Alex Turner once picked the Arctic Monkeys’ favourite Beatles song
Having displayed unique artistic depth from their very first album in 2006, Arctic Monkeys soared through a restless collection of inspired records over the subsequent 15 years. Led by the mercurial songwriter and frontman Alex Turner, the Sheffield-born group began in the Leadmill but conquered charts around the globe and even managed a thematic moon landing in 2018.
The band’s broad scope in style and structure within and across their seven studio albums is a testament to the members’ rich pool of influence. Turner was set on the right track by his parents; both were music fanatics and taught at a secondary school, where his father taught music and physics. It meant that Turner was indoctrinated with the power of music from a very young age. One of the singer’s early musical infatuations was with The Beatles.
When partaking in a feature for Uncut in 2007, Turner discussed his favourite Beatles songs and picked out 1965’s ‘In My Life’ for the top spot. He said: “I’ve always loved [‘In My Life’]. It might be my mum and dad’s favourite Beatles tune, too. It’s got that harmonium solo with George Martin playing.”
However, over the years, Turner has flitted between several of the Beatles’ classic tracks as the one he holds dearest. His favourite from the Liverpool band’s most psychedelic period was ‘I Am the Walrus’ as he revealed in a 2012 conversation with NME.
“I remember when I first started writing songs and writing lyrics, I really wanted to be able to write an ‘I Am The Walrus’-type song,” he said. “And I found it very difficult. You listen to that, and it sounds like it’s all nonsense, but it’s really difficult to write that sort of thing and make it compelling. Lennon definitely had a knack for that.”
During their iconic performance at the 2012 Olympics opening ceremony in London, Arctic Monkeys pulled a fantastic cover of ‘Come Together’ from the locker to honour the Beatles. He explained: “‘Come Together’, which we just played at the Olympics – I found that song difficult to get anywhere near. I’ve heard that song a thousand times before, but there’s not one word in that song that logically leads into the next one. It’s all a jumble, but it’s not just that, if you know what I mean. It paints you a picture and puts you in this place. [John Lennon] got a way of leading you somewhere with these unusual words that don’t make sense, but also make perfect fucking sense.”
In 2014, Turner once again honoured the Beatles during the Arctic Monkeys’ performance at Madison Square Garden. This time, he picked out an early favourite to commemorate the Beatles’ US television debut in 1964.
“So apparently, almost to the day, I believe, it’s 50 years since Ed Sullivan first brought the Beatles to the United States,” Alex Turner told the crowd. “We thought, seeing as we’re in New York, as they were all those years ago, that we’d play a little Beatles song for you tonight. Apparently, one in three Americans actually watched that performance, so if we’re lucky, one or three Americans might watch this YouTube video.” The band then launched into a cover of ‘All My Loving’.
So, it’s apparent that Turner has several favourites when it comes to the Beatles’ varied oeuvre. However, during his feature with Uncut in 2007, Turner picked out Arctic Monkeys’ favourite Beatles song collectively.
The musician noted: “‘Happiness Is A Warm Gun’ is probably our favourite Beatles tune as a band. Do I prefer Lennon to McCartney? Yeah, that goes without saying. I was watching that Gimme Some Truth film the other day when he’s playing that tune that’s supposed to be about McCartney, ‘How Do You Sleep?’ He plays it on the piano to George Harrison, and it’s like he’s [growling].
“It’s mad to look at that and think that’s where it went. And they’re talking about the Beatles around the table, taking the piss out of the whole thing, saying: ‘So have you seen any of The Beatles…?’ ‘From one Beatle to another…’ Probably to them it did get to be a joke. I bet they did always take the piss out of it. It’s like that with us; we already take the piss out of ourselves.”
Listen to The Beatles’ ‘Happiness is a Warm Gun’, a cut from 1968’s eponymous (White) album, below.
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