Arctic Monkeys which comprises Alex Turner, Jamie Cook, Nick O’Malley, and Matt Helders, is a completely different group today in comparison to the version that burst onto the scene with their debut album, Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not.
Their setlists have evolved with each album, and Arctic Monkeys must introduce new music to their performances to stop them from going stale and, one might imagine, losing the love of performing live. They would play a handful of songs from their early back catalogue during their concerts but they don’t have the time to air every fan favourite. Unfortunately, the Sheffield group must make a series of unpopular decisions every time they perform.
After their debut album’s release, Arctic Monkeys returned to the studio and began working on the follow-up record. Fifteen months after their first offering, Favourite Worst Nightmare hit the shelves, and the track, ‘Fluorescent Adolescent’, became a hugely successful single for the band. For many years, the song remained a constant presence in their setlist and never failed to send the crowd into pandemonium.
Throughout the band’s career, they’ve played ‘Fluorescent Adolescent’ live on 509 occasions. However, the hit was retired from their set in 2014 following the end of their tour for AM. No reason has been given for why Arctic Monkeys refuse to include the song in their setlists. However, Alex Turner has frequently discussed why he no longer feels connected to their earlier work.
“It feels like we’re doing a cover or something when we play the first album, really,” Turner told BeatRoute in 2018. “But that’s fine. I don’t hate doing that. It’s just come to the point where I play ‘Mardy Bum’ or something like that, and it doesn’t even feel like mine anymore.”
Meanwhile, in a conversation with BBC Radio 1, Annie Mac asked Turner if he ever listens back to his old songs. He replied:
“I think sometimes that can be helpful. In preparation for going on tour, we flicked through some of our old records. There were a few lyrics that went by where I thought [wincing noise], ‘Don’t know what you were thinking there. Probably leave that one out now.’”
Turner wrote the song with his then-girlfriend, Johanna Bennett, and told The Times magazine in 2007:
“It started off as a joke. Then it was like, ‘Here’s another verse.’ We were having a laugh. Some of the lines were hers. I couldn’t have not credited her. It’s just right, really.”
While the band briefly brought ‘Fluorescent Adolescent’ back into their sets in 2018 for two shows at the Utilita Arena in Sheffield, unfortunately, it wasn’t permanently reintegrated.
