Matt Helders of Arctic Monkeys said that Alex Turner “definitely caught on to the Bond theme.”
The drummer spoke to NME about the Sheffield band’s seventh studio album “The Car”, which became our album of the Year 2022, beating Wet Leg, Beyoncé and Fontaines D.C. and taking first place.
At one point in the conversation, Helders was asked if the Monkeys had considered trying their hand at a James Bond song, given the cinematic orchestral sound of their latest LP.
“I’m sure it’s something we’d still be interested in, but I don’t think it’s been officially proposed,” the musician replied.
“However, it looks like Alex is already writing Bond themes, there just isn’t a movie that has been shot and ready [for his songs] yet! But I would say it definitely has a Bond theme.”
Back in 2011 , Turner said: “I would like to write a melody for Bond. Definitely.” The comment came shortly after the frontman released a mini-album with the soundtrack to the 2010 film Submarine, directed by Richard Ayoade (who previously shot music videos for AM).
NME then called Arctic Monkeys “the perfect band to handle the task” of writing a single for the upcoming Bond film in 2018.
As the band continued to evolve musically, many fans also assumed that the track AM would fit in appropriately into the world of the long-running spy franchise.
Actors who have written the Bond theme in recent years include Billy Irish, Sam Smith, Adele, Alicia Keys and Jack White and Chris Cornell.
Elsewhere in NME’s new conversation with Helders, the drummer spoke about the experience of bringing a full orchestra to the studio for “The Car”.
“Everything that was part of the band’s responsibilities was taken care of in the traditional sense, as we always did, but then the strings were added separately,” he explained. “It was a different type of recording process, but it was always interesting for me to study it.
“We recently had the opportunity to do these radio sessions with six people from the orchestra to try to play some of these new songs live, and I think we learned how to be disciplined and how to use [the orchestra] a lot in music.”
Helders added: “On the record, he appears and disappears when it’s appropriate — there’s just the right amount of strings.”
Meanwhile, Arctic Monkeys’ singles “Body Paint” and “There’d Better Be A Mirrorball” appeared this week on NME’s “Best Songs of 2022” list at 24th and 5th places, respectively.
NME praised Turner’s “truly serious, open, romantic and human” lyrics in the last track, calling it “the beauty of a slow dance waltz”.
From other news: Arctic Monkeys have recently been announced as the headliners of NOS Alive 2023.
In May, the band will go on a tour of stadiums in the UK and Ireland, and in September - to North America. AM will be in Europe in late April and early May, and will return there in July with additional concerts.
