, but with a few poppier tunes. But in an interesting way.”

The ‘Brianstorm’ rocker – who is joined in the band by frontman Alex Turner, guitarist Jamie Cook and bassist Nick O’Malley – also revealed before going into the studio, the band had a more clear direction of how they wanted the record to sound than they did when they began working on ‘Humbug’.

He added to NME magazine: “With ‘Humbug’ we recorded 25 songs and narrowed it down afterwards. This time we had a clear idea of where we were going before we even went to the studio.”