Alex Turner (musician)
| Alex Turner | |
|---|---|
 Turner performing with Arctic Monkeys in Dallas, 2012. |
|
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Alexander David Turner |
| Born | 6 January 1986 High Green, Sheffield, England |
| Genres | Indie rock, post-punk revival, psychedelic rock, garage rock, spoken word, film score |
| Occupations | Musician, Composer |
| Instruments | Vocals, guitar, bass, keyboards, percussion |
| Years active | 2002–present |
| Labels | Domino |
| Associated acts | Arctic Monkeys, The Last Shadow Puppets, Miles Kane, Reverend and The Makers, Queens of the Stone Age, Richard Hawley |
| Notable instruments | |
| Fender Stratocaster Fender Bronco Fender Jazzmaster Ovation Viper Gibson Les Paul |
|
Alexander "Alex" Turner (born 6 January 1986) is an English musician, best known as the lead vocalist, guitarist and main songwriter of the English indie rock band Arctic Monkeys.[1][2] He has also recorded with a side-project called The Last Shadow Puppets and as a solo artist.
Contents |
Early life[edit]
Alexander David Turner is the only child of Penny and David Turner, who taught German and music respectively at Sheffield secondary schools.[3][4] He was raised in High Green, a suburb of Sheffield. He attended Stocksbridge High School in Sheffield (1997–2002) and was later remembered by his English teacher, Steve Baker, as "someone unconventional, a little bit different, with a brightness and a cleverness that would serve him well. He had a very original sense of humour. Alex was never particularly vocal, but you could sense when some pieces of poetry moved him".
Turner spent most of his teenage years listening to rap artists such as Roots Manuva. His attentions later turned to guitar music following the breakthrough of The Strokes and The Libertines. Turner's parents bought him his first guitar for Christmas 2001.[4] Following sixth form college, where he studied at Barnsley, his parents reluctantly agreed to let him defer university for one year to pursue his musical ambitions. During this time he worked as a barman at the Sheffield venue, The Boardwalk. Turner has since said that, had Arctic Monkeys not become successful, he would have studied English at Manchester University.
Career[edit]
Arctic Monkeys[edit]
The band signed to the independent label Domino Records after a bidding war in 2005. Its first album Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not, released in early 2006, became the fastest-selling debut album in British music history.[5] The band has since released three more albums: Favourite Worst Nightmare (2007), Humbug (2009) and Suck It and See (2011) all reaching No.1 in the UK album charts.[6]
Turner's initial songwriting with Arctic Monkeys was based around specific concepts, particularly on their first album Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not, which is often considered to be a concept album centered around nightlife in the UK.[7] He later progressed to more varied themes, especially noticeable on Humbug and Suck It and See.
In July 2012, Turner revealed that he had been writing songs for the band's next album while touring the US with The Black Keys.[8]
Turner has a baritone vocal range.[9]
The Last Shadow Puppets[edit]
In August 2007, plans were announced for Turner to record an album with Miles Kane, James Ford[10] and Owen Pallett.
The album, The Age of the Understatement, was released on 21 April 2008 and reached number one in its first week. Towards the end of 2008 they completed a small tour, backed by the London Philharmonic Orchestra, starting at Portsmouth Guildhall on 19 August.[11]
Solo work[edit]
Turner wrote and performed all six tracks for the soundtrack for Submarine, the first feature film by Richard Ayoade, a friend and director of various Arctic Monkeys music videos. The soundtrack was released on 18 March 2011 in the UK and US.[12]
According to Matt Helders, speaking to NME magazine, Turner recorded a new solo track after the R U Mine?/Electricity sessions.[13]
Collaborations[edit]
In October 2008, Turner made his debut as a short story writer, performing a spoken word track "A Choice of Three" on his bandmate's compilation Late Night Tales: Matt Helders. Turner worked with Dizzee Rascal on the song "Temptation Greets You Like Your Naughty Friend" from Arctic Monkey's Brianstorm EP and "Temptation" from Rascal's album Maths and English. Turner also appears in the Reverend and the Makers song "The Machine" from their first album The State Of Things. In 2011, Turner also contributed by writing and co-writing six songs on Miles Kane's first album "Colour of the Trap", a role that will be taken by Paul Weller for Kane's second album. He also co-wrote the song First of My Kind with Kane and Eugene McGuinness[14] for Record Store Day 2012 and Get Right, a B-Side to Kane's single Don't Forget Who You Are. Turner has also collaborated with Queens of the Stone Age on their sixth studio album ...Like Clockwork, which was released 4 June 2013. In this album, Turner's vocals and guitar are featured in track 4, 'If I Had a Tail', and he helped Josh Homme, lead singer of Queens of the Stone Age, write the lyrics for track 6, 'Kalopsia'. [15]
Personal life[edit]
Turner had a two-year relationship with then-Goldsmiths College student Johanna Bennett from 2005 to 2007.[16][17] He had a four-year relationship with television presenter Alexa Chung from mid-2007 to mid-2011; they divided their time between London and New York City.[18] Turner has been dating Arielle Vandenberg since August 2011; the two live in Los Angeles together. [19]
Discography[edit]
- Arctic Monkeys
- 2006 - Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not
- 2007 - Favourite Worst Nightmare
- 2009 - Humbug
- 2011 - Suck It and See
- The Last Shadow Puppets
- Solo work
- 2011 - Submarine
- Collaborations
- 2007 - Reverend and The Makers - The State of Things (The Machine)
- 2007 - Dizzee Rascal - Maths + English (Temptation)
- 2009 - Matt Helders - Late Night Tales: Matt Helders (A Choice of Three)
- 2011 - Miles Kane - Colour of the Trap (As the writer of Rearrange and Colour of the Trap and co-writer of Counting Down the Days, Happenstance, Telepathy and Better Left Invisible)
- 2012 - Miles Kane - First of My Kind (co-writer)
- 2013 - Miles Kane - Don't Forget Who You Are (co-writer of B-side Get Right)
- 2013 - Queens Of The Stone Age - ...Like Clockwork (co-writer of Kalopsia and featured vocalist)
References[edit]
- ^ . Q Magazine
- ^ "Arctic Monkeys - Intelligent indie-rock from Sheffield". Clash. Retrieved 11 March 2011.
- ^ Index of Births, Marriages and Deaths in England and Wales, 1984-2005.
- ^ a b Caesar, Ed (14 April 2007). "Alex Turner: That's what he's not. So what is he?". London: The Independent. Archived from the original on 17 May 2011. Retrieved 17 February 2013.
- ^ "Arctic Monkeys make chart history". BBC News. 29 January 2006.
- ^ http://www.theofficialcharts.com/artist/_/arctic%20monkeys/
- ^ http://www.rollingstone.com/music/albumreviews/whatever-people-say-i-am-thats-what-im-not-20060221
- ^ http://www.nme.com/news/arctic-monkeys/62517
- ^ http://www.spin.com/articles/see-arctic-monkeys-alex-turner-unplugged/
- ^ Arctic Monkey plans side project
- ^ Green, Thomas H (20 August 2008). "The Last Shadow Puppets review: satisfied relief". Telegraph.co.uk (London: Telegraph Media Group). Retrieved 22 September 2008.
- ^ "Domino | News | Submarine OST EP, featuring songs by Alex Turner". Dominorecordco.com. Retrieved 2012-01-02.
- ^ http://www.nme.com/news/arctic-monkeys/63600
- ^ ASCAP Entry
- ^ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...Like_Clockwork
- ^ http://www.peterboroughtoday.co.uk/news/features/thorney-girl-living-the-rock-star-life-with-kings-of-leon-boyfriend-1-633829
- ^ Hodgson, Jaimie (15 July 2007). "Ex-girlfriend helps Arctic Monkeys to a hit". The Observer (London: Guardian News and Media). Archived from the original on 26 July 2008. Retrieved 23 August 2008.
- ^ Nicholl, Katie (1 August 2011). "No more Monkeying around for Alexa Chung as she splits with Arctic frontman Alex Turner". Daily Mail (London).
- ^ Smart, Gordon (28 September 2011). "ALEX Turner knows how to treat a girl – to a coffee". The Sun (London). Retrieved 11 June 2012.
External links[edit]
 |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Arctic Monkeys |
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||
|
