The indie rock band, Arctic Monkeys had scored a chain of achievements early in their career. Their two singles 'I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor' and 'When The Sun Goes Down' quickly soared to the top position of UK singles chart. As a result, their first album 'Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I Am Not' was immediately sold 120,000 copies during the first week after its U.K. release on January 23, 2006, greasing the band's path to a U.S. release on February 21, 2006. The album later on gained the Best Album in the 2007 NME Awards. Following the worldwide circulation of their album, the scheduled World Tour was sold out in US alone, entitling them to serve the appetizer in 'Saturday Night Life' on March 11, 2006 and to proceed their music performances until July 8, 2006 in Kildare, Ireland. The British band, moreover, also stole the limelight at the 2006 ShockWaves NME Awards, taking 3 winnings out of 4 nominations, mainly for Best New Band, Best British Band and Best Track awards for 'I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor'. What's more, their track 'When The Sun Goes Down' had somehow become so inspiring for a British producer Paul Fraser who later on produced two short films in the DVD titled 'Scummy Man' which also included the musical promo of 'When The Sun Goes Down'. The DVD was released on April 10, 2006 and won the Best Music DVD in the 2007 NME Awards.
Began their friendship in Barnsley College, Alex Turner and Matt Helders were at the very start already in the same music direction. After getting musical instruments as their Christmas gifts in 2002, Turner who took the lead vocal and guitar and Helders who preferred the drum officially formed the band in Sheffield, England the next year, recruiting two other members, Jamie Cook to handle the guitar and Andy Nicholson in the bass. Kept practicing and playing along the tunes of The White Stripes and The Vines, they earned their first gig on June 13, 2003 at The Grapes, a pub in the middle of Sheffield. Employing a unique method to make themselves a new sensation, they would self-record demos and made them available on the Internet. By late 2004, their downloadable music attracted the attention of BBC Radio 1 and some UK tabloids, thus began to lure fans at the same time.
Known for their vibrant tunes and catchy lines, this band confidently released an EP titled 'Five Minutes with Arctic Monkeys' which contained two tracks 'From The Ritz To The Rubble' and 'Fake Tales Of San Francisco' on May 30, 2005. Next, they were on to appear at the 2005 Carling Weekend, performing their best and gaining salute from the audience, some of which had already been devotees. The speeding success was seen too overwhelming for this band but the frontman, Turner claimed that they were just about time. However, unique as their camera shy personalities, they refused to sign with any recording companies at the thought that they got that far by their own effort. On contrary to the staement, they landed the decision to work under the label Domino in June 2005 because they liked the director Laurence Bell despite the other contracts that offer larger money.
Releasing the first single 'I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor' on October 17, 2005, they were instantly NME's largely promoted band, provoking criticism that they were exaggerated. But the critics were tackled as the single sat on #1 in UK single charts and so did the January 16, 2006 released second single 'When The Sun Goes Down'. Even though the recording of the album 'Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I Am Not' was completed in September 2005, the release date was stretched until January 30, 2006. However, due to the high demand and the high pre-order number, Domino released the set a week earlier on January 23, 2006. Sold for more than 360,000 copies in its first week, it was the fastest selling debut album in U.K. chart history at that time. Enjoying the meteoric rise, Arctic Monkeys was dubbed the next big thing in music industry.
It could be the sudden fame or lack of experience that the band stumbled upon its new EP. The band's 2nd release 'Who the Fuck Are Arctic Monkeys' was penned by critics as having bad language and did not receive any heavy airplay. The band hit the bottom when shortly after the EP's release, bassist Andy Nicholson announced his departure from the band. Getting back on track, the band had Nick O'Malley to fill in the empty slot. With the new formation, the band took a full gear for a sophomore effort. 'Favorite Worst Nightmare' was released on April 23, 2007, marking the band's change of musical direction. Frontman Alex Turner described the new record as "very different from last time" and this change turned up to be not so bad at all. On April 29, 2007, the album charted at #1 in the UK Albums Chart, while all 12 tracks from the album charted in the Top 200 of the UK Singles Chart, with "Brianstorm" getting the highest at #7. This time the band not only gained fame in their homeland but also in States. Upon the US release, 'Favorite Worst Nightmare' entered Billboard 200 at #7.