505 (song)
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"505" is a song by English rock band Arctic Monkeys. Written by lead singer and frontman Alex Turner and produced by James Ford and Mike Crossey, it is the closing track on the band's second studio album, '' Favourite Worst Nightmare'' (2007). The song was a sleeper hit, initially peaking at number 73 on the UK Singles Chart. In late 2022, it gained a resurgence in popularity due to usage on the social media platform TikTok. As a result, "505" peaked at number two on the ''Billboard'' Bubbling Under Hot 100 and number 94 on the ''Billboard'' Global 200. It is currently the most streamed track from ''Favourite Worst Nightmare,'' with about 1.8 billion streams on Spotify as of 23 September 2024. A live version was released on 19 November 2020 as a promotional single for the band's second live album, '' Live at the Royal Albert Hall'' (2020).


Release and promotion

"505" was released on 23 April 2007 as the closing track from Arctic Monkeys' second studio album '' Favourite Worst Nightmare'' (2007). The song became a frequent closer of the band's live shows since 2007. It has been performed several times with Miles Kane, including during Arctic Monkeys' headline set at
TRNSMT TRNSMT (pronounced as "Transmit") is a music festival staged at Glasgow Green in Glasgow, Scotland, organised by DF Concerts. History An early line-up for the first TRNSMT festival was revealed in January 2017, two months after the announceme ...
in 2018 and the last night of the band's three-days residency at the
Emirates Stadium The Emirates Stadium (known as Arsenal Stadium for UEFA competitions) is a football stadium in Holloway, London, England. It has been the home stadium of Arsenal Football Club since its completion in 2006. It has a current seated capacity ...
in London in June 2023. Turner and Kane also performed the song as The Last Shadow Puppets during their 2016 headline
Rockwave Festival Rockwave Festival is a rock festival that takes place in Malakasa, Greece, near Athens. It is one of the most famous music festivals in Greece. The festival's history begins in 1996, but its popularity has spread since 2004. The festival's loc ...
set. On 19 November 2020, the band released a live version of "505" ahead of their second live album '' Live at the Royal Albert Hall''. It was recorded on 7 June 2018 at the
Royal Albert Hall The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall on the northern edge of South Kensington, London. One of the UK's most treasured and distinctive buildings, it is held in trust for the nation and managed by a registered charity which receives no govern ...
in London. All of the proceeds from that project were donated to War Child. A fan favourite, "505" became popular on TikTok in August 2022 when it was associated to a variety of videos, including some by users showcasing the soft grunge, 2014 Tumblr
aesthetic Aesthetics, or esthetics, is a branch of philosophy that deals with the nature of beauty and taste, as well as the philosophy of art (its own area of philosophy that comes out of aesthetics). It examines aesthetic values, often expressed th ...
. Following that viral success, the song surged on Spotify where it became the band's third most popular song with an average of 1.7 million plays a month. It reached a new peak in the UK Singles Chart and was number 64 on the 2022 annual chart. It was also the biggest indie song in the UK in 2022.


Composition

"505" is composed in the
key Key or The Key may refer to: Common meanings * Key (cryptography), a piece of information that controls the operation of a cryptography algorithm * Key (lock), device used to control access to places or facilities restricted by a lock * Key (map ...
of
C major C major (or the key of C) is a major scale based on C, consisting of the pitches C, D, E, F, G, A, and B. C major is one of the most common keys used in music. Its key signature has no flats or sharps. Its relative minor is A minor and ...
with a time signature of (common time), and follows a tempo of 140 beats per minute. The track predominantly features an
organ Organ may refer to: Biology * Organ (biology), a part of an organism Musical instruments * Organ (music), a family of keyboard musical instruments characterized by sustained tone ** Electronic organ, an electronic keyboard instrument ** Hammond ...
sample of
Ennio Morricone Ennio Morricone (; 10 November 19286 July 2020) was an Italian composer, orchestrator, conductor, and trumpeter who wrote music in a wide range of styles. With more than 400 scores for cinema and television, as well as more than 100 classica ...
's '' The Good, the Bad and the Ugly'', played by Turner himself, as well as a guitar played by long-time collaborator Miles Kane. The song's lyrics prominently focus on a relationship, and the protagonist yearningly returning to a place for a certain moment or individual. The track is often referred to as one of the first love songs by the band, with Turner stating in an interview with '' NME'', "the first proper love song we've done… as in like, 'Oh, it's that one person'". In the same interview, Turner also admits the song centers around an ex-lover of his, which fans have theorized refers to Turner's then-girlfriend,
Johanna Bennett Johanna Bennett (born 30 September 1984) is an English musician. She was the frontwoman of the band Totalizer, whose demos were produced by Dirty Pretty Things guitarist Anthony Rossomando. The band played a couple of shows and folded in Novembe ...
.


Personnel

Personnel adapted from liner notes Arctic Monkeys * Alex Turner – vocals, organ * Jamie Cook – guitar * Nick O'Malley – bass * Matt Helders – drums, percussion Additional Performer * Miles Kane – guitar Technical Personnel * Mike Crossey – production * James Ford – production * Alan Moulder – mixing * George Marino – mastering


Reception

"505" received mainly positive reviews from critics.
Marc Hogan Marc Hogan (born October 3, 1981) is an American journalist. He currently works as a senior staff writer at Pitchfork. Hogan has been a music critic at Pitchfork since 2004. He has contributed to a number of other publications, including '' SPIN ...
of '' Pitchfork'' referred to it as "one of Turner's first proper love songs" stating further, "the closing '505', nowiki/>sic">sic.html" ;"title="nowiki/>sic">nowiki/>sicdraped with an apparent
Ennio Morricone Ennio Morricone (; 10 November 19286 July 2020) was an Italian composer, orchestrator, conductor, and trumpeter who wrote music in a wide range of styles. With more than 400 scores for cinema and television, as well as more than 100 classica ...
organ sample, poignantly if none too adventurously describes Turner's longing to get back to a hotel room where his lover awaits". In an article revisiting the track, Harry Fortuna of '' The Edge'' praises Turner's maturity in the song's lyrics, commenting "lyrically, Turner is at his poetic best, as he makes his pilgrimage back to his awaiting lover in hotel room 505, he displays his tendency for the explicit as he croons over the lines 'I'm always just about to go and spoil the surprise / Take my hands off of your eyes too soon'". "The song is way before its time", he further states, "evoking a romanticism and air of class that can be seen in much larger volumes in 2013's ''AM (Arctic Monkeys album)">AM'', contrasted with the rustic authenticity that harks back to the band's roots that are grounded in the nightclubs of Sheffield. '505' epitomises everything about the band". Alexis Petridis of ''The Guardian'' states the track "discusses how touring plays havoc with one's love life... It's so heartfelt and riven with insecurity that it transcends the dreary genre to which it should by rights belong, that of songs in which rock stars complain about being rock stars. That stuff this mature and thoughtful was written by someone barely 21 years old genuinely gives you pause for thought". In another article ranking all the band's songs, Petridis ranks "505" at number three, stating "the belated progress of 505 from overlooked album track to one of Arctic Monkeys' biggest songs... is fascinating. TikTok clearly played a role, but so did the sheer quality of the song: over chords borrowed from Ennio Morricone, it deals in beautifully understated melancholy". In 2023, '' Rolling Stone'' and '' Paste'' ranked the song number five and number six, respectively, on their lists of the greatest Arctic Monkeys songs. The song was voted number four on the 2023 edition of Radio X's annual "Best British Song of All Time" poll.


Cover versions

American singer
Nessa Barrett Janesa Jaida "Nessa" Barrett (born August 6, 2002) is an American singer. She has released one EP, ''Pretty Poison'' (2021), and one studio album, ''Young Forever'' (2022). Early life Barrett is of Puerto Rican descent and was born and grew u ...
released a dream pop cover of "505" as part of the extended version of her debut album ''Young Forever''. British singer
Louis Tomlinson Louis William Tomlinson (; born Louis Troy Austin; 24 December 1991) is an English singer and songwriter. He rose to fame as a member of the boy band One Direction. Tomlinson began his career appearing in television dramas before he auditioned ...
covered "505" during the opening night of his sophomore tour "Faith in the Future" at the
Mohegan Sun Arena The Mohegan Sun Arena is a 10,000 seat multi-purpose arena in Uncasville, Connecticut, located inside the Mohegan Sun casino resort. The arena facility features of configurable exhibition space and a clear span. It was built by the Perini Buil ...
in Uncasville, Connecticut on 26 May 2023. He continued to cover the song at every show of his world tour.


Charts


Weekly charts


Year-end charts


Certifications


References

{{Arctic Monkeys 2007 songs Arctic Monkeys songs Songs written by Jamie Cook Songs written by Matt Helders Songs written by Nick O'Malley Songs written by Alex Turner (musician) Song recordings produced by James Ford (musician)