Arctic Monkeys

The first two singles by Sheffield band Arctic Monkeys, "I Bet You Look Good On the Dancefloor" (October 2005) and "When the Sun Goes Down" (January 2006) both shot straight to number one in the UK with Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not becoming one of the fastest-selling debut albums in UK chart history. Mixing the spiky garage rock of the Strokes with engaging storytelling, the record was instantly hailed a classic, winning the 2006 Mercury Prize. Their second album Favourite Worst Nightmare (2007) showed a heavier, meatier side, opening with the thundering force of "Brianstorm" before dipping into the drama of "Fluorescent Adolescent." Headlining Glastonbury in 2007, they paid tribute to Shirley Bassey by covering "Diamonds Are Forever" before announcing a hiatus. During this time off, frontman Alex Turner worked on his side project The Last Shadow Puppets with Miles Kane of The Rascals, James Ford of Simian, and Zach Dawes of Mini Mansions. Arctic Monkeys returned to the studio to record their third album Humbug in 2009 at producer Josh Homme's fabled Rancho De La Luna studios in Joshua Tree, California. The album went to number one on the UK Albums Chart as well as the Billboard Independent Albums Chart. They followed this up with a world tour plus several UK festival headline spots. Suck It and See, their fourth record, was released in 2011, preceded by its lead single "Don't Sit Down 'Cause I've Moved Your Chair," which charted at number four on the UK Indie Charts. The album made it to number one and they embarked on another world tour. They revealed their next single "R U Mine?" in 2012 on their YouTube channel, but the track only managed a number 23 spot on the charts. They performed at the London 2012 Olympics opening ceremony with their hit "I Bet You Look Good On the Dancefloor" along with a cover of the Beatles' track "Come Together," which charted at number 21. Their fifth album AM was released in 2013 and earned them a Brit Award for Best British Album. After touring with AM, Alex Turner announced that the band would take another brief hiatus to allow them to pursue other projects; he released his second album with The Shadow Puppets and drummer Matt Helders worked with Iggy Pop on Post Pop Depression. They started work on their sixth album in 2016, eventually revealing the title, Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino, upon its release in 2018. The band's introspective, jazz-dipped seventh album The Car arrived in 2022 and despite being their first LP to miss out on achieving number one status – eclipsed by the success of Taylor Swift's Midnights – the record received critical acclaim, with the band expanding on their traditional indie-rock sound. The LP was promoted by the singles "There'd Better Be a Mirrorball," "Body Paint," and "I Ain't Quite Where I Think I Am."