Arctic Monkeys
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Rock & Roll
Yeah, that rock & roll, it seems like it’s fading away sometimes, but it will never die. And there’s nothing you can do about it.
—Alex Turner
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Arctic Monkeys’ frontman, Alex Turner, is a prototypical bonafide male rockstar: women wanna sleep with him, and men wanna be him. Although, if you were reading online commentary on the band’s music videos you’d find many straight men also professing they might wanna sleep with him. All of it is too much for Turner, who shuns social media entirely, opting for a simple flip phone to reach his band mates, managers, friends, and family.
And with his charming good looks, wry wit, and a fashion sense worthy of a GQ cover, it’s no surprise Turner has this effect on all genders and sexual orientations.
How do you write a biography of a world famous man who has kept an impeccably tight lid on his personal life? Can you write a good book without the drama, without the filth? These are the questions writers has faced when contemplating a book such as this one. While selling millions of records and garnering the love of millions of fans around the world, Alex Turner has kept a rather quiet life in the mainstream media. Perhaps what sets him apart from the likes of John Lennon, Jim Morrison, or Freddy Mercury is the lack of trouble he seems to get in and the lack of public drama in his life.
It’s not as if he hasn’t had opportunities to make it to the tabloids, after all, he’s a famous millionaire living in a Hollywood Hills mansion with a model for a girlfriend. It’s Los Angeles, the trouble and temptation are always a short walk away. And while many other rockstars of his stature have either had run-ins with the law, fist fights, public drunken outbursts, or drug offenses, the only blemish on his record seems to be the band’s alleged tax avoidance accusation for which the public has barely batted an eye. He’s one of the very few rockstars that keeps no known social media accounts to interact with the outside world.
It’s rational to conclude that Turner is universally and widely beloved by his close group of friends, that simply no rumors, stories, or gossip ever leaves the inner circle. His closest friends, family, and ex-girlfriends have historically refused to utter a single bad thing or accusation in his direction. So how do you write a book about a famously brilliant musician with no dirt, drama, or bad childhood to write about? Focus on the good stuff.
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