Photo: WENN
Arctic Monkeys frontman Alex Turner has defended the existence of X Factor in a rare appearance on BBC's Newsnight last night.
Being interviewed backstage during what appears to have been their soundcheck for the iTunes Festival show at the Roundhouse in London, Turner also spoke about the influence of hip-hop on their new album, their appearance at the opening ceremony for the London 2012 Olympic Games and changes in the music industry.
"People get too angry about X Factor and talent shows," he said. "Just let them get on with it, you need that to kick against. People talk about how that's ruined everything but there's always been shitty pop music,whether it came from a television show or not."
When asked about experimenting with sounds on their latest LP, AM, Turner replied: "Hip hop has always been an influence on the lyrics, but I think that perhaps we've worn that influence a little bit more on our sleeves on this record," said frontman Alex Turner. "It's only subtly borrowing some elements from that world, like the way the drums sound - there's no rapping on there, not yet."
Arctic Monkeys live at Glastonbury 2013
He was also quizzed about missing the glory days of the music industry, when he responded: "Some times you just wish it was the 1970s where you can have a plane and a beer belly, but now you've got to go to the gym and stuff."
To watch the full interview with Alex Turner on BBC Newsnight, visit here and view from around 41 minutes onwards.
The band will head out on a full UK tour in October and November. Full dates are below.
Tuesday 22nd October Newcastle Metro Radio Arena
Wednesday 23rd October Manchester Arena
Friday 25th October London Earls Court
Monday 28th October Liverpool Echo Arena
Tuesday 29th October Cardiff Motorpoint Arena
Thursday 31st October Birmingham LG Arena
Friday 1st November Glasgow Hydro
Saturday 2nd November Sheffield Motorpoint Arena
Tickets for the gigs go on sale at 9am on Friday, 5 July 2013. For more information visit Gigwise Gig Tickets.
Below: Arctic Monkeys live at Glastonbury 2013
