Andy Nicholson was a co-founder of the Arctic Monkeys and the original bassist but he left the band in 2006 and he has now opened up about the reasons behind his departure
The founding bassist of Arctic Monkeys has disclosed it took him nearly 15 years to recover from the “soul destroying” experience of leaving the band. Co-founder and bassist Andy Nicholson unexpectedly exited in 2006, four years after the group, led by Alex Turner, was established.
He has now provided a rare insight into the true circumstances behind his departure.
At the time, “fatigue following an intensive period of touring” was cited as the reason for Andy’s absence from the North American tour that year. Arctic Monkeys subsequently became one of Britain’s most triumphant bands of all time – headlining Glastonbury for the first time in 2007.
Now, nearly two decades later, Andy, who looks completely different from his earlier rockstar days, has shared details about his exit in a candid interview with BBC Sounds.
Explaining his departure, he said: “I had just family issues at the time. I took a little bit of time off. We got Nick [O’Malley] to fill in, and then the band came back and said they want to keep Nick in the band, which at the time was soul destroying for me.
“Being 19 years old, and these 19-year-old children making these huge decisions that are affecting lives, and a lot of lives, that took a long time to get over.”
He acknowledged that “everything happens for a reason” and that he has now processed it positively. Andy also revealed he is now friends with his former bandmates.
Discussing the harsh media treatment he endured at the time, Andy reflected: “Yeah, no, I was a bigger lad back then. So they used to refer to me as ‘the fat one’ or whatever they used to say and things like that.”
He also maintained that journalists wrongly reported he’d chosen to leave the group, insisting this wasn’t true and that he’d still be performing with them today had circumstances been different.
When questioned about watching Arctic Monkeys soar to stardom without him, he revealed: “Yeah because I went from having the next two years of my life itineraried up, knowing where I was gonna be, what I was gonna do, to not even knowing what I was gonna do tomorrow, which was a big thing, especially at 19-years-old.”
Andy said he lacked the emotional maturity to cope with the circumstances back then, and it actually required up to 15 years for him to properly process and comprehend what had transpired.
He credited his family, mates and current partner for supporting him through that journey, confirming he’s now in a far healthier headspace.
Wrapping up, he shared: “Now I wouldn’t change anything, even though what has happened, I wouldn’t change anything that’s happened because the life I’ve got now is a beautiful life.”
Andy has recently released a photobook titled I Bet This Looks Good On Your Coffee Table, featuring intimate snapshots captured while touring with Arctic Monkeys across a two-year stretch.
Source: Mirror
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