Go backstage with The Music and receive FREE:

  • Exclusive members-only editorial, charts
  • Our subscriber-only newsletter
  • Members only competitions to win tickets, experiences and more
  • Access to our street press archives
  • First access to our exclusive limited edition vinyl variants

Thank you for being a part of our community! Enter your email address as verification and you'll be taken backstage right away.

Please ensure that you provide a valid email address.

Arctic Monkeys Dust ‘Mardy Bum’ Off For First Full Performance In 16 Years

They also performed ‘My Propellor’ for the first time in nine years.

More Arctic Monkeys Arctic Monkeys

Arctic Monkeys performed in Bristol, England earlier this week, treating fans to one of their all-time deepest cuts: Mardy Bum, from their 2006 debut album Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not.

READ MORE: Top 10 Arctic Monkeys Bangers You Need Before Falls & Lost Paradise

The song itself isn’t technically all that rare in the Arctic Monkeys’ pantheon of setlist staples, however since 2014, it’s only shown up as an interpolation or snippet. Even before then, the version they played towards the end of the song’s lifecycle was a shortened, semi-acoustic composition. But Monday’s set saw the band revisit the original tune, marking their first live performance of it in some 15 years.

One lucky fan managed to capture the moment on film – take a look at their footage below.


Mardy Bum opened the Arctic Monkeys’ 21-song set in Bristol, with the rest of the night leaning heavily on cuts from 2013’s AM album. Another rarity came 11 songs in, when the band performed My Propellor (a highlight from 2009’s Humbug) for the first time since 2014. They also covered I Wanna Be Yours by John Cooper Clarke, and accompanied Arabella with an instrumental “interlude” of Pretty Visitors. The full setlist can be found here.

Bristol’s show kicked off an ongoing tour of the UK and Europe, with a North American run following in August. The band are currently touring in support of their seventh album, The Car, which arrived last October via Domino Records.

Join 'Backstage Pass', our FREE members program for music fans