Arctic Monkeys play ‘A Certain Romance’ for first time in a decade at hometown gig
British rockers Arctic Monkeys kicked off their hometown gig in Sheffield, England last night with their first rendition of ‘A Certain Romance’ in a decade.
The final track from the band’s debut LP, 2006’s Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not, ‘A Certain Romance’ hadn’t been performed live by the band since 2018, but the fully electric version of the song hadn’t been played since 2013.
Beginning in 2014, Arctic Monkeys largely dropped ‘A Certain Romance’ from their setlists, with frontman Alex Turner occasionally performing the song in both solo acoustic and spare electronica rearrangements.
The most recent performance of the song before last night’s bust out was on September 22nd, 2018. Not coincidentally, that show also took place in Sheffield, although it was at a different venue (Sheffield Arena in 2018 versus Hillsborough Park in 2023).
Arctic Monkeys’ most recent album, The Car, was released in 2022. The band’s setlist covered their entire history, including cuts like ‘Mardy Bum’, ‘Fluorescent Adolescent’, ‘Why’d You Only Call Me When You’re High?’, and ‘I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor’.
Newer songs like ‘There’d Better Be a Mirrorball’ and ‘Body Paint’ were also represented.
Check out fan footage of the performance down below.
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