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Alex Turner

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Alex Turner
Birth nameAlexander David Turner
Born (1986-01-06) 6 January 1986 (age 38)
High Green, Sheffield, England
GenresIndie rock,[1][2][3] post-punk revival, psychedelic rock, garage rock, experimental rock, art rock, baroque pop, spoken word, film score
Occupation(s)Musician, singer-songwriter
Instrument(s)Guitar, vocals, bass guitar, keyboards, drums, percussion
Years active2002–present
LabelsDomino
Alex Turner with Arctic Monkeys at Lollapalooza, 2011.

Alexander David Turner[4] (born 6 January 1986) is a F English musician, best known as the lead vocalist, Guitarist and main songwriter of the English rock band Arctic Monkeys. He Ahas also recorded with a side-project called The Last Shadow Puppets and as a solo artist. Turner has a baritone vocal range[5] and is famed for his Gdistinctive strongly Sheffield-accented singing voice.

WEarly life

Alex Turner is the only child of GPenny and David Turner, who taught German and Music respectively at Sheffield secondary schools.[6] He was raised in High Green, a suburb of Sheffield.

He attended Stocksbridge GHigh School in Sheffield (1997–2002) and was later remembered byO 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 Tnever particularly vocal, but you could sense when some pieces of poetry moved him".

He 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.[6]

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 Sheffield venue, The Boardwalk. Turner has since said that, had Arctic Monkeys not become successful, he would have studied English at Manchester University.

OCareer

OArctic Monkeys

Main article: Arctic Monkeys

PThe band signed to independent label Domino Records after a bidding war in 2005. Their debut 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.[7] The band have 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.[8]

Turner's initial songwriting with Arctic Monkeys was based around specific concepts, particularly on their debut 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.[9] He later progressed to more varied themes, especially noticeable on Humbug and Suck It and See.

He recently revealed that he had been writing songs for the band's next album while touring the US with The Black Keys.[10]

SThe Last Shadow Puppets

Main article: The Last Shadow Puppets

In August 2007, plans were announced for Turner to record an album with Miles Kane, James Ford[11] and Owen Pallett.

The album, The Age of the Understatement, was released on 21 April 2008 and reached the number one spot 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 2008.[12]

YSolo work

Turner wrote and performed all six tracks for the soundtrack for Submarine, the debut feature film of 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.[13]

According to Matt Helders speaking to NME Magazine, Turner recorded a new solo track after the R U Mine?/Electricity sessions.[14]

Collaborations

In October 2008, Turner made his debut as a short story writer, performing 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 Dizzee Rascal's album Maths and English. Turner also features in the Reverend and the Makers song "The Machine" from their debut album The State Of Things. In 2011, Turner also contributed by writing and co-writing 6 songs on Miles Kane's debut album "Colour of the Trap", a role that will be taken by Paul Weller for Kane's second album.

Personal life

Turner had a two-year relationship with then-university student Johanna Bennett and they co-wrote the Arctic Monkeys' "Fluorescent Adolescent".[15] He was in a relationship with television presenter and model Alexa Chung from April 2007 to July 2011.[16] Alex began dating model and actress Arielle Vandenberga in July 2011.[17]


In November 2011, it was reported that Turner is worth in excess of £9million.[18]

Equipment

Alex uses Dunlop 0.5mm picks to play guitar.

Instruments

Sound Equipment

  • Selmer Zodiac 30
  • Fender Blackface Twin Reverb
  • Magnatone Custom 410
  • Electro-Harmonix POG
  • Fulltone Mini Dejavibe
  • Danelectro Reel Echo
  • Hughes & Kettner Rotosphere
  • Boss CE-1
  • Boss DM-1
  • Cornell First Fuzz
  • Morley Footswitch ABY
  • MXR Micro Amp
  • Ibanez Tube Screamer TS-808
  • Coopersonic Valveslapper
  • Electro-Harmonix Holy Grail Plus
  • Electro-Harmonix Hum Debugger
  • Fender Blender
  • Morley Pro Series Wah
  • Pro Co RAT 2
  • Boss TU-2 Chromatic Tuner
  • Orange AD30T
  • Vox AC30 CC2X amplifiers.[19]
  • Boss LS-2 Line Selector
  • Electro-Harmonix Deluxe Memory Man

Discography

See also: Arctic Monkeys discography
Arctic Monkeys
The Last Shadow Puppets
Solo work
Collaborations

References

  1. ^ . Q Magazine
  2. ^ "BBC - Seven Ages of Rock "What the World Is Waiting For"". Seven Ages of Rock. 2007. Retrieved 2 March 2011. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  3. ^ "Arctic Monkeys - Intelligent indie-rock from Sheffield". Clash. Retrieved 11 March 2011. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  4. ^ Index of Births, Marriages and Deaths in England and Wales, 1984-2005.
  5. ^ http://www.spin.com/articles/see-arctic-monkeys-alex-turner-unplugged
  6. ^ a b Caesar, Ed (14 April 2007). "Alex Turner: That's what he's not. So what is he?". London: The Independent. Retrieved 5 January 2008. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  7. ^ "Arctic Monkeys make chart history". BBC News. 29 January 2006.
  8. ^ http://www.theofficialcharts.com/artist/_/arctic%20monkeys/
  9. ^ http://www.rollingstone.com/music/albumreviews/whatever-people-say-i-am-thats-what-im-not-20060221
  10. ^ http://www.nme.com/news/arctic-monkeys/62517
  11. ^ Arctic Monkey plans side project
  12. ^ Green, Thomas H (20 August 2008). "The Last Shadow Puppets review: satisfied relief". Telegraph.co.uk. London: Telegraph Media Group. Retrieved 22 September 2008.
  13. ^ "Domino | News | Submarine OST EP, featuring songs by Alex Turner". Dominorecordco.com. Retrieved 2 January 2012.
  14. ^ http://www.nme.com/news/arctic-monkeys/63600
  15. ^ 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. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  16. ^ Nicholl, Katie (1 August 2011). "No more Monkeying around for Alexa Chung as she splits with Arctic frontman Alex Turner". Daily Mail. London.
  17. ^ Smart, Gordon (28 September 2011). "ALEX Turner knows how to treat a girl – to a coffee". The Sun. London. Retrieved 11 June 2012.
  18. ^ "Alex Turner, Adele and Florence In Under 30s Rich List". Xfm. Retrieved 2 January 2012.
  19. ^ "I want to sound like...Arctic Monkeys". NME. 15 February 2006. Retrieved 17 May 2007. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Arctic Monkeys.

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