Monkeys' frontman looks good on Mojo Awards list

Ciar Byrne,Arts,Media Correspondent
Thursday 01 May 2008 00:00 BST
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He may be just 22, but Alex Turner is being hailed as a singer-songwriter to compare with Ray Davies.

The lead singer of Arctic Monkeys, pictured right, has garnered four nominations for this year's Mojo honours list. Two of the nominations are for The Last Shadow Puppets, Turner's side project with Miles Kane of The Rascals.

Arctic Monkeys are also nominated for best album for Favourite Worst Nightmare, their second studio record, and for best live act. Success in either category would bolster an already impressive list of awards, ranging from the 2006 Mercury Music Prize to best British album at this year's Brits.

The Last Shadow Puppets came about when Turner met Kane while his previous band, The Little Flames, were supporting Arctic Monkeys on tour. The result was The Age of the Understatement, a record inspired by the American crooner Scott Walker. Mojo readers have nominated The Last Shadow Puppets for song of the year for the album's title track, as well as in the breakthrough act category.

Despite his fame, Turner has shunned the celebrity circuit. Phil Alexander, the editor of Mojo, said: "He's developed massively in a very short period of time. He's wiser than his years in terms of where he's at musically. He has a romanticism based on reality that permeates everything he does. He seems to be in a lineage of song writers that includes Ray Davies, Paul Weller, Nic Jones and Joe Strummer."

The 23-year-old Welsh singer-songwriter Duffy is also nominated for three awards: best album for her debut, Rockferry; best song, for "Mercy"; and best breakthrough act. Mojo is also honouring the Manchester guitar band The Fall with its "maverick award". Since forming in 1976, the band have produced 26 studio albums.

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