"Standing Next to Me" is a song by English

baroque pop Baroque pop (sometimes called baroque rock) is a fusion genre that combines rock music with particular elements of classical music. It emerged in the mid 1960s as artists pursued a majestic, orchestral sound and is identifiable for its appropria ...

band

The Last Shadow Puppets The Last Shadow Puppets are an English supergroup consisting of Alex Turner (Arctic Monkeys), Miles Kane (The Rascals, solo artist), James Ford (Simian, Simian Mobile Disco, music producer), and Zach Dawes (Mini Mansions). The band released th ...

. It was released on 7 July 2008 in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

Domino Recording Company Domino Recording Company or simply Domino is a British independent record label based in London. There is also a wing of the label based in Brooklyn, New York that handles releases in the United States, as well as a German division called Dom ...

as the second

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

of their debut album ''

The Age of the Understatement ''The Age of the Understatement'' is the debut album by English supergroup The Last Shadow Puppets, released on 15 April 2008 by Domino Recording Company. It was written between band co-frontmen Alex Turner and Miles Kane in 2006. It was prod ...

''. Written by co-frontmen

Alex Turner Alexander David Turner (born 6 January 1986) is an English musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer. He is well known as the frontman and principal songwriter of the rock band Arctic Monkeys, with whom he has released seven albums. He ...

and

Miles Kane Miles Peter Kane (born 17 March 1986) is an English musician, best known as a solo artist and the co-frontman of the Last Shadow Puppets. He was also the former frontman of the Rascals, before the band announced their break-up in August 2009. ...

, the song was produced by James Ford, and recorded at Black Box studios in France in the summer of 2007. The lyrics describe a

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between the narrator, a woman, and another man. Upon release, the song reached number 30 on the

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on 13 July 2008.

Background

The song started during the

Arctic Monkeys Arctic Monkeys are an English rock band formed in Sheffield in 2002. The group consists of Alex Turner (lead vocals, guitar, keyboards), Jamie Cook (guitar, keyboards), Nick O'Malley (bass guitar, backing vocals), and Matt Helders (drums, back ...

2005 U.K. tour, where Kane's band

The Little Flames The Little Flames were an indie rock band from Hoylake, England. The band consisted of Eva Petersen (Vocals), Greg Mighall (Drums), Joe Edwards (Bass), Miles Kane (Guitar) and Mat Gregory (Guitar). Their music can best be described as indie ro ...

acted as support. Kane played a rough version of the track to Turner on their dressing room, which he had a positive reaction to.

Music video

On 15 July a music video directed by

Richard Ayoade Richard Ellef Ayoade ( ; born 23 May 1977) is a British actor, comedian, broadcaster and filmmaker. He is best known for his role as socially awkward IT technician Maurice Moss in Channel 4 sitcom ''The IT Crowd'' (2006–2013), for which he ...

was released. The video, shot in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, featured Turner on tambourine and Kane on guitar performing the song with shadowing in what resembles to be a television studio accompanied by a group of dancers in matching striped dresses, but differently coloured

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Live performances

Before the album release, the song was first played live at The Last Shadow Puppets' first ever concert, at Sound Fix Records, Brooklyn on 4 March 2008. The band performed the song throughout 2008 on "The Age of the Understatement Tour" where it would often be played as the show closer. Standing Next to Me, was subsequently performed during the band hiatus in 2010, when they played an acoustic set at

Club Nokia Club Nokia was a mobile internet digital distribution portal, similar to an App Store, operated by Nokia to provide special offers, paid-for ringtones, picture messages and game content directly to members. Following resistance from its mobile ope ...

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, for Brian O'Connor's benefit concert. This marked the first live performance of the band since 2008. On 3 February 2012, Miles Kane supported Arctic Monkeys at their Paris

Olympia The name Olympia may refer to: Arts and entertainment Film * ''Olympia'' (1938 film), by Leni Riefenstahl, documenting the Berlin-hosted Olympic Games * ''Olympia'' (1998 film), about a Mexican soap opera star who pursues a career as an athlet ...

show. At the conclusion of the support slot, Turner joined Kane to perform the song. This was repeated again a year later, at Kane's

Glastonbury Glastonbury (, ) is a town and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated at a dry point on the low-lying Somerset Levels, south of Bristol. The town, which is in the Mendip district, had a population of 8,932 in the 2011 census. Glastonbury ...

set, near the end of his performance. At

Finsbury Park Finsbury Park is a public park in the London neighbourhood of Harringay. It is in the area formerly covered by the historic parish of Hornsey, succeeded by the Municipal Borough of Hornsey. It was one of the first of the great London parks ...

2014, both reunited once more for an acoustic performance. The song was brought back again in 2016 during the "Everything You've Come to Expect Tour," once again serving as the show closer. The song is often performed similarly to the music video, with Turner playing tambourine and Kane an acoustic guitar, singing at their respective microphones. During the instrumental break, one of them will move towards the other and sing together, sharing one mic, for the remainder of the song. This was done for the first time in 2008 at their concert in Tempodrom Berlin and has become a staple ever since.

Critical reception

For '' The Skinny'', the song is "another testament to the songwriting prowess of Turner and ..Miles Kane", describing it as, "finely crafted retro pop, but there are certain flourishes present that allude to new territories."

Track listing

Charts

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Standing Next To Me 2008 singles 2008 songs The Last Shadow Puppets songs Songs written by Alex Turner (musician) Song recordings produced by James Ford (musician) Songs written by Miles Kane Domino Recording Company singles