This week we celebrate one of the United Kingdom’s most popular bands debut album. Arctic Monkeys released their first full-length and fastest-selling British album Whatever People Say I am, That’s What I’m Not.
Sheffield, England is home to aspiring musicians Alex Turner, Matt Helders and Jamie Cook. Years ago, the group could be found passing out their EP Beneath the Boardwalk on buses, outside venues and on the street. Arctic Monkeys became Internet and music duo pioneers, uploading their music on MySpace — yes, MySpace — for free. The 18 tracks would eventually find themselves on Whatever People Say… a few years later. The tracks included “I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor,” “Mardy Bum” and “Riot Van.”
The band was invited to perform at Reeding and Leads in 2005 behind headliners like the Foo Fighters, the Killers and Iron Maiden. The set drew a decent sized crowd for an unsigned band without label-released music.
It wasn’t long before their fan-base grew and record labels began to take notice. Arctic Monkeys became a desirable client and labels knew fans would readily buy their music. The band signed with Domino Records — a label not associated with indie music — in 2005.
The band released their first single “I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor” from their debut album in 2006. Despite going up against Amy Winehouse’s Back to Black, Arctic Monkeys held the title of fastest-selling UK album.
After four more studio albums, the band has come out on top with a polished and mature sound. Some longtime fans voice their less-than-enthusiastic opinions about their sound on the 2013 release AM. Singles like “R U Mine?” and “Why’d You Only Call Me When You’re High?” prove these England-bred bad-boys have the indie-punk and neo-rock combination down to a science.
Happy Birthday Whatever People Say I am, That’s What I’m Not. Welcome to the double digits.
