Arctic Monkeys frontman Alex Turner reveals which Sheffield Wednesday legend petrified him and cheers him up

The 36-year-old, who grew up in High Green, is a lifelong Sheffield Wednesday supporter.

And amid the band’s eagerly-anticipated return to live performances in the coming months – they played their first gig in three years in Istanbul earlier this month – Turner has understandably been the toast of international media outlets.

Speaking to French outlet L’Equipe, he fell into a conversation not of musical influences or the desire to push artistic boundaries, but football.

“You have to make a choice between the two clubs,” he said on the Steel City rivalry.

And there was one player in particular he idolised – an idol he shares with more than a few Wednesdayites and who will have been of particular interest to a French audience given his stint at Marseille – Chris Waddle.

“When I was a kid, I had a shirt with his number on it," Turned said. “I loved the ease with which he made differences with the ball. Even today, when I’m feeling a bit sad, I sometimes watch videos of his best moves to cheer me up…

“And then he was in the audience and came to see us in the dressing room. Facing him, I was as if petrified as I listened to him telling stories of his time at Wednesday. I didn’t know what to say to him…”

Arctic Monkeys make their return to UK shores at Reading & Leeds Festival later this month.