The band was formed in Sheffield. They were playing small
halls and gigs in which they handed out CDs that they burned themselves to
crowd members. These CD’s were subsequently put onto file sharing websites labelled
beneath the boardwalk. This was not actually the band’s debut album these were
just demos. They had already acquired a fan base predominantly in the north as
a result of the distribution of beneath the boardwalk. BBC choose to feature
the band on the radio hugely increasing the bands popularity. Mark Bull helped
the band in shooting their first ever music video “Fake tales of San Francisco”.
The band then produced the songs “Fake tales of San Francisco” and “From the
Ritz” to the rubble on both CD and 7” records. However, the songs were also
made available on iTunes.
Arctic Monkeys then signed with record label Domino ran by Lawrence
Bell. The first single the band released with their new record deal was “I Bet
that You Look good on the Dancefloor”. The song was a huge success and went
straight to #1 outselling Robbie Williams and the Sugarbabes. The song also
made the front cover of popular magazine NME. They had a similar result with
song “When the Sun goes Down” selling almost 40,000 copies and taking the #1
slot. This revolutionised the way we looked at advertisement of bands.
This was the cover to the band’s debut album Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not. With the songlist,
1.
|
"The
View from the Afternoon"
|
3:38
|
2.
|
"I
Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor"
|
2:53
|
3.
|
"Fake
Tales of San Francisco"
|
2:57
|
4.
|
"Dancing
Shoes"
|
2:21
|
5.
|
"You
Probably Couldn't See for the Lights but You Were Staring Straight at
Me"
|
2:10
|
6.
|
"Still
Take You Home" (Turner, Jamie Cook)
|
2:53
|
7.
|
"Riot
Van"
|
2:14
|
8.
|
"Red
Light Indicates Doors Are Secured"
|
2:23
|
9.
|
"Mardy
Bum"
|
2:55
|
10.
|
"Perhaps
Vampires Is a Bit Strong But..."
|
4:28
|
11.
|
"When
the Sun Goes Down"
|
3:20
|
12.
|
"From
the Ritz to the Rubble"
|
3:13
|
13.
|
"A
Certain Romance"
|
5:31
|
The Album was a huge success; becoming the fastest selling
debut album of all time in the UK. Selling just under 400,000 copies in the
first week. Chris McClure is the man featured on the front of the album he is
just a friend of the band members. The Arctic Monkeys were not quite as successful in the US they failed to have the same national impact that they had
in the UK. The band equalled a record set by The Strokes and Oasis in scooping
the Best British Band, Best New Band and Best Track in the same year.
Andy Nicholson leaves Arctic Monkeys, ex bass and backing vocalist decided that he could no longer deal with the huge success that the mad had discovered. Then band had been taking advantage of the albums success with very lengthy tours that became too much for him so he quit the band.
The second album Favourite Worst Nightmare was just a successful. The album went straight to #1 and also scooped various awards from prestigious institutions such as The Brits. The band described the album as a completely new sound to the previous album. It highlighted the albums versatility that they could produce different sounds and still be just as successful. In the same year they had the honour of headlining Glastonbury, they had reached international stardom.
The album cover was far less controversial than the previous alum
Although the sound was different there was just as much support for the album and then some.
All of the 12 songs on the album were in the Top 200 in the UK. This shows the music fan that the album is not just a couple of hits and then filled with rubbish. It shows the album is consistent quality.
Andy Nicholson leaves Arctic Monkeys, ex bass and backing vocalist decided that he could no longer deal with the huge success that the mad had discovered. Then band had been taking advantage of the albums success with very lengthy tours that became too much for him so he quit the band.
The second album Favourite Worst Nightmare was just a successful. The album went straight to #1 and also scooped various awards from prestigious institutions such as The Brits. The band described the album as a completely new sound to the previous album. It highlighted the albums versatility that they could produce different sounds and still be just as successful. In the same year they had the honour of headlining Glastonbury, they had reached international stardom.
The album cover was far less controversial than the previous alum
No.
|
Title
|
Length
|
|
1.
|
"Brianstorm"
|
2:50
|
|
2.
|
"Teddy
Picker"
|
2:43
|
|
3.
|
"D
Is for Dangerous"
|
2:16
|
|
4.
|
"Balaclava"
|
2:49
|
|
5.
|
"Fluorescent
Adolescent" (Turner, Johanna Bennett)
|
2:57
|
|
6.
|
"Only
Ones Who Know"
|
3:02
|
|
7.
|
"Do
Me a Favour"
|
3:27
|
|
8.
|
"This
House Is a Circus"
|
3:09
|
|
9.
|
"If
You Were There, Beware"
|
4:34
|
|
10.
|
"The
Bad Thing"
|
2:23
|
|
11.
|
"Old
Yellow Bricks" (Turner, Jon McClure)
|
3:11
|
|
12.
|
"505"
|
4:13
|
Although the sound was different there was just as much support for the album and then some.
All of the 12 songs on the album were in the Top 200 in the UK. This shows the music fan that the album is not just a couple of hits and then filled with rubbish. It shows the album is consistent quality.
In the same year the band released their first live recording entitled 'At the Apollo' which was released in cinemas the following year. The recording was made just before Christmas.
Humbug 2009
Following the previous tour the band had a short break. An extensive tour around the world had taken a lot out of the band they then went on to write the album Humbug in 2008. With lead single "Crying Lightning" the band took new stimulus in writing their new album. Alex Turner was quoted in saying whilst the wrote the new album they would listen to the likes of Nick Cave Jimi Hendrix and Cream. Like the previous 2 album the album went straight to #1. They took it a stage further when they covered a nick cave song " Red Right Hand" . They were still a recognised band internationally Headlining festival to sell out gigs from everywhere from Reading to Mexico.
No.
|
Title
|
Length
|
|
1.
|
"My
Propeller"
|
3:27
|
|
2.
|
"Crying
Lightning"
|
3:43
|
|
3.
|
"Dangerous
Animals"
|
3:30
|
|
4.
|
"Secret
Door"
|
3:43
|
|
5.
|
"Potion
Approaching"
|
3:32
|
|
6.
|
"Fire
and the Thud"
|
3:57
|
|
7.
|
"Cornerstone"
|
3:18
|
|
8.
|
"Dance
Little Liar"
|
4:43
|
|
9.
|
"Pretty
Visitors"
|
3:40
|
|
10.
|
"The
Jeweller's Hands"
|
5:42
|
As you can see the album cover is as basic as possible and has moved away from showing band members as was the case in the album Humbug
No.
|
Title
|
Length
|
|
1.
|
"She's
Thunderstorms"
|
3:55
|
|
2.
|
"Black
Treacle"
|
3:35
|
|
3.
|
"Brick
by Brick"
|
2:59
|
|
4.
|
"The
Hellcat Spangled Shalalala"
|
3:00
|
|
5.
|
"Don't
Sit Down 'Cause I've Moved Your Chair"
|
3:04
|
|
6.
|
"Library
Pictures"
|
2:22
|
|
7.
|
"All
My Own Stunts"
|
3:52
|
|
8.
|
"Reckless
Serenade"
|
2:43
|
|
9.
|
"Piledriver
Waltz"
|
3:24
|
|
10.
|
"Love
Is a Laserquest"
|
3:12
|
|
11.
|
3:46
|
||
12.
|
"That's
Where You're Wrong"
|
4:17
|
The band tried to go back to writing in the same way that they did to produce the first album. Their international stardom meant that they had again global success. they toured with the album and advertised themselves on shows like The Graham Norton Show. However, The album is probably the least memorable off all there Arctic Monkeys- they still had international success headlining gigs from Leeds and V Festival to Mexico.
Next came the most mainstream and popular album of all AM
The album has a very clever cover its a sound wave of two identical sounds, and looks like a par of glasses.
The album has been the most popular of all and been hugely successful, people who had never previously heard of the band had become fans and began to work backwards through the bands albums. The album came with a brand new look and idea for the band of how they wanted to promote themselves. Alex Turner became the front man even more and was more than happy to brag about the bands success suggesting they a bastion for rock and Roll. There appearance on the Brits sparked much confrontation between music fans. Some who said Alex Turner is painfully arrogant and others saying he was just speaking the truth. Not to mention the sound. The sound was completely new with a far heavier bass and a lot less solo singing.
The Songs
R U Mine
Do I Wanna Know
and
Mad Sounds were all released individually
This is the song list from the band most popular album
No.
|
Title
|
Writer(s)
|
Length
|
|
1.
|
"Do I Wanna Know?"
|
4:32
|
||
2.
|
"R U Mine?"
|
3:20
|
||
3.
|
"One for the Road"
|
3:26
|
||
4.
|
"Arabella"
|
3:27
|
||
5.
|
"I Want It All"
|
3:04
|
||
6.
|
"No. 1 Party Anthem"
|
4:03
|
||
7.
|
"Mad Sounds"
|
Turner, Alan Smyth
|
3:35
|
|
8.
|
"Fireside"
|
3:01
|
||
9.
|
"Why'd You Only Call Me When You're High?"
|
2:42
|
||
10.
|
"Snap Out of It"
|
3:12
|
||
11.
|
"Knee Socks"
|
4:17
|
||
12.
|
"I Wanna Be Yours"
|
Turner, John Cooper Clarke
|
3:04
|
A music video from each album...
Transformation of lead man Alex Turner 2006>>>>>2014
Alex Turner has always been an arrogant character but his ego has grown dramatically as the band have continue to have global success. His look has also change dramatically. He has gone from the long hair and t shirt to the big quiff to a smarter look. Alex Turner is almost separate from the rest of the band similar to Chris Martin of Coldplay. A lot of people know the name Chris Martin and Alex Turner. However, the same people may struggle to name any other members of the band. As the band have aged Turner has taken more of a lead role in the music videos as well. Feeling more comfortable in taking that key role within music videos.