Arctic Monkeys frontman Alex Turner has shed more light on his infamous acceptance speech at the 2014 Brit Awards, during which he rambled about rock n’ roll and pretty much seemed like he was off his tits on something.
Collecting his band’s award for Best Album courtesy of 2013’s AM, Turner declared that rock music would never die, saying: “Yeah, that rock’n’roll… it seems like it’s faded away sometimes, but it will never die. And there’s nothing you can do about it,” while busting some oddball Robert De Niro style facial twitches.
But in a new interview with Rolling Stone, Turner reckons he was fully sober, and just caught up in the excitement of the moment.
“A lot of people thought I was waffling away on drugs, but I wasn’t,” he said. “I just can’t pretend getting an award was something I’ve dreamed about since I was a kid, because it isn’t.”
Back in 2014, the singer admitted to being uncomfortable when he was the centre of attention, saying: “I don’t like opening my birthday presents in front of people, either. But I can’t really see another way round making an acceptance speech.”
He also added: “I suppose on some level, in that environment, rightly or wrongly, it almost feels like [Arctic Monkeys] were representatives of guitar music, or rock’n’roll. And while I don’t see getting any trophy as a great victory, in some sense it’s a victory for our music. But I can’t go up and gush about how I dreamt about picking up a Brit Award all my life, because it just isn’t the truth.”
But today, his Last Shadow Puppets bandmate Miles Kane reckons that moments like the Brits speech reflected Turner’s growing confidence with the limelight.
“He enjoys being a star more and taking it for what it is,” Kane said. “He’s more comfortable in his own skin.”
Relive Turner’s memorable 2014 Brit Awards speech below.
https://youtu.be/cEVkt0fLWKA
