Saturday 8 November in Derbyshire felt alive again as Valley One returned to Shirland Miners Welfare for a free gig…
By K Futur LOCALFew album covers have become as instantly recognisable as Arctic Monkeys’ 2006 debut Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not. The grainy, smoke-filled image of a young man looking worse for wear after a night out perfectly captured the raw energy and realism of mid-2000s British indie culture. But behind that photograph lies the real story of Chris McClure – the Sheffield native whose blurred, cigarette-in-hand portrait became one of the most iconic images in British music history.
From Sheffield to the Front of Indie Rock History
In 2005, Arctic Monkeys were preparing to release their debut record – a frenetic, witty depiction of nightlife, youth and the messiness of British adolescence. The band wanted their album artwork to reflect that very world: something authentic, not stylised or polished, just a snapshot of a real person on a real night out.
Enter Chris McClure – a close friend of the band from Sheffield, and the younger brother of Reverend and The Makers frontman, Jon McClure. At the time, Chris was a student at Manchester Metropolitan University when Arctic Monkeys bassist Andy Nicholson called him with an unusual proposal. They needed someone to embody the “everyman” of a Saturday night.
McClure was told simply to “go out, get drunk and come back after midnight.” The shoot took place in Liverpool at the city’s now-legendary Korova bar, owned by members of Ladytron. Given around £70-£700 for the evening (depending on which version of the tale you hear), McClure and his friends did exactly what was asked – hit the town hard.
In the early hours of the morning, he returned to the bar to meet photographer Alex Turner’s chosen creative team. Sat on a stool, visibly intoxicated, whisky in hand and cigarette poised between his fingers, the photo was taken. “They gave me more whisky and I threw up halfway through,” McClure later admitted. “Everything was blurry.”
The resulting image – a bleary-eyed man staring through the camera, caught mid-drag – became the defining snapshot of a generation.
Controversy and Cultural Impact
When the album was released in January 2006, the photograph caused a stir. NHS Scotland publicly criticised the artwork for “reinforcing the idea that smoking is okay,” while others praised it for perfectly capturing the gritty realism of Arctic Monkeys’ lyrics.
McClure himself didn’t expect the level of attention. “I was pleased but I don’t think I grasped how massive it was going to be,” he recalled. “It was only on the day the album was released that I thought, ‘What have I let myself in for?’”
The record went on to become the fastest-selling debut album in UK chart history at the time, winning the Mercury Prize and propelling Arctic Monkeys to international fame. Suddenly, McClure – the man on the cover – became a minor celebrity.
Reporters camped outside the pub where he worked part-time. TV networks like E4 offered him presenter roles, and tabloids reportedly offered up to £10,000 for exclusive stories about his nights out. “Clubs would call and offer free drinks all night if I just went down,” McClure joked. “I’d go to house parties and my face would be in the bedrooms.”
Still, he never sold out the band or capitalised heavily on the fame. Instead, he chose to keep his life relatively grounded, even working with adults who have learning difficulties in later years. “The only thing I might change is the money,” he joked. “I got paid £750 for that night. I should have asked for 10p of every album sale.” With over three million copies sold worldwide, that would have made him a small fortune.
The Bracknall Era: Reinvention Through Comedy
Fast forward nearly two decades, and McClure has found himself back in the public eye – this time in an entirely different role. Under the guise of Steve Bracknall, a fictional Sunday League football manager, McClure has built a cult following online. His spoof videos, often filmed as tongue-in-cheek pep talks or chaotic match-day rants, have attracted hundreds of thousands of followers across TikTok and Instagram, transforming him into one of British social media’s most unlikely comedy stars.
The character of Steve Bracknall manages the equally fictional team Royal Oak FC, a perfect send-up of grassroots football culture. It’s rough, sweary and deeply relatable to anyone who’s ever played Sunday League football. Fans were stunned to discover that the man behind Bracknall was the same one from Arctic Monkeys’ debut cover.
“Just found out this bloke is that Sunday League TikTok manager Steve Bracknall,” one user posted in disbelief. Another added: “I actually can’t believe it’s him – one of the greatest album covers of all time!”
After weeks of speculation, McClure confirmed the rumours himself in a heartfelt social media post:
“2024 has been the most intense year of my life. Loss of my dad being the most difficult. Bringing a baby up. Leaving my job. Having a business that just exploded across the country. All the while pretending to be the assistant manager of a Sunday League football club. Love you, Dad.”
A Life Intertwined with Sheffield Music History
Chris’s connection to Sheffield’s music scene runs deep. Alongside his brother Jon and Arctic Monkeys’ Alex Turner, he was part of the early-2000s indie community that helped shape the city’s musical identity. In fact, McClure and Turner briefly played in a pre-Monkeys project called Judan Suki, alongside drummer Matt Helders.
The Arctic Monkeys’ breakout hit I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor even references their friendship – the line “Dancing to electropop like a robot from 1984” nods to McClure’s old band 1984.
Old footage has also resurfaced of a 2004 gig where members of Reverend & The Makers, Milburn, and Arctic Monkeys joined forces to cover Oasis songs – with Chris McClure right in the mix. It’s a small but fascinating glimpse into the tight-knit Sheffield music scene that produced some of the UK’s most defining indie acts.
Legacy of a Night Out Immortalised
Nearly 20 years on, that single photograph of McClure – weary-eyed, cigarette smouldering, face half-lit in a haze of bar smoke – continues to define an era. It’s become a cultural relic of Britain’s mid-2000s nightlife, one that symbolised the raw authenticity Arctic Monkeys brought to the music scene.
On the album’s 15th anniversary in 2021, McClure reflected on his unlikely role in pop culture history:
“What a record. Met some great people since – literally through having my photo taken. Pleasure to be associated with it.”
From Sheffield pubs to viral TikToks, from a £750 night out to millions of album covers worldwide, Chris McClure remains an unlikely British icon – one whose story proves that sometimes, the most memorable moments in culture come from the most ordinary nights.
