Band History
The Arctic Monkeys claim their band history is a boring story but I think it's wonderful. They are proof that hardwork and dedication do take you places. Don't believe the papers - they didn't thrive off of NME's hype or any media help. It was by fans and talent that brought them to where they are now. Now, how did this band from Sheffield start off? An early shot of the Arctic Monkeys. It all began when Alex Turner (lead singer) and Jamie Cook (guitarist) got guitars for Christmas in 2001. Around summer 2002, the guys began practicing along with their friends Andy Nicholson (bassist) and Matt Helders (drums) in Alex's garage under the band name Bang Bang. During this time, they played mainly cover songs from bands like Led Zepplin and sung with an American accent. No one wanted to take part in the song writing or singing duties so Alex took the job. He also revealed that he had been writing songs for a few years. As soon as they got everything together, the band name changed to Arctic Monkeys, which the guys just made up because Jamie always wanted to be in a band called "Arctic Monkeys." Also at this time, Alex and Matt were in a band with John McClure called Judan Suki, now called 1984. “Lyrics were a dark patch," admits Alex. “Nobody wanted to admit they wrote them so we kept trying other singers so they’d do it for us. But I'd secretly been writing since school and I enjoyed it. I just never told anyone because I didn’t want to have piss took out of me!”
Summer of 2003 was when the Arctic Monkeys first went public. While in Judan Suki, Alex mentioned to Alan Smyth of 2Fly Studios that he had another band on the side with Jamie and Andy and wanted to record some tracks. The band recorded 20 tracks with Alan Smyth and finished roughly on October 23, 2004. Rewind back to that summer, Arctic Monkeys' first ever gig was in June 2003. Although they formed in 2002, the band wanted to make sure were decent prior to playing for an audience. All their gigs were done exclusively in Sheffield until about October 2004. Whilst playing, the guys would pass out homemade demo cds to anyone who will listen. From this, their popularity only sky rocketed. Arctic Monkeys in Manchester, 10-3-05 After handing out countless demo CDs, it wasn't long before the songs hit the internet. A fan by the name of "The Sheriff" posted all their demos online and through word of mouth alone the music was spread. Soon after, their audience size expanded from just their friends to about a hundred people, all singing their lyrics. Amazed by all the interest, the band decided to make a career out of the band and signed a deal with Domino in June 2005. They also had their first tour that month and played Reading and Leeds in August 2005. “I used to work in a bar at venues and it really annoyed me when bands would say ‘We’ve got CDs for sale at the back, three pound each’,” says Alex. “You’d think ‘Fuck off, who do you think you are?’ We had this one time where people were literally running up to the stage clambering for these demos, a right frenzy, and we were thinking ‘Fucking hell this is cool’.
In May 2005, the guys self-released "Five Minutes with the Arctic Monkeys" EP on vinyl and CD under the fictitious label, Bang Bang Recordings. The EP featured tracks "Fake Tales of San Francisco" and "From the Ritz to the Rubble." There were only 1000 CDs and 500 vinyls made, all of which sold out and can only be obtainable now through digital download or outrageous prices on Ebay. The Monkeys then proceeded to shoot the video for their first single "I Bet You Look Good On the Dancefloor" which was released in September. The single was released on October 17th in vinyl and CD format in the UK only and went straight to number, selling over 40,000 units in less than a week. They also played their biggest gig on October 3rd, 2005. It was in Manchester and had an audience size of 2,000. Currently, the band are touring around Europe before heading over to the US and Japan for the first time. Their debut album is set to be released January 30th, 2006. The band are currently working on mixing the album as well. What do the band want you to know? Simply one thing, quote Public Enemy - "Don't believe the hype."