Who is on the front of Arctic Monkeys debut album ‘Whatever People Say I Am That’s What I’m Not’?
Few debut albums are quite as impactful or iconic as the Arctic Monkeys‘ introduction to the world on the 2006 Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not. The record marked their emergence into the indie scene, and they would quickly come to dominate. But on the album cover, the face leading their break into the music world wasn’t their own.
Arctic Monkeys’ rise is a classic band story. It’s the dream of thousands, no, millions of budding groups worldwide. Starting out in their garages, they all learned their instruments together and figured out how to write songs. The Sheffield band started gigging around their city’s local venues before expanding out into other northern cities and then UK-wide sets. Their live shows won over hoards of fans who scrambled to get their hands on the low-quality, homemade demo CDs they’d pass out.
Eventually, a label came knocking, and that demo mix was translated into a polished and perfect debut that still maintained the grit of their original takes. Catapulting them onto bigger stages right as the indie sleaze era was getting underway, and the world was falling in love with rock bands again, they rode the wave to the top.
But it all started with that one album and its recognisable portrait cover. With their logo sticker slapped onto a photo of a typical geezer smoking a cigarette, looking as though he’d lived the weekend within the songs, it’s not the classic band photo you might expect on a debut album. It’s not even any member of the band. So, who is that man on the cover of Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not?
Who is on the front of Arctic Monkeys’ debut album?
The Arctic Monkeys’ debut album is packed with small-town stories about their youth, growing up as reckless teenagers in Sheffield. For the cover image, the band couldn’t think of a better face for the record than that of one of their mates. The man on the front of the album is Chris McClure, a close friend of the band. McClure was the lead singer of another Sheffield band, The Violet May, and the brother of Reverend and the Makers’ Jon McClure. So, in a lot of ways, the decision to feature their friend was a dedication to the Sheffield music scene that made them.
The image was snapped in the early hours of the morning after a long night out in Liverpool. The band gave McClure £70 to spend on booze in return for taking a few pictures. When the record was first released, there was some backlash over the image of McClure with his cigarette, as the NHS claimed it glamourised smoking. In response, the band’s manager quipped, “You can see from the image smoking is not doing him the world of good.”
Where are the Arctic Monkeys from?
Arctic Monkeys are famously from Sheffield. While the city all too often gets overlooked in the shadows of its neighbouring city of Manchester, the Steel City has birthed a strong cast of musical legends. Alongside Def Leopard, Pulp, Richard Hawley, The Human League and modern legends like Self Esteem, Arctic Monkeys are just one of the many iconic artists that grew up in the Yorkshire haven.
Specifically, they were raised around the High Green area, where Matt Helders and Alex Turner were essentially neighbours. They went to primary and secondary school together as well as college, gradually meeting the other members as they graduated through the classes. The Sheffield music scene at the time was busy as ever with new bands, and Arctic Monkeys quickly cemented themselves in the heart of it. They played their first show at local venue The Grapes and shaped their sound in a rehearsal studio at the beloved Yellow Arch Studios.
Throughout their discography, they call out to many of their old haunts. “He talks of San Francisco, he’s from Hunters bar,” they shout on ‘Fake Tales Of San Francisco’, while ‘Red Light Indicates Doors Are Secured’ shouts out their High Green home. Even in his side project, The Last Shadow Puppets, Turner can’t help but mention his home and sing about “Sheffield City Centre” on ‘The Dream Synopsis’.
What genre are the Arctic Monkeys?
Arctic Monkeys are an indie rock band through and through. Or at least, they were at the start. The group’s later albums, The Car and Tranquility Base Hotel and Casino, have started to get a little weird, implementing more lounge lizard sounds than guitar licks.
But at their core, the Sheffield band are an indie outfit with a classic band set-up. Their musical peers are artists like The Strokes, The Libertines and Vampire Weekend, who sit at the top of the indie food chain. Their biggest numbers, such as ‘I Bet That You Look Good On The Dancefloor’ and ‘R U Mine?’ have gone on to become decade-defining hits. No doubt, when history reflects on the music of this generation, Arctic Monkeys will stand out as a leading light in the world of indie rock.
