rock
Rock most often refers to:
* Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids
* Rock music, a genre of popular music
Rock or Rocks may also refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wale ...
band formed in
Sheffield
Sheffield is a city in South Yorkshire, England, situated south of Leeds and east of Manchester. The city is the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire and some of its so ...
in 2002. They comprise lead singer
Alex Turner
Alexander David Turner (born 6 January 1986) is an English musician. He is the lead vocalist and songwriter of the rock band Arctic Monkeys. Turner is known for his Songwriter, lyricism ranging from kitchen sink realism to surrealism, surreal ...
, drummer Matt Helders, guitarist Jamie Cook and bassist Nick O'Malley. The co-founder and original bassist Andy Nicholson left in 2006.
Arctic Monkeys were one of the first bands to come to public attention via the
Internet
The Internet (or internet) is the Global network, global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a internetworking, network of networks ...
, with commentators suggesting they represented a change in how new bands are promoted and marketed. Their debut album, '' Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not'' (2006), received acclaim and topped the
UK Albums Chart
The Official Albums Chart is the United Kingdom's industry-recognised national record chart for album, albums. Entries are ranked by sales and audio streaming. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the O ...
, becoming the fastest-selling debut album in British chart history at the time. It won Best British Album at the 2007 Brit Awards and has been hailed as one of the greatest debut albums. The band's second album, ''
Favourite Worst Nightmare
''Favourite Worst Nightmare'' is the second studio album by English Rock music, rock band Arctic Monkeys, first released in Japan on 18 April 2007 and in the United Kingdom on 23 April 2007 by Domino Recording Company. Recorded in East London's ...
'' (2007), was also acclaimed and won Best British Album at the 2008 Brit Awards. '' Humbug'' (2009) and '' Suck It and See'' (2011) received positive but weaker reviews.
The band achieved wider international fame with their acclaimed fifth album '' AM'' (2013), which was supported by the global hit " Do I Wanna Know?". It topped four ''Billboard'' charts and was certified 4× Platinum in the US. At the 2014 Brit Awards, it became the third Arctic Monkeys album to win British Album of the Year. Their sixth album, '' Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino'' (2018), departed from the band's guitar-heavy work, instead being piano-oriented. Their seventh album, '' The Car'' (2022), received nominations for the
Ivor Novello Awards
The Ivor Novello Awards, named after the Welsh entertainer Ivor Novello, are awards for songwriting and Musical composition, composing. They have been presented annually in London by the The Ivors Academy, Ivors Academy, formerly called the Britis ...
and the
Mercury Prize
The Mercury Prize, formerly called the Mercury Music Prize, is an annual Music award, music prize awarded for the best album released by a musical act from the Music of the United Kingdom, United Kingdom or Music of Ireland, Ireland. It was cre ...
in 2023. It was their third album nominated for a Grammy for Best Alternative Music Album, and their second consecutive nomination after ''Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino''.
In the United Kingdom, Arctic Monkeys became the first independent-label band to debut at number one in the UK with their first five albums. They have won seven Brit Awards, winning Best British Group and British Album of the Year three times, becoming the first band to ever "do the double"—that is, win in both categories—three times; a
Mercury Prize
The Mercury Prize, formerly called the Mercury Music Prize, is an annual Music award, music prize awarded for the best album released by a musical act from the Music of the United Kingdom, United Kingdom or Music of Ireland, Ireland. It was cre ...
for ''Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not''; an
Ivor Novello Award
The Ivor Novello Awards, named after the Welsh entertainer Ivor Novello, are awards for songwriting and Musical composition, composing. They have been presented annually in London by the The Ivors Academy, Ivors Academy, formerly called the Britis ...
and 20
NME Awards
The ''NME'' Awards is an annual music awards show in the United Kingdom, founded by the music magazine ''NME'' (''New Musical Express''). The first awards show was held in 1953 as the ''NME'' Poll Winners Concerts, shortly after the founding o ...
. They have been nominated for nine
Grammy Award
The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious ...
s, and received Mercury Prize nominations in 2007, 2013, 2018 and 2023. Both ''Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not'' and ''AM'' are included in ''
NME
''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming and culture website, bimonthly magazine, and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a "Rock music, rock inkie", the ''NME'' would be ...
'' and different editions of ''
Rolling Stone
''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason.
The magazine was first known fo ...
''s lists of the "
500 Greatest Albums of All Time
5 (five) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number, and cardinal number, following 4 and preceding 6, and is a prime number.
Humans, and many other animals, have 5 digits on their limbs.
Mathematics
5 is a Fermat pri ...
".
History
2002–2005: early years and record deal
Arctic Monkeys were formed in mid-2002 by friends
Alex Turner
Alexander David Turner (born 6 January 1986) is an English musician. He is the lead vocalist and songwriter of the rock band Arctic Monkeys. Turner is known for his Songwriter, lyricism ranging from kitchen sink realism to surrealism, surreal ...
, Matt Helders, and Andy Nicholson (who left the band shortly after their debut album, '' Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not'', was released). Turner and Helders were neighbours and close friends, and they met Nicholson in secondary school. Turner, who had grown up in a musical household as his father was a music teacher, played guitar in the then-instrumental-only band, with Helders on drums, Nicholson on bass and a new band member, Jamie Cook, as a second guitarist. In 2005, Turner said they took their name from a band that Helders' dad played in during the 1970s: "He passed it down from generation to generation, like a recipe." Initially, Turner was reluctant when it came to being the lead singer. As time passed, Turner became the lead singer and frontman of the band as he had "a thing for words", according to Helders.
The band began rehearsing at Yellow Arch Studios in Neepsend, and played its first gig on 13 June 2003 at The Grapes in Sheffield city centre. After a few performances in 2003, the band began to record
demos
Demos may refer to:
Computing
* DEMOS, a Soviet Unix-like operating system
* DEMOS (ISP), the first internet service provider in the USSR
* Demos Commander, an Orthodox File Manager for Unix-like systems
* Plural for Demo (computer programming ...
at 2fly studios in Sheffield. 18 songs were demoed in all and the collection, now known as '' Beneath the Boardwalk'', was burned onto CDs to give away at gigs, which were promptly file-shared amongst fans. The name ''Beneath the Boardwalk'' originated when the first batch of demos were sent around. The first sender, wanting to classify the demos, named them after where he received them, the
Boardwalk
A boardwalk (alternatively board walk, boarded path, or promenade) is an elevated footpath, walkway, or causeway typically built with wooden planks, which functions as a type of low water bridge or small viaduct that enables pedestrians to ...
. Slowly, as more demos were spread, they were all classified under this name. This has led to many people falsely believing that ''Beneath the Boardwalk'' was an early album, or that the early demos were all released under this title. The group did not mind the distribution, saying "we never made those demos to make money or anything. We were giving them away free anyway – that was a better way for people to hear them."
The band began to grow in popularity across the north of England, receiving attention from
BBC Radio
BBC Radio is an operational business division and service of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a royal charter since 1927. The service provides national radio stations cove ...
and the British tabloid press. A local amateur photographer, Mark Bull, filmed the band's performances and made the music video " Fake Tales of San Francisco", releasing it on his website, alongside the contents of ''Beneath the Boardwalk'' – a collection of the band's songs which he named after a local music venue. When asked about the popularity of the band's
MySpace
Myspace (formerly stylized as MySpace, currently myspace; and sometimes my␣, with an elongated Whitespace character#Substitute images, open box symbol) is a social networking service based in the United States. Launched on August 1, 2003, it w ...
site, the band said that they were unaware of what it was and that the site had originally been created by their fans. In May 2005, Arctic Monkeys released the EP '' Five Minutes with Arctic Monkeys'' on their own 'Bang Bang' label, featuring the songs "Fake Tales of San Francisco" and "From the Ritz to the Rubble". This release was limited to 500 CDs and 1,000 7" records, but was also available to download from the iTunes Music Store. Soon after, the band played at the Carling Stage of the
Reading and Leeds Festivals
The Reading and Leeds Festivals are a pair of annual music festivals that take place in Reading and Leeds in England. The events take place simultaneously on the Friday, Saturday and Sunday of the August bank holiday weekend. The Reading Fest ...
, reserved for less known or unsigned bands.
Eventually, they were signed to
Domino
Dominoes is a family of tile-based games played with gaming pieces. Each domino is a rectangular tile, usually with a line dividing its face into two square ''ends''. Each end is marked with a number of spots (also called '' pips'' or ''dots'' ...
in June 2005. The band said they were attracted to the
DIY ethic
"Do it yourself" ("DIY") is the method of building, modifying, or repairing things by oneself without the direct aid of professionals or certified experts. Academic research has described DIY as behaviors where "individuals use raw and semi- ...
of Domino owner Laurence Bell, who ran the label from his flat and only signed bands that he liked personally. The UK's '' Daily Star'' reported that this was followed in October by a £1 million publishing deal with
EMI
EMI Group Limited (formerly EMI Group plc until 2007; originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records or simply EMI) was a British transnational conglomerate founded in March 1931 in London. At t ...
and a £725,000 contract with
Epic Records
Epic Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the American division of Japanese conglomerate Sony
is a Japanese multinational conglomerate (company), cong ...
for the United States. Arctic Monkeys denied this on their website, dubbing the newspaper "The Daily Stir". However, Domino had licensed the Australian and New Zealand publishing rights to EMI and the Japanese rights to independent label Hostess. Their debut single, " I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor", which was recorded at Chapel Studios in Lincolnshire, was released on 17 October 2005 and went straight to No. 1 on the UK singles chart. Their second single, " When the Sun Goes Down" (previously titled "Scummy"), released on 16 January 2006, also went straight to No. 1. The band's success with little marketing or advertising led some to suggest that it could signal a change in how new bands achieve recognition.
2006: ''Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not''
Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire (), abbreviated ''Lincs'', is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands and Yorkshire and the Humber regions of England. It is bordered by the East Riding of Yorkshire across the Humber estuary to th ...
in January 2006 with British record producer Jim Abbiss producing. ''Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not'' became the fastest-selling debut album in UK chart history, selling 363,735 copies in the first week. This surpassed the previous record of 306,631 copies held by ''
Popstars
''Popstars'' is an international reality television franchise aimed to find new singing talent. Serving as a precursor to the ''Idol'' franchise, '' Popstars'' first began in New Zealand in 1999 when producer Jonathan Dowling formed the girl gr ...
'' by
Hear'Say
Hear'Say were a British pop group. They were created through the ITV (TV network), ITV reality TV show ''Popstars (British TV series), Popstars'' in February 2001, the first UK series of the international ''Popstars'' Media franchise, franch ...
and sold more copies on its first day alone – 118,501 – than the rest of the Top 20 albums combined. The cover sleeve of ''Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not'', showing Chris McClure, a friend of the band smoking a cigarette, was criticised by the head of the
NHS
The National Health Service (NHS) is the term for the publicly funded health care, publicly funded healthcare systems of the United Kingdom: the National Health Service (England), NHS Scotland, NHS Wales, and Health and Social Care (Northern ...
in Scotland for "reinforcing the idea that smoking is okay". The image on the CD itself is a shot of an ashtray full of cigarettes. The band's product manager denied the accusation and suggested the opposite – "You can see from the image smoking is not doing him the world of good".
The record was released a month later in the US on 21 February 2006 and entered at No. 24 on the ''
Billboard
A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...
'' album chart after it sold 34,000 units in its first week, making it the second fastest selling debut
indie rock
Indie rock is a Music subgenre, subgenre of rock music that originated in the United Kingdom, United States and New Zealand in the early to mid-1980s. Although the term was originally used to describe rock music released through independent reco ...
album in America. However, US sales for the first year did not match those of the first week in the UK for the album. US critics were more reserved about the band than their UK counterparts and appeared unwilling to be drawn into the possibility of "yet another example of the UK's press over-hyping new bands". However, the band's June 2006 tour of North America received critical acclaim at each stop – the hype surrounding them "proven to exist for good reason". The album was certified Gold by the
RIAA
The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...
in 2017 for selling over 500,000 units in the United States. Meanwhile, the UK's ''NME'' magazine declared the band's debut album the "5th greatest British album of all time". It also equalled the record of
the Strokes
The Strokes are an American Rock music, rock band formed in New York City in 1998. The band is composed of lead singer and primary songwriter Julian Casablancas, guitarists Nick Valensi and Albert Hammond, Jr., Albert Hammond Jr., bassist Nikola ...
and
Oasis
In ecology, an oasis (; : oases ) is a fertile area of a desert or semi-desert environmentNME Awards
The ''NME'' Awards is an annual music awards show in the United Kingdom, founded by the music magazine ''NME'' (''New Musical Express''). The first awards show was held in 1953 as the ''NME'' Poll Winners Concerts, shortly after the founding o ...
, winning three fan-voted awards for Best British Band, Best New Band and Best Track for "I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor".
Arctic Monkeys wasted no time in recording new material and released '' Who the Fuck Are Arctic Monkeys?'', a five-track EP on 24 April 2006. Due to its length, the EP was ineligible to chart as a UK single or album. Furthermore, the record's graphic language has resulted in significantly less radio airplay than previous records, although this was not a reported concern according to an insider – "since they made their name on the Internet... they don't care if they don't get radio play". The release of the EP ''Who the Fuck Are Arctic Monkeys?'' Just three months after their record-breaking debut album has been criticised by some, who have seen it as "money-grabbing" and "cashing in on their success". The band countered that it regularly releases new music not to make money, but to avoid the "boredom" of "spending three years touring on one album".
Soon after the release of the EP in the UK, the band announced that Andy Nicholson would not take part in the band's forthcoming North America tour due to fatigue from "an intensive period of touring". On returning to the UK, Nicholson confirmed that he would leave Arctic Monkeys and start his own project. He also said that he couldn't deal with the band's fame and success over the previous six months. In a statement on their official website, the band said: "We are sad to tell everyone that Andy is no longer with the band", also confirmed that Nick O'Malley – former bassist with the Dodgems who had drafted in as temporary bassist for the tour – would continue as bassist for the rest of their summer tour schedule. Shortly after, Nick O'Malley was confirmed as the formal replacement for Nicholson.
Arctic Monkeys' first release without Nicholson, the single "
Leave Before the Lights Come On
"Leave Before the Lights Come On" is a song by English indie rock band Arctic Monkeys. The song was released on 14 August 2006 as the band's third single (music), single in the United Kingdom. The song was not included on the band's debut album ...
", came on 14 August 2006. Turner said that the song was one of the last songs he wrote before their rise to fame and suggested that "it feels very much like it could be on the album". Peaking at No. 4 in the UK, the single became the band's first single not to reach No. 1. The band was re-united at the
Leeds Festival
The Reading and Leeds Festivals are a pair of annual music festivals that take place in Reading, Berkshire, Reading and Leeds in England. The events take place simultaneously on the Friday, Saturday and Sunday of the August bank holiday weekend ...
when Nicholson met up with his former bandmates and his replacement bassist, O'Malley. Only the original band members, minus Nicholson, were present at the award ceremony when ''Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not'' won the 2006
Mercury Prize
The Mercury Prize, formerly called the Mercury Music Prize, is an annual Music award, music prize awarded for the best album released by a musical act from the Music of the United Kingdom, United Kingdom or Music of Ireland, Ireland. It was cre ...
two weeks later.
2007: ''Favourite Worst Nightmare''
The band's second album, ''
Favourite Worst Nightmare
''Favourite Worst Nightmare'' is the second studio album by English Rock music, rock band Arctic Monkeys, first released in Japan on 18 April 2007 and in the United Kingdom on 23 April 2007 by Domino Recording Company. Recorded in East London's ...
'', was released on 23 April 2007, a week after the release of accompanying single " Brianstorm". Like its predecessor, ''Favourite Worst Nightmare'' quickly reached No. 1 in the album charts. Turner described the songs as "very different from last time", adding that the sound of some tracks are "a bit full-on – a bit like "From the Ritz to the Rubble", "The View from the Afternoon", that sort of thing". A secret gig played at Sheffield's Leadmill on 10 February 2007, debuted seven new songs (six from ''Favourite Worst Nightmare'' and one other). Early reviews of the release were positive and described it as "very, very fast and very, very loud".
Meanwhile, the band continued to pick up awards from around the world, namely the Best New Artist in the United States at the PLUG Independent Music Awards, the Album of the Year awards in Japan, Ireland and the US, awards for Best Album and Best Music DVD for the short film '' Scummy Man'' at the 2007 NME Awards. It ended the year by clinching the Best British Band and Best British Album at the 2008 BRIT Awards. For the second year in a row, the band was nominated for the annual
Mercury Prize
The Mercury Prize, formerly called the Mercury Music Prize, is an annual Music award, music prize awarded for the best album released by a musical act from the Music of the United Kingdom, United Kingdom or Music of Ireland, Ireland. It was cre ...
.
On 29 April 2007, the day ''Favourite Worst Nightmare'' charted at No. 1 in the
UK Albums Chart
The Official Albums Chart is the United Kingdom's industry-recognised national record chart for album, albums. Entries are ranked by sales and audio streaming. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the O ...
, all 12 tracks from the album charted in the Top 200 of the UK singles chart. The band later released "
Fluorescent Adolescent
"Fluorescent Adolescent" is a song by English indie rock band Arctic Monkeys. It was released as the second single from their second studio album ''Favourite Worst Nightmare'' (2007). It was released on 9 July 2007 in the United Kingdom. The lyr ...
" as a single, and it charted at No. 5, after debuting the song live on '' The Jonathan Ross Show'' dressed as clowns. The third single from ''Favourite Worst Nightmare'', " Teddy Picker", was released on 3 December 2007. It charted at No. 20 and remained only one week in the top 40 staying in this position, making it the lowest charting single for the band so far. Prior to this release the band released an extremely limited number of 250 vinyls under the pseudonym Death Ramps containing two of the
B-sides
The A-side and B-side are the two sides of vinyl records and cassettes, and the terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side of a single usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or ...
from the "Teddy Picker" single.
In its first week of release the album sold 227,993 copies, emulating '' Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not'' in going straight to number one in the
UK Albums Chart
The Official Albums Chart is the United Kingdom's industry-recognised national record chart for album, albums. Entries are ranked by sales and audio streaming. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the O ...
, albeit selling 130,000 copies fewer than their record-breaking debut. The first two singles from the album "Brianstorm" and "Fluorescent Adolescent" were both UK Top Hits. ''Favourite Worst Nightmare''s first day sales of 85,000 outsold the rest of the Top 20 combined, while all twelve tracks from the album entered the top 200 of the UK singles chart in their own right. By September 2013 the album has sold 821,128 copies in UK and has since gone 3× platinum by 2018. In the USA, the album debuted at number seven, selling around 44,000 copies in its first week.
Arctic Monkeys headlined the
Glastonbury Festival
The Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts (commonly referred to as simply Glastonbury Festival, known colloquially as Glasto) is a five-day festival of contemporary performing arts held near Pilton, Somerset, England, in most su ...
on 22 June 2007, the highlights of which were aired on
BBC2
BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's second flagship channel, and it covers a wide range of subject matter, incorporating genres such as comedy, drama and ...
. During their headline act, the band performed with
Dizzee Rascal
Dylan Kwabena Mills (born 18 September 1984), known professionally as Dizzee Rascal, is a British rapper and MC. He is often credited as a pioneer of British hip hop and grime music and was ranked by ''Complex'' as one of the greatest British ...
Shirley Bassey
Dame Shirley Veronica Bassey (; born 8 January 1937) is a Welsh singer. Known for her career longevity, powerful voice and recording the James Bond music, theme songs to three James Bond films - the only artist to officially perform more than o ...
Dublin
Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...
's Malahide Castle on 16 June 2007, with a second date added the following day. On 28–29 July 2007 the band played their biggest concert to date with two sell out shows at the 55,000 capacity
Old Trafford Cricket Ground
Old Trafford is a cricket ground in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, England. It opened in 1857 as the home of Manchester Cricket Club and has been the home of Lancashire County Cricket Club since 1864. From 2013 onwards it has been known ...
in
Manchester
Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...
. Billed as being the group's own 'mini-festivals' both date saw support sets for
Supergrass
Supergrass are an English rock band formed in 1993. For the majority of the band's tenure, the line-up consisted of brothers Gaz (lead vocals, guitar) and Rob Coombes (keyboards), Mick Quinn (bass, backing vocals) and Danny Goffey (drums, ...
,
The Coral
The Coral are an English rock band, formed in 1996 in Hoylake on the Wirral Peninsula, Merseyside. The band emerged during the early 2000s. Their 2002 debut album ''The Coral (album), The Coral'', from which came the single "Dreaming of You (T ...
,
Amy Winehouse
Amy Jade Winehouse (14 September 1983 – 23 July 2011) was an English singer, songwriter, musician, and businesswoman. With over 30 million records sold worldwide, she was known for her deep, expressive contralto vocals and her eclectic mix ...
and Japanese Beatles tribute act The Parrots. The shows were hailed as 'the gigs of a generation' by ''NME'' and were even compared to
Oasis
In ecology, an oasis (; : oases ) is a fertile area of a desert or semi-desert environmentKnebworth House
Knebworth House is an English country house in the parish of Knebworth in Hertfordshire, England. It is a Listed building#Categories of listed building, Grade II* listed building. Its gardens are also listed Register of Historic Parks and Gar ...
in 1996. The LCCG concerts cemented Arctic Monkeys' status as the defining band of their generation, as Oasis had done before them. The band was also slated to play the Austin City Limits Music Festival in September 2007. Other European festivals include Rock Werchter in 2007. The band played two shows at
Cardiff International Arena
Cardiff International Arena (formerly known as Cardiff International Arena & Convention Centre and Motorpoint Arena Cardiff and currently, for sponsorship reasons, as Utilita Arena Cardiff) is an indoor exhibition centre and events arena locate ...
on 19 and 20 June 2007. They also played two London gigs at
Alexandra Palace
Alexandra Palace is an entertainment and sports venue in North London, situated between Wood Green and Muswell Hill in the London Borough of Haringey. A listed building, Grade II listed building, it is built on the site of Tottenham Wood and th ...
on 8 and 9 December 2007. On 1 September 2007 the band performed an intimate show at Ibiza Rocks show in Bar M (now Ibiza Rocks Bar) along with Reverend and the Makers. The band played their last show of the tour on 17 December 2007 at Manchester Apollo, which was filmed for the live album and video release '' At the Apollo'', which was released in cinemas the following year.
2008–2010: ''Humbug''
After a brief hiatus during which Turner toured and recorded with his side project
the Last Shadow Puppets
The Last Shadow Puppets are an English supergroup consisting of Alex Turner (Arctic Monkeys), Miles Kane ( the Little Flames, the Rascals), James Ford (Simian, Simian Mobile Disco), and Zach Dawes ( Mini Mansions).
The Last Shadow Puppe ...
Queens of the Stone Age
Queens of the Stone Age (commonly abbreviated as QOTSA or QotSA) is an American rock band formed in Seattle in 1996. The band was founded by vocalist and guitarist Josh Homme shortly before he returned to his native Palm Desert, California. ...
in early autumn, 2008, and half in the New York sessions with James Ford in spring, 2009, following their January tour of New Zealand and Australia. During this tour, lead single "
Crying Lightning
"Crying Lightning" is a song by the English indie rock band Arctic Monkeys, released as the first single from their third album '' Humbug''. It was first played on Zane Lowe's show on BBC Radio 1 on 6 July 2009 and was then made available on iT ...
", along with ''Humbug'' songs "Pretty Visitors", "Dangerous Animals" and "Potion Approaching" (then known as "Go-Kart"), was debuted live. It was later revealed by Matt Helders in a video diary that the album would consist of 14 tracks and that Turner would stay in New York to oversee the mixing of the material. However, the final track listing, revealed on 1 June 2009, listed only 10.
In a preview article on '' Clash'', writer Simon Harper claimed that the band had "completely defied any expectations or presumptions to explore the depths they can reach when stepping foot outside their accepted styles," and that "Turner is his usual eloquent self, but has definitely graduated into an incomparable writer whose themes twist and turn through stories and allegories so potent and profound it actually leaves one breathless". On the same site, Turner revealed that the band had listened to
Nick Cave
Nicholas Edward Cave (born 22 September 1957) is an Australian musician, writer, and actor who fronts the rock band Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds. Known for his baritone voice, Cave's music is characterised by emotional intensity, a wide variety ...
,
Jimi Hendrix
James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix (born Johnny Allen Hendrix; November 27, 1942September 18, 1970) was an American singer-songwriter and musician. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential guitarists of all time. Inducted ...
and
Cream
Cream is a dairy product composed of the higher-fat layer skimmed from the top of milk before homogenization. In un-homogenized milk, the fat, which is less dense, eventually rises to the top. In the industrial production of cream, this proces ...
while writing the new album, the title of which would be '' Humbug''. ''Humbug'' was released on 19 August 2009, and, like both of its predecessors, the album went straight to No. 1.
As announced on Arctic Monkeys' website, the first single from ''Humbug'' was "Crying Lightning", released on 6 July. It also received its first radio premiere on the same day. On 12 July 2009, the single "Crying Lightning" debuted at number 12 in the UK singles chart. The second single, "
Cornerstone
A cornerstone (or foundation stone or setting stone) is the first stone set in the construction of a masonry Foundation (engineering), foundation. All other stones will be set in reference to this stone, thus determining the position of the entir ...
", was released on 16 November 2009. It was announced in February 2010 that the third and final single to be taken from ''Humbug'' would be " My Propeller", released on 22 March. Shortly before the release of the new single, the band did a one-off UK show at the Royal Albert Hall in support of the Teenage Cancer Trust on 27 March.
Arctic Monkeys embarked on the first leg of the worldwide Humbug Tour in January 2009 and went on to headline 2009's
Reading and Leeds Festivals
The Reading and Leeds Festivals are a pair of annual music festivals that take place in Reading and Leeds in England. The events take place simultaneously on the Friday, Saturday and Sunday of the August bank holiday weekend. The Reading Fest ...
. During this performance, they played a number of songs from ''Humbug'', plus older tracks such as "Brianstorm" and a cover of
Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds
Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds are a Rock music, rock band formed in Melbourne in 1983 by lead vocalist Nick Cave, multi-instrumentalist Mick Harvey and German guitarist-vocalist Blixa Bargeld. The band has featured international personnel throug ...
' " Red Right Hand". They were also the headline act on the first night of 2009's
Exit festival
Exit (stylized in all caps; ) is a summer music festival which is held at the Petrovaradin Fortress in Novi Sad, Serbia. Founded in 2000, it has twice won the Best Major Festival award at the European Festivals Awards, for 2013 and 2017. EXIT has ...
in Serbia. In North America, where they had less of a following, they played abridged sets at Montreal's
Osheaga Festival
The Osheaga Music and Arts Festival () is a multi-day music festival in Montreal, Quebec, that is held every summer at Parc Jean-Drapeau on Île Sainte-Hélène. The festival takes place on six stages with various audience capacities. Translated ...
''NME'' reported in May 2011 that the band were teaming up with producer James Ford once again and would be releasing their fourth studio album in late spring at the earliest. ''Q'' magazine reported that the fourth Arctic Monkeys album would be of a "more accessible vintage" than ''Humbug''. ''Q'' printed edition 299 states "It's the sound of a band drawing back the curtains and letting the sunshine in". The album was recorded in
Sound City Studios
Sound City Studios is a recording studio in Los Angeles, California, United States, known as one of the most successful in popular music. The complex opened in 1969 in the Van Nuys neighborhood of Los Angeles. The facility had previously been a p ...
in Los Angeles in 2010 and 2011. On 4 March 2011, the band premièred on its website a new track called " Brick by Brick" with lead vocals by Matt Helders. Helders explained that this is not a single, just a tease of what is coming and that is it is going to be on the fourth album. On 10 March 2011 the band revealed the album to be called '' Suck It and See'' and was released on 6 June 2011.
Their fourth album's first single, titled " Don't Sit Down 'Cause I've Moved Your Chair" was released as a digital download on 12 April and on vinyl with "Brick by Brick" on 16 April for
Record Store Day
Record Store Day is a semi-annual event established in 2008 to "celebrate the culture of the independently owned record store". Held on one Saturday (typically the third) every April and every Black Friday in November, the day brings together f ...
. On 17 April, it went to No. 28 in the UK singles chart. A version of the single with 2 B-sides was released on 7 and 10 inch vinyl on 30 May. The band allowed fans to listen to the entire album on their website before deciding about whether to purchase it or not. ''Suck It and See'' was then released on 6 June 2011, and went straight to No. 1 in the album charts. In doing so, Arctic Monkeys became only the second band in history to debut four albums in a row at the top of the charts.
The band announced " The Hellcat Spangled Shalalala" as the second single to be taken from ''Suck It and See''. Most of the stock was burned because of the London riots. A limited edition 7" Vinyl of the single was then released over the band's website on 14 August. The song reached No. 15. in Belgium. In September 2011 the band released a music video for the song " Suck It and See" featuring drummer Matt Helders, and announced they would be releasing it as a single on 31 October 2011. In July 2011, the band released a live EP over
iTunes
iTunes is a media player, media library, and mobile device management (MDM) utility developed by Apple. It is used to purchase, play, download and organize digital multimedia on personal computers running the macOS and Windows operating s ...
with 6 live recordings from the
iTunes Festival
The Apple Music Festival (formerly known as the iTunes Festival) was a concert series held by Apple, Inc. and inaugurated in 2007. Free tickets were given to Apple Music, iTunes and DICE users who lived in the United Kingdom, through localized ...
in London.
The album has also been successful commercially. In its first week of release, the album debuted at number one in the United Kingdom, selling over 82,000 units. Overall, the album sold 333,000 units. ''
NME
''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming and culture website, bimonthly magazine, and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a "Rock music, rock inkie", the ''NME'' would be ...
'' named the album cover, an artwork-free cream monochrome after the styling of the Beatles' White Album, as one of the worst in history. In July, the album won Mojo award for the Best Album of 2011. ''
Mojo
Mojo may refer to:
* Mojo (African-American culture), a magical charm bag used in Hoodoo
Arts, entertainment and media Film and television
* ''Mojo'' (2017 film), a 2017 Indian Kannada drama film written and directed by Sreesha Belakvaadi
* '' ...
'' placed the album at number 39 on its list of "Top 50 albums of 2011". On 30 May, a week before official release, Domino Records streamed the entire album on
SoundCloud
SoundCloud is a German audio streaming service owned and operated by SoundCloud Global Limited & Co. KG. The service enables its users to upload, promote, and share audio. Founded in 2007 by Alexander Ljung and Eric Wahlforss, SoundCloud is ...
. Within a few hours of being made public, the first two tracks had reached over 10,000 listens each, and by the end of the week, each had accrued over 100,000 plays.
Arctic Monkeys embarked in May 2011 on their Suck It and See Tour. They headlined the Benicàssim Festival 2011 alongside
the Strokes
The Strokes are an American Rock music, rock band formed in New York City in 1998. The band is composed of lead singer and primary songwriter Julian Casablancas, guitarists Nick Valensi and Albert Hammond, Jr., Albert Hammond Jr., bassist Nikola ...
,
Arcade Fire
Arcade Fire is a Canadian indie rock band from Montreal, Quebec, consisting of husband and wife Win Butler and Régine Chassagne, alongside Richard Reed Parry, Tim Kingsbury, and Jeremy Gara. The band's touring line-up includes former core ...
and
Primal Scream
Primal Scream are a Scottish rock music, rock band originally formed in 1982 in Glasgow by Bobby Gillespie (vocals) and Jim Beattie (musician), Jim Beattie (guitar). The band's current lineup consists of Gillespie, Andrew Innes (guitar), Simon ...
Rock Werchter
Rock Werchter is an annual music festival held in the village of Werchter, near Leuven, Belgium, since 1976 and is a large sized rock music festival. The 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2012 and 2014 festivals received the Arthur award for ''best festiva ...
and T in The Park. They confirmed on 7 February that they were playing two "massive homecoming shows" at the Don Valley Bowl in Sheffield on 10 and 11 June, support included
Miles Kane
Miles Peter Kane (born 17 March 1986) is an English singer and 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 Au ...
,
Anna Calvi
Anna Margaret Michelle Calvi (born 24 September 1980) is an English singer-songwriter and guitarist. Her accolades include three Mercury Prize nominations, one Brit Awards, Brit Award nomination, and a European Border Breakers Award. She has b ...
, the Vaccines and Dead Sons and Mabel Love, clips from the show were also used in the music video for "The Hellcat Spangled Shalalala". They played at
Lollapalooza
Lollapalooza () is an annual American four-day music festival held in Grant Park (Chicago), Grant Park in Chicago. It originally started as a touring event in 1991, with Chicago becoming its permanent location beginning in 2005. Music genres i ...
5–7 August 2011. On 21 August, they also played at Lowlands, the Netherlands. The tour continued until March 2012.
On 27 October they released a music video for "Evil Twin" on YouTube, the B-side to their new single "Suck It and See". They performed the song on ''
The Graham Norton Show
''The Graham Norton Show'' is a British comedy chat show presented by Graham Norton. It was initially broadcast on BBC Two, from 22 February 2007, before moving to BBC One in October 2009. It currently airs on Friday evenings, with Norton ...
'' on 28 October. The fourth single from ''Suck It and See'', " Black Treacle" was released on 23 January 2012. This video for the single continued the theme from the previous single, "Suck It and See" and "Evil Twin". In March, the band embarked on a North American stadium tour supporting
the Black Keys
The Black Keys are an American Rock music, rock duo formed in Akron, Ohio in 2001. The group consists of Dan Auerbach (guitar, Singing, vocals) and Patrick Carney (Drum kit, drums). The duo began as an Independent music, independent act, record ...
.
2013–2016: ''AM''
On 26 February 2012, the band released a new song titled " R U Mine?" on their YouTube channel. On 4 March, it went to No. 23 on the UK singles chart on downloads alone. On 21 April, the song was released as a single, with the track "Electricity" as a B-side, released additionally for Record Store Day. On 27 July, Arctic Monkeys played in the London Summer Olympics opening ceremony, performing " I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor" and a cover of
the Beatles
The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...
song "
Come Together
"Come Together" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles, written by John Lennon and credited to Lennon–McCartney. The song is the opening track on the band's 1969 studio album ''Abbey Road''. It was also a double A-side single in the U ...
Ventura, California
Ventura, officially named San Buenaventura (Spanish for "Saint Bonaventure"), is a city in and the county seat of Ventura County, California, United States. It is a coastal city located northwest of Los Angeles. The population was 110,763 at the ...
, where they debuted a new song titled " Do I Wanna Know?". On 1 June 2013, the band performed at Free Press Summer Fest in Houston, TX. On 14 June, the band debuted another song titled "Mad Sounds" at Hultsfred Festival in Sweden. Four days later, on 18 June 2013, the band released the official video to "Do I Wanna Know?". The studio version of the song, along with accompanying visuals, was also made available to purchase via iTunes and entered the UK singles chart at number 11. On 23 June 2013 Arctic Monkeys headlined
Southside Festival
The Southside Festival (simply known as Southside) is an annual Music festival#Rock Music festivals, music festival that takes place near Tuttlingen, Germany, usually every June. The festival as well as its artists and audiences are generally ...
in Germany.
The band's fifth studio album, '' AM'', was released on 9 September 2013. The album was recorded in Rancho de la Luna in
Joshua Tree, California
Joshua Tree is a census-designated place (CDP) in San Bernardino County, California, United States. The population was 6,489 at the 2020 census. At approximately above sea level, Joshua Tree and its surrounding communities are located in the Hig ...
Queens of the Stone Age
Queens of the Stone Age (commonly abbreviated as QOTSA or QotSA) is an American rock band formed in Seattle in 1996. The band was founded by vocalist and guitarist Josh Homme shortly before he returned to his native Palm Desert, California. ...
,
Elvis Costello
Declan Patrick MacManus (born 25 August 1954), known professionally as Elvis Costello, is an English singer, songwriter, record producer, author and television host. According to ''Rolling Stone'', Costello "reinvigorated the literate, lyrical ...
Bill Ryder-Jones
William Edward Ryder-Jones (born 10 August 1983) is an English singer-songwriter, musician, music producer and composer from West Kirby, Merseyside. He co-founded the band The Coral, together with James Skelly, Lee Southall, Paul Duffy, and Ia ...
of
the Coral
The Coral are an English rock band, formed in 1996 in Hoylake on the Wirral Peninsula, Merseyside. The band emerged during the early 2000s. Their 2002 debut album ''The Coral (album), The Coral'', from which came the single "Dreaming of You (T ...
. Further, on 27 June, the band announced an eight date UK arena tour culminating with a homecoming gig at the
Motorpoint Arena Sheffield
Sheffield Arena, known for sponsorship purposes as Utilita Arena Sheffield, is a multi-purpose arena located in Sheffield, England. It is situated near Meadowhall and lies between Sheffield city centre and Rotherham town centre.
Opened in 1991 ...
Gdynia
Gdynia is a city in northern Poland and a seaport on the Baltic Sea coast. With an estimated population of 257,000, it is the List of cities in Poland, 12th-largest city in Poland and the second-largest in the Pomeranian Voivodeship after Gdańsk ...
, Poland and played on the main stage on 4 July. On 20 July, the band performed at Benicàssim 2013. On 11 August 2013, the third single from the album, " Why'd You Only Call Me When You're High?", was released, with the B-side "Stop The World I Wanna Get Off With You". It debuted at no. 8 on the UK singles chart on 18 August 2013, making it the band's first UK Top 10 single since 2007's "Fluorescent Adolescent". The band streamed the album in its entirety four days ahead of its release.
''AM'' has received critical acclaim from music critics. At
Metacritic
Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...
, which assigns a normalised rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 81, based on 36 reviews. Simon Harper of '' Clash'' magazine states: "Welding inspiration from hip-hop greats with rock's titans, ''AM'' is built upon portentous beats that are dark and intimidating, yet wickedly thrilling." Ray Rahman of ''
Entertainment Weekly
''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American online magazine, digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, ...
'' gave it an 'A−' and opined that "''AM'' mixes Velvet Underground melodies,
Black Sabbath
Black Sabbath are an English rock band formed in Birmingham in 1968 by guitarist Tony Iommi, drummer Bill Ward (musician), Bill Ward, bassist Geezer Butler, and vocalist Ozzy Osbourne. After adopting the Black Sabbath name in 1969 (the band ...
riffs, and playful grooves, and has fun doing it." '' Time Out'' said of the album: "One of Britain's greatest bands just got greater in an unexpected but hugely welcome way. Single men, I urge you: put down '' FHM'' and pick up ''AM''." In their 10/10 review, ''
NME
''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming and culture website, bimonthly magazine, and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a "Rock music, rock inkie", the ''NME'' would be ...
'' wrote that ''AM'' is "absolutely and unarguably the greatest record of their career". In his 8/10 review, J.C. Maçek III of ''
PopMatters
''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, ...
'' praised Turner for being "at his most poetic to date" and called the album "a wonderfully cohesive and diverse album that fits together incredibly well". Tim Jonze of ''
The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...
'' noted that the album "manages to connect those different directions – the muscular riffs of '' Humbug'' and the wistful pop of ''Suck It and See'' – with the bristling energy and sense of fun that propelled their initial recordings". ''
Pitchfork
A pitchfork or hay fork is an agricultural tool used to pitch loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. It has a long handle and usually two to five thin tines designed to efficiently move such materials.
The term is also applie ...
''s Ryan Dombal called ''AM'' "paranoid and haunted".
Upon the release of ''AM'' on 9 September 2013, the album debuted at number 1 in the UK album charts, selling over 157,000 copies in its first week. As a result, Arctic Monkeys made history as the first independent label band with five consecutive number 1 albums in the UK. The album received widespread critical acclaim and brought Arctic Monkeys their third nomination for the
Mercury Prize
The Mercury Prize, formerly called the Mercury Music Prize, is an annual Music award, music prize awarded for the best album released by a musical act from the Music of the United Kingdom, United Kingdom or Music of Ireland, Ireland. It was cre ...
. The album also won the Brit award for Best British Album. In the United States, the album sold 42,000 copies in its first week and debuted at number six on the ''Billboard'' 200 chart, becoming the band's highest-charting album in the United States. In August 2017, ''AM'' was certified
platinum
Platinum is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Pt and atomic number 78. It is a density, dense, malleable, ductility, ductile, highly unreactive, precious metal, precious, silverish-white transition metal. Its name origina ...
by the
RIAA
The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...
for combined sales and
album-equivalent unit
The album-equivalent unit, or album equivalent, often shortened to just unit, is a sales metric in the music industry that defines the number of streaming media, songs streamed and music download, songs downloaded equal to one Record sales, tradi ...
s over of a million units in the United States. Turner described ''AM'' as the band's "most original lbumyet," merging hip-hop drum beats with 1970s heavy rock. The frontman has said that the song "
Arabella
''Arabella'', Op. 79, is a lyric comedy, or opera, in three acts by Richard Strauss to a German libretto by Hugo von Hofmannsthal, their sixth and last operatic collaboration.
Performance history
It was first performed on 1 July 1933 at the D ...
" expresses the two styles of the album most effectively in one track. On ''AM'', Turner continued to experiment with unusual lyrics, and the album includes the words from poem "I Wanna Be Yours" by John Cooper Clarke. Turner has stated that Homme's appearance on the song "Knee Socks" marks his favourite moment of the whole album.
On 23 and 24 May 2014, Arctic Monkeys held one of their biggest shows to date, playing to approximately 80,000 across two days shows at Finsbury Park with the support act by
Tame Impala
Tame Impala is the psychedelic music project of Australian singer and multi-instrumentalist Kevin Parker (musician), Kevin Parker. In the recording studio, Parker writes, records, performs, and produces all of the project's music. As a touring a ...
,
Miles Kane
Miles Peter Kane (born 17 March 1986) is an English singer and 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 Au ...
and
Royal Blood
A royal descent is a genealogical line of descent from a past or present monarch.
Both geneticists and genealogists have attempted to estimate the percentage of living people with royal descent. From a genetic perspective, the number of unp ...
. Arctic Monkeys also headlined the Reading and Leeds Festival in August 2014. The band had a handful of shows in late 2014, which closed the AM Tour. In December 2014, "Do I Wanna Know?" was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Rock Performance. On 24 August 2014, the band announced a hiatus following their AM Tour. Turner and Helders have both pursued other projects during this time. In 2016, Turner announced his second album with the Last Shadow Puppets, '' Everything You've Come to Expect''. Helders played the drums on Iggy Pop's album '' Post Pop Depression''. In July 2016, the band revealed an elephant sculpture designed in the style of their ''AM'' album cover for charity. The project raised money for the Sheffield Children's Hospital arts trail.
2017–2021: ''Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino''
In December 2016, Turner confirmed to BBC Radio Sheffield that the band's hiatus had ended and work had begun on their sixth studio album. The album had begun recording in September 2017. The album, '' Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino'' was released on 11 May 2018. The band headlined a handful of festivals in summer 2018, included
Firefly Music Festival
Firefly Music Festival was a music festival produced by AEG Presents that was first held on July 20–22, 2012, in Dover, Delaware. Firefly takes place in The Woodlands of Dover Motor Speedway, a festival ground, over the span of three days. ...
Rock Werchter
Rock Werchter is an annual music festival held in the village of Werchter, near Leuven, Belgium, since 1976 and is a large sized rock music festival. The 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2012 and 2014 festivals received the Arthur award for ''best festiva ...
,
Lollapalooza
Lollapalooza () is an annual American four-day music festival held in Grant Park (Chicago), Grant Park in Chicago. It originally started as a touring event in 1991, with Chicago becoming its permanent location beginning in 2005. Music genres i ...
, Austin City Limits Music Festival, and the Voodoo Experience. Despite its stylistic deviation polarising listeners, ''Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino'' was released to generally positive reviews. It became the band's sixth consecutive number-one debut in the UK and the country's fastest-selling vinyl record in 25 years. Following its release, the album was promoted by the singles " Four Out of Five" and " Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino", multiple television appearances.
Reflektor Magazine had the following to say about the album in a review, "After five years of silence, the Arctic Monkeys make their much-awaited return with surprising and hypnotic ''Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino''. Perfectly managing to avoid self-parody or stylistic repetitions, this new album appears as a startling reinvention, a meandering and puzzling journey beyond known territories. Just like mankind first set foot on the moon on the 'Tranquility base' site, the Arctic Monkeys disembark in an unknown universe in which they reveal a new, unexpected aspect of themselves.".
''Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino'' was nominated for the 2018
Mercury Prize
The Mercury Prize, formerly called the Mercury Music Prize, is an annual Music award, music prize awarded for the best album released by a musical act from the Music of the United Kingdom, United Kingdom or Music of Ireland, Ireland. It was cre ...
, an annual prize awarded to the year's best British or Irish album. This became the band's fourth nomination for the award: the second most nominations received by any act. The album was nominated for
Best Alternative Music Album
The Grammy Award for Best Alternative Music Album is an award presented to recording artists for quality albums in the alternative genre at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards. Ho ...
at the
61st Annual Grammy Awards
The 61st Annual Grammy Awards ceremony was held on February 10, 2019, at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. Singer-songwriter Alicia Keys hosted. During her opening monologue, Keys brought out Lady Gaga, Jada Pinkett Smith, Jennifer Lopez, and fo ...
, with single "Four Out of Five" nominated for Best Rock Performance. The album also appeared on numerous year-end lists. With '' Q'' and Kitty Empire of ''
The Observer
''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. First published in 1791, it is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper.
In 1993 it was acquired by Guardian Media Group Limited, and operated as a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' ...
'' naming it the best album of 2018. Publications including ''
NME
''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming and culture website, bimonthly magazine, and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a "Rock music, rock inkie", the ''NME'' would be ...
'', ''
The Independent
''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...
'' and ''
Mojo
Mojo may refer to:
* Mojo (African-American culture), a magical charm bag used in Hoodoo
Arts, entertainment and media Film and television
* ''Mojo'' (2017 film), a 2017 Indian Kannada drama film written and directed by Sreesha Belakvaadi
* '' ...
'' also listed ''Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino'' as the year's second best album. ''
Uproxx
Uproxx Studios (stylized as ''UPROXX'') is an American music, entertainment and popular culture website and content studio. It was founded in 2008 by Jarret Myer and Brian Brater. The website was acquired in 2014 by Woven Digital (which later ...
'',
BBC Radio 6 Music
BBC Radio 6 Music is a British digital radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It primarily plays a wide range of alternative music, from established and emerging artists and bands. In 2002 it was the first national music radio station t ...
and ''
Entertainment Weekly
''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American online magazine, digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, ...
'' included the album in the top five of their year-end lists, with ''
Vulture
A vulture is a bird of prey that scavenges on carrion. There are 23 extant species of vulture (including condors). Old World vultures include 16 living species native to Europe, Africa, and Asia; New World vultures are restricted to Nort ...
'' and ''
The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...
'' including the album in their top ten. Publications that listed the album in their top twenty include '' Paste'' and ''
The Line of Best Fit
''The Line of Best Fit'' is an independent online magazine based in London, concentrating on new music.
It publishes independent music reviews, features, interview, and media. Founded by Richard Thane in February 2007 and currently edited by P ...
''. Numerous publications included ''Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino'' in their top fifty albums of the year, including ''
Crack Magazine
''Crack'' is a monthly independent music and culture magazine distributed across Europe.
Founded in Bristol in the UK in 2009, the magazine has featured Björk, MF Doom, Lil Yachty, FKA twigs, Gorillaz and Queens of the Stone Age on the cover ...
'', ''
Esquire
Esquire (, ; abbreviated Esq.) is usually a courtesy title. In the United Kingdom, ''esquire'' historically was a title of respect accorded to men of higher social rank, particularly members of the landed gentry above the rank of gentleman ...
'', ''
musicOMH
''MusicOMH'' (stylized as ''musicOMH'') is a London-based online music magazine which publishes independent reviews, features and interviews from across all genres including classical, metal, rock and R&B.
History
''MusicOMH'' was founded an ...
'', ''
Pitchfork
A pitchfork or hay fork is an agricultural tool used to pitch loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. It has a long handle and usually two to five thin tines designed to efficiently move such materials.
The term is also applie ...
Vice
A vice is a practice, behaviour, Habit (psychology), habit or item generally considered morally wrong in the associated society. In more minor usage, vice can refer to a fault, a negative character trait, a defect, an infirmity, or a bad or unhe ...
'' listed the album in their top hundred.
A live album from their 2018 ''Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino Tour'' concert at the
Royal Albert Hall
The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall on the northern edge of South Kensington, London, England. It has a seating capacity of 5,272.
Since the hall's opening by Queen Victoria in 1871, the world's leading artists from many performance genres ...
entitled '' Live at the Royal Albert Hall'' was released on 4 December 2020. All proceeds from the album, as with the concert, went to the charity War Child.
2022–present: ''The Car''
On 8 December 2021, the band was announced as the Saturday co-headliner of the 2022 Reading and Leeds Festival, alongside
Bring Me the Horizon
Bring Me the Horizon are a British Rock music, rock band, formed in Sheffield, England in 2004. The group currently consists of lead vocalist Oli Sykes, drummer Matt Nicholls, guitarist Lee Malia and bassist Matt Kean (musician), Matt Kean. T ...
,
Megan Thee Stallion
Megan Jovon Ruth Pete (born February 15, 1995), known professionally as Megan Thee Stallion, is an American rapper and singer-songwriter.
Megan initially gained recognition when videos of her freestyling began to circulate widely on social me ...
, Rage Against the Machine and Halsey (singer), Halsey. On 23 August 2022 at the Zurich Openair festival, they debuted new song "I Ain't Quite Where I Think I Am". The following day they announced their seventh studio album, '' The Car'', which was released on 21 October 2022. On 30 August 2022, they released the first single from the album, "There'd Better Be a Mirrorball", accompanied by a video directed by Turner. On 29 September 2022, the second single "Body Paint (song), Body Paint" was released. "I Ain't Quite Where I Think I Am" was released as the third single on 18 October 2022. ''The Car'' peaked at No. 2 on the UK Albums Chart, behind Taylor Swift's ''Midnights''. In the US, the album landed at No. 6 on the ''Billboard'' 200.
''The Car'' like its predecessor, was nominated for the 2023
Mercury Prize
The Mercury Prize, formerly called the Mercury Music Prize, is an annual Music award, music prize awarded for the best album released by a musical act from the Music of the United Kingdom, United Kingdom or Music of Ireland, Ireland. It was cre ...
. This was their fifth nomination, the most nominations of any artist, held jointly with Radiohead. The album was also nominated for "Grammy Award for Best Alternative Music Album, Best Alternative Music Album" at the 66th Annual Grammy Awards, the songs "Body Paint (song), Body Paint" and "Sculptures of Anything Goes" were nominated in the Grammy Award for Best Alternative Music Performance, Best Alternative Music Performance and Grammy Award for Best Rock Performance, Best Rock Performance categories respectively. ''The Car'' received praise from critics, being called the best album of the year by ''
NME
''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming and culture website, bimonthly magazine, and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a "Rock music, rock inkie", the ''NME'' would be ...
'' as well as being in the top five of several publications, including ''Far Out (website), Far Out'', ''DIY (magazine), DIY'', ''The Sunday Times'' and ''
The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...
''.
In June 2023, it was confirmed that the band would headline for Friday night on the Pyramid Stage at the Glastonbury Festival 2023, Glastonbury Festival, despite Turner having contracted laryngitis. The band had cancelled a gig in
Dublin
Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...
earlier in the week.
Musical style and influences
Arctic Monkeys' musical style has been mainly described as
indie rock
Indie rock is a Music subgenre, subgenre of rock music that originated in the United Kingdom, United States and New Zealand in the early to mid-1980s. Although the term was originally used to describe rock music released through independent reco ...
, garage rock, post-punk revival, psychedelic rock, alternative rock, Lounge music, lounge pop, post-Britpop,I. Collinson, "Devopop: pop Englishness and post-Britpop guitar bands", in A. Bennett and J. Stratton, eds, ''Britpop and the English Music Tradition'' (Aldershot: Ashgate, 2010), , pp. 163–178. stoner rock, guitar pop, post-punk, punk rock, and hard rock. A key part of their sound, and one that translates across their whole discography, is Turner's intricate and often rapidly delivered lyrics, sung in a distinctive strong Sheffield accent that their music became famed for in their early years. The punk poet John Cooper Clarke was a formative influence on Turner; his poem "I Wanna Be Yours" was adapted into a track on the band's fifth album ''AM''. Their first album, ''Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not'', has been described as indie rock, garage rock revival, post-punk revival, punk rock, alternative rock, and post-Britpop. ''Favourite Worst Nightmare'' has been described as post-punk revival, indie rock, garage rock, alternative rock, psychedelic rock, and post-Britpop, with Turner's sharp lyrics the focal point. On the first album, Turner examined human behaviour in nightclubs and in the culture of the band's hometown,
Sheffield
Sheffield is a city in South Yorkshire, England, situated south of Leeds and east of Manchester. The city is the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire and some of its so ...
. Turner describes "Dancing Shoes" as being about "people always looking to wikt:pull, pull when they go out however much they mask it".
These themes continued on the following album ''Favourite Worst Nightmare'' with the band still progressing as musicians. Songs such as "
Fluorescent Adolescent
"Fluorescent Adolescent" is a song by English indie rock band Arctic Monkeys. It was released as the second single from their second studio album ''Favourite Worst Nightmare'' (2007). It was released on 9 July 2007 in the United Kingdom. The lyr ...
" and "Do Me a Favour" explored failed relationships, nostalgia and growing old, while musically the band took up a more up-tempo and aggressive sound.
Their third album ''Humbug'' marked a change in sound and was described as psychedelic rock, hard rock, stoner rock, alternative rock, post-punk revival, indie rock, garage rock, and Palm Desert Scene, desert rock, due to the influence of the album's producer and
Queens of the Stone Age
Queens of the Stone Age (commonly abbreviated as QOTSA or QotSA) is an American rock band formed in Seattle in 1996. The band was founded by vocalist and guitarist Josh Homme shortly before he returned to his native Palm Desert, California. ...
frontman, Josh Homme. For ''Humbug'', the band actively sought a new sound. Homme was quoted saying, "They came to me: 'Will you take us to the weird and the strange?'" According to ''Brooklyn Vegan'', "they were no longer pulling mostly from rowdy garage rock, but from tripped-out psychedelia, lumbering doom metal, hypnotic stoner rock, and darker songwriters like
Nick Cave
Nicholas Edward Cave (born 22 September 1957) is an Australian musician, writer, and actor who fronts the rock band Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds. Known for his baritone voice, Cave's music is characterised by emotional intensity, a wide variety ...
."
Their fourth album ''Suck It and See'' sees the band exploring styles, mixing them with newfound maturity. Turner said: "I think the new album is a balance between our first three. There's nothing about taxi ranks or anything like that, but there's a bit of the standpoint I had on those early songs and the sense of humour, but also there's a bit of the 'Humbug' stuff which is kind of off in the corners." The album was described as guitar pop, indie rock, indie pop, psychedelic pop, alternative rock, pop rock, garage rock, psychedelic rock and Pop music, pop. Critics noted an influence from British rock bands from the 1960s, as well as the Smiths, and slower, love-themed ballads featured more heavily on the album than the fast-paced, rockier songs that typify the band's sound. Turner wrote much of the album in his apartment on an acoustic guitar, further influencing the ballad-style prevalent on the album.
In a 2012 interview with ''
Pitchfork
A pitchfork or hay fork is an agricultural tool used to pitch loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. It has a long handle and usually two to five thin tines designed to efficiently move such materials.
The term is also applie ...
'', Turner recalled that he and his friends were fans of
Oasis
In ecology, an oasis (; : oases ) is a fertile area of a desert or semi-desert environment He also listened to Hip hop music, hip hop acts such as Outkast, Eminem, Wu-Tang Clan and Roots Manuva, amongst others. He cited John Lennon, Ray Davies,
Nick Cave
Nicholas Edward Cave (born 22 September 1957) is an Australian musician, writer, and actor who fronts the rock band Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds. Known for his baritone voice, Cave's music is characterised by emotional intensity, a wide variety ...
and Method Man as major influences lyrically. When speaking about Lennon in an interview with ''NME'', Turner said; "I remember when I first started writing songs, and writing lyrics, I really wanted to be able to write an "I Am the Walrus" type song, and I found it very difficult. You listen to that and it sounds like it's all nonsense, but it's difficult to write that sort of thing and make it compelling. Lennon definitely had a knack for that".
According to the band, their fifth album ''AM'' has been described as psychedelic rock, blues rock, indie rock, and hard rock, with Hip hop music, hip hop influences. As Turner stated in an interview with ''NME'', it's "like a Dr. Dre beat, but we've given it an Ike Turner bowl-cut and sent it galloping across the desert on a Stratocaster". He also cited Outkast, Aaliyah and
Black Sabbath
Black Sabbath are an English rock band formed in Birmingham in 1968 by guitarist Tony Iommi, drummer Bill Ward (musician), Bill Ward, bassist Geezer Butler, and vocalist Ozzy Osbourne. After adopting the Black Sabbath name in 1969 (the band ...
as influences for the album on the song "
Arabella
''Arabella'', Op. 79, is a lyric comedy, or opera, in three acts by Richard Strauss to a German libretto by Hugo von Hofmannsthal, their sixth and last operatic collaboration.
Performance history
It was first performed on 1 July 1933 at the D ...
".
Their sixth album ''Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino'' took on a different direction, substituting the guitar-heavy sound from their previous albums for a more complex, piano-based style of composition. The album was described as psychedelic pop, Lounge music, lounge pop, Space age pop, space pop, and glam rock. In a 2018 interview with BBC Radio 1, Turner explained that he wrote the songs for the album on a piano instead of the guitar as "the guitar had lost its ability to give me ideas. Every time I sat with a guitar I was suspicious of where it was gonna go. I had a pretty good idea of what I might be which is completely contrary to what I felt when I sat at the piano." Alex also stated that he received inspiration from three Jean-Pierre Melville films—''Un flic'', ''Le Cercle Rouge'' and ''Le Samouraï'', as well as the film adaptation of Edgar Allan Poe's short stories named ''Spirits of the Dead''.
With there being a great distinction between the rock sound of ''AM'' and slower sound of ''Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino'', their seventh album ''The Car'' has been described a comfortable middle ground. The album covers many genres including, art rock, orchestral rock, lounge pop, baroque pop, and funk, as well as elements of jazz. In a 2022 interview with ABC, Turner states, "Every time I've sort of thought about attempting to go in a direction that you've been before, it sort of feels – quite quickly – sounds like a spoof or something. I think we've always just been following the same instincts we were in the beginning. That hasn't really changed."
Legacy and influence
According to ''Vice Media, Vice'', "in Britain at least, Arctic Monkeys have reached a point where they are too enormous, too beloved a force to truly fail" and are probably the UK's biggest, most culturally important band. ''Vice'' further states that they are "the band that your friends whose music taste can otherwise be described as "''Match of the Day''-wave" are desperate to see perform live; the band dads and little brothers have in common—simply because throughout their career, they have remained consistent, while their peers in both sound and age have failed to keep similar longevity." English poet John Cooper Clarke praised the band as "the nearest thing" to
the Beatles
The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...
. Radio X (United Kingdom), Radio X has also named Arctic Monkeys as one of the best bands of all time.
Following the success of ''Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not'', some critics cited the Arctic Monkeys as revolutionising the way people find music as they built a fanbase on the basis of a few demos shared by fans through the internet. The album was highly praised by critics for its depiction of youth British culture and for resurging Indie music scene#United Kingdom, British indie music that had waned after the 1990s, with ''NME'' declaring the Arctic Monkeys "Our Generation's Most Important Band."
According to ''NME'', the band's 2013 album ''AM'' "became the soundtrack for countless nights out, hook-ups and comedowns in every town and city of this country" by the end of the 2010s. Johnny Davis of Esquire (magazine), ''Esquire'' wrote, "Every so often, a band emerges to define the times not just for a generation of music fans but for a whole era – the Clash, the Smiths,
Oasis
In ecology, an oasis (; : oases ) is a fertile area of a desert or semi-desert environmentthe Strokes
The Strokes are an American Rock music, rock band formed in New York City in 1998. The band is composed of lead singer and primary songwriter Julian Casablancas, guitarists Nick Valensi and Albert Hammond, Jr., Albert Hammond Jr., bassist Nikola ...
. Where Arctic Monkeys may be unique is that they have now managed that role twice [with both ''Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not'' and ''AM'']" The co-founder of the band's label Domino Records, Laurence Bell, said "They're the toast of the playground again, every 13-year-old loves them. But so do grandads who were into Led Zeppelin. It's very rare for a band to come out of the traps so big [with ''Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not''] and then have another massive moment [with ''AM'']. It reminds me of The Who and The Rolling Stones, The Stones, where they did some pop singles early on and then moved into an imperial phase." Other musicians have praised the band including Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page, Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl, Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich, and rapper RZA. Bob Dylan says he has made "special efforts" to see the band live, while David Bowie, said they were "a nice solid Brit band." Damon Albarn called them "the last great guitar band [...] I don't really know if there's anything as good as that since."
The band was an object of discussion for cultural theorist Mark Fisher in regard to the concept of Hauntology (music), hauntology and what he described as "the lost futures" of modernity. In an interview with ''
Crack Magazine
''Crack'' is a monthly independent music and culture magazine distributed across Europe.
Founded in Bristol in the UK in 2009, the magazine has featured Björk, MF Doom, Lil Yachty, FKA twigs, Gorillaz and Queens of the Stone Age on the cover ...
'' Fisher said: "[...] something like the Arctic Monkeys, there is no relation to historicity. They're clearly a retro group, but the category of retro doesn't make any sense anymore because it's retro compared to what?" and "Arctic Monkeys airbrush cultural time out and appeal to this endless return and timelessness of rock."
The band have influenced artists including Black Midi, Blossoms (band), Blossoms, Fontaines D.C., Wallows, the 1975, Halsey (singer), Halsey, Yungblud, Lewis Capaldi, Louis Tomlinson, Mahalia (singer), Mahalia, Arlo Parks, Sam Fender,
Bring Me the Horizon
Bring Me the Horizon are a British Rock music, rock band, formed in Sheffield, England in 2004. The group currently consists of lead vocalist Oli Sykes, drummer Matt Nicholls, guitarist Lee Malia and bassist Matt Kean (musician), Matt Kean. T ...
, Måneskin, Hozier, Slowthai, JID and Earthgang.
Band members
Current members
*
Alex Turner
Alexander David Turner (born 6 January 1986) is an English musician. He is the lead vocalist and songwriter of the rock band Arctic Monkeys. Turner is known for his Songwriter, lyricism ranging from kitchen sink realism to surrealism, surreal ...
– lead vocals, guitars (2002–present), keyboards (2006–2009, 2017–present), percussion (2005–2006)
* Matt Helders – drums, percussion, backing and occasional lead vocals (2002–present), keyboards (2017–present)
* Jamie Cook – guitars (2002–present), keyboards (2018–present), backing vocals (2002–2007)
* Nick O'Malley – bass guitar, backing vocals (2006–present)
Former members
* Andy Nicholson – bass guitar, backing vocals (2002–2006)
Current touring musicians
* Scott Gillies – guitar (2013–present), keyboards (2012–2014, 2022–present), lap steel guitar (2018–2019)
* Tom Rowley – guitar, keyboards, backing vocals (2013–present), lap steel guitar (2018–present), percussion (2013–2014)
* Davey Latter – percussion (2013–present)
* Tyler Parkford – keyboards, backing vocals (2018–present)
Former touring musicians
* John Ashton – keyboards, backing vocals (2009–2011), guitar, percussion (2009–2010)
* Ben Partons – keyboards (2011–2012)
Favourite Worst Nightmare
''Favourite Worst Nightmare'' is the second studio album by English Rock music, rock band Arctic Monkeys, first released in Japan on 18 April 2007 and in the United Kingdom on 23 April 2007 by Domino Recording Company. Recorded in East London's ...
* Whatever People Say I Am Tour (2005–2006)
* Favourite Worst Nightmare Tour (2007–2008)
* Humbug Tour (2009–2010)
* Suck It and See Tour (2011–2012)
* AM Tour (2013–2014)
* Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino Tour (2018–2019)
* The Car Tour (2022–2023)
Awards and nominations
References
External links
*
{{Authority control
Arctic Monkeys,
Brit Award winners
Domino Recording Company artists
English indie rock groups
English alternative rock groups
English garage rock groups
English stoner rock musical groups
British post-punk revival music groups
Musical groups from Sheffield
Musical groups established in 2002
NME Awards winners
2002 establishments in England
English musical quartets