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Gems - Arctic Monkeys


For the final instalment we focus on some of their lesser known numbers. Personal preference has dictated that the list leans towards Alex Tuner’s romantic side and features little from the early days. There are good early b-sides but few took them in a direction that was at odds with their parent albums.


Baby I’m Yours - Written by Van McCoy this song was initially a hit for Barbara Lewis and has been covered by various artists including Cher. The Arctic Monkey’s take was a b-side to standalone 2006 single ‘Leave Before the lights Come On’ and featured a duet between Turner and the 747’s Oisin Leech. From the backing vocal to the lush orchestration the band remained fairly true to the original. A sweeping 60s pop song was not like anything the band had put out previously although the influence became apparent on 2008s ‘The Age of the Understatement’, the first collaboration between Turner and Miles Kane as ‘The Last Shadow Puppets’.


Too Much to Ask - This and ‘The Bakery’ both had Alex in a spot of bother with the object of his affection. ‘Too Much to Ask’ dissected a tumultuous relationship with Turner wishing he could return to more innocent times “It’s a pity, it just hit me, we can’t go back, to the chest touching on the back”. Amazingly the two songs only ever made it as b-sides appearing on 2007s ‘Fluorescent Adolescent’.


Secret Door - This Beatles-esque mini masterpiece could be a distant cousin of Lennon’s ‘Happiness is a Warm Gun’. Helder’s drum rattles along impatiently before a beautiful outro waltzes into view providing 2009s ‘Humbug’ a rare moment of serenity.


Catapult - Whilst irresistible the protagonist described on the Shadow Puppets-esque ‘Catapult‘ seems to be little more than an unpleasant cad.


Joining the Dots - The band sound like a swamp-rock version of The Coral on the mid-tempo b-side to ‘My Propellor’.


Piledriver Waltz - Before turning up on ‘Suck it and See’ this song appeared on Turner’s excellent solo EP for the film ‘Submarine’. This version is brisker and, like much of the rest of the album, warmed by a ‘Beach Boysy’ bass line and Jaimie Cook’s chiming guitar. Despite Turner’s breezy delivery there is a darker undercurrent at play “I heard an unhappy ending, Sort of sounds like your’e leaving”. A mournful guitar outro signals the end of the song before segueing into ‘Love is a Laserquest’.


You and I - The band have made no secret of their appreciation for Richard Hawley. Upon collecting the Mercury Music prize in 2006 Turner famously said “someone call 999 Richard Hawley’s [also nominated for Cole’s Corner] been robbed”. Hawley provided vocals on this scuzzy rocker whilst the band perform under their alias ‘The Death Ramps’. This repeated the formula used for a cover of ‘Bad Woman’ a b-side to ‘Teddy Picker’.


Electricity - Released as the b-side to ‘R U Mine?’ the single pre-dated AM by over a year. It was a clear statement of intent marking a change in direction from the jangly rock that accompanied ‘Suck it and See’ just a few months earlier.


You’re So Dark - The humidity is turned up a notch on the sexed-up and brooding b-side to ‘One for the road’. The song is every bit as strong as it’s A-side and was an unlucky omission from ‘AM’.


- - This Stephen Fretwell cover appeared as a live take to accompany ‘Four Out of Five’ as a ‘Spotify’ single. In keeping with the sound of ‘Tranquility base…’ it allowed Turner to show off his vocal croon to full romantic effect.



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