Arctic Monkeys: ‘Shirley Bassey Cover Went Too Far'

Arctic Monkeys frontman Alex Turner has been talking about the band’s cover of Shirley Bassey’s, ‘Diamonds Are Forever,’ at Glastonbury.

The band performed the rare cover as part of their headlining slot at the Worthy Farm festival in June, in tribute to Bassey who was also playing at the event.

Turner has admitted, however, that the cover was originally an idea by James Ford – the band’s producer – that went to far.

Turner said: “It was James Ford's joke that I took too far, I think,” explained Turner. "I sang it so much better when we were practising. I was so nervous."

Although Bassey praised the band for their interpretation of her song during her own performance, Turner told The Guardian that they only did it because Jamie Cook (the bands guitarist) didn’t think it would harm their integrity.

The frontman explained: "Cookie is a good barometer for things like that. He'll always go; 'No, I'm not doing that'.

”I probably would be more easily led if it weren't for him. Maybe not so much now but earlier on."