Arctic Monkeys

Arctic Monkeys
Arctic Monkeys performing at the Roskilde Festival in 2014. From left to right: Nick O'Malley, Alex Turner, Matt Helders and Jamie Cook
Arctic Monkeys performing at the Roskilde Festival in 2014. From left to right: Nick O'Malley, Alex Turner, Matt Helders and Jamie Cook
Background information
Also known asDeath Ramps
OriginSheffield, England
Genres
Discography
Years active2002–present
Labels
Spinoffs
Members
Past membersAndy Nicholson
Websitearcticmonkeys.com

Arctic Monkeys are an English rock band formed in Sheffield in 2002. The group consists of lead singer Alex Turner, drummer Matt Helders, guitarist Jamie Cook and bassist Nick O'Malley; bassist and co-founder Andy Nicholson left the band in 2006.

Arctic Monkeys were heralded as one of the first bands to come to public attention via the Internet, with commentators suggesting they represented the possibility of a change in the way in which new bands are promoted and marketed.[2] Their debut album, Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not (2006), received widespread critical acclaim upon release and topped the UK Albums Chart, 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 since been hailed as one of the greatest debut albums.[3] The band's second album, Favourite Worst Nightmare (2007), was also acclaimed by critics and won Best British Album at the 2008 Brit Awards. They went on to release Humbug (2009) and Suck It and See (2011), both of which were well-received critically, though not to the extent of their first two albums.

The band's wider international fame came with the success of their critically acclaimed fifth album AM (2013), which was supported by the global hit "Do I Wanna Know?". It topped four Billboard charts and was certified 3× platinum in the US by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). At the 2014 Brit Awards, the album became their third to win British Album of the Year.[4] Their sixth album, Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino (2018), was a major departure from the band's previous guitar-heavy work, instead being piano-oriented. Their seventh album, The Car (2022), received nominations for the Ivor Novello Awards and the Mercury Prize in 2023. It received a Best Alternative Music Album nomination at the 66th Annual Grammy Awards, their third to do so, and their second consecutive nomination after Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino.

In the United Kingdom, the band became the first independent-label band to debut at number one in the UK with their first five albums.[5] The band 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 for Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not; an Ivor Novello Award and 20 NME Awards. In addition, they have been nominated for nine Grammy Awards,[6] and received Mercury Prize nominations in 2007, 2013, 2018 and 2023.[7] Both Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not and AM are included in NME and different editions of Rolling Stone's lists of the "500 Greatest Albums of All Time".

  1. ^ Cohen, Jonathan (17 March 2007). "Update: Arctic Monkeys Get A Lift From Warner Bros". Billboard. Retrieved 28 February 2022.
  2. ^ Laura, Barton (25 October 2005). "The question: Have the Arctic Monkeys changed the music business?". The Guardian. Retrieved 5 June 2006.
  3. ^ "The 100 Best Debut Albums of All Time". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 22 October 2014. Retrieved 16 January 2023.
  4. ^ Bramley Violet, Ellie (19 February 2014). "Arctic Monkeys add album prize to group gong at Brits". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 2 March 2014. Retrieved 23 February 2014.
  5. ^ Lane, Daniel (15 September 2013). "Arctic Monkeys make Official Albums Chart history with AM". Official Charts. Archived from the original on 29 September 2013. Retrieved 15 September 2013.
  6. ^ "2024 Grammys: Arctic Monkeys, Lana Del Rey, Boygenius, and More Nominated for Best Alternative Music Album". Pitchfork.com. 10 November 2023. Archived from the original on 10 November 2023. Retrieved 10 November 2023.
  7. ^ Snapes, Laura (27 July 2023). "Mercury prize 2023: Arctic Monkeys tie Radiohead's record for most nominations". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 27 July 2023. Retrieved 27 July 2023.