Arctic Monkeys are "working on music," says manager

10 December 2020, 17:35 | Updated: 10 December 2020, 17:43

Arctic Monkey's Alex Turner plays Lollapalooza Buenos Aires 2019 - Day 2 — Arctic Monkeys' manager Ian McAndrew says the band have been working on music pandemic. Picture: Santiago Bluguermann/Getty Images

The Sheffield band's manager Ian McAndrew has talked about the band's live album and revealed they've been "beavering away" during the pandemic.

Arctic Monkeys have been "working on music" according to their manager Ian McAndrew.

The music boss spoke to Music Week about the band's Royal Albert Hall live album and when asked what else they've been up to this year, he teased: "They’re working on music. In this rather disjointed time, the guys are beavering away and I hope that next year they’ll start working on some new songs, new ideas, with a view on a future release."

However, when asked if the band would be releasing their follow-up to 2018's Tranquility Base Hotel + Casino much sooner than their other records, he was far more measured.

"We followed that release with a fairly robust touring plan that went on until October 2018," said McAndrew. There weren’t any prearranged plans to get back in the studio quickly, so I don’t quite know the basis of that rumour honestly."

He added: "It’s fair to say that plans to write and record music have been deferred or postponed in terms of difficulties in getting together. Nevertheless, it in some ways creates a welcome opportunity, more time, more space and ability to go away and devote a bit more time to the creative process. That’s been a blessing in a weird way."

Arctic Monkeys - From the Ritz to the Rubble at Royal Albert Hall

Though McAndrew revealed he does "get to hear things from time to time," he doesn't know if there's any complete songs yet.

Asked if the band had any fleshed-out songs, he mused: "Well, you never know! What I will say is that they’ve been working hard and I’m so looking forward to hearing new music from the guys in the new year. There were recording plans in the summertime that got canned as a result of the travel restrictions."

He added: "We haven’t really started any proper work, any recording with a full band, and that’s because the guys aren’t able to be together. I’m hoping that next year, when the restrictions lift, we’ll be able to get together and get on with it."

Though it's not likely we'll have a new Arctic Monkeys studio album any time soon, fans do have their recent charity release, Live At The Royal Albert Hall, to enjoy.

Speaking of the live album, which was mixed by long-time Monkeys producer, James Ford, he said: "I’m just really pleased, this year’s been a very challenging year for people and being able to put out a piece of music from the band is great, hopefully it can bring some cheer to what’s otherwise been a pretty dreary year."

Watch them perform Arabella live last year: