Imagine Dragons is an American rock band from Las Vegas, Nevada. Imagine Dragons' lineup consists of lead vocalist Dan Reynolds, guitarist Wayne "Wing" Sermon, bassist Ben McKee and drummer Daniel Platzman.The band gained exposure following the release of their debut studio album, Night Visions (2012) and first single "It's Time". The band's second studio album Smoke + Mirrors reached number one on the Billboard 200, Canadian Albums Chart, and UK Albums Chart.[3][4] Night Visions peaked at number two on the weekly Billboard 200 and UK Albums Chart. According to Billboard, Imagine Dragons topped the year-end rock rankings for 2013;[5] Billboard named them "The Breakthrough Band of 2013", and Rolling Stone named their single "Radioactive" "the biggest rock hit of the year". MTV called them "the year's biggest breakout band".[8]
Imagine Dragons won an American Music Award for Favorite Alternative Artist, a Grammy Award for Best Rock Performance, five Billboard Music Awards, and a World Music Award. In May 2014, the band was nominated for a total of fourteen different Billboard Music Awards, including Top Artist of the Year and a Milestone Award, recognizing innovation and creativity of different artists across different genres.
Background information
Origin Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
GenresRock
Years active2008–present
LabelsKIDinaKORNER Interscope Associated acts
Egyptian The Moth & The Flame
Websiteimaginedragonsmusic.com Members
Dan Reynolds
Daniel Wayne Sermon
Daniel Platzman
Ben McKee Past members
Andrew Tolman
Brittany Tolman
Theresa Flaminio
Dave Lemke
Andrew Beck
Aurora Florence History Early years (2008–10)
In 2008, lead singer Dan Reynolds met drummer Andrew Tolman at Brigham Young University where they were both students.[9] Tolman recruited longtime high school friend Daniel Wayne "Wing" Sermon, who had graduated from Berklee College of Music. Tolman later recruited his wife, Brittany Tolman, to sing backup and play keys. Sermon then recruited another Berklee music student, Ben McKee, to join the band and complete the lineup.[10][11] The band garnered a large following in their hometown of Provo, Utah, before the members moved to Las Vegas, the hometown of Dan Reynolds, where the band recorded and released their first three EPs.[12]
The band released EPs titled Imagine Dragons[13] and Hell and Silence[14] in 2010, both recorded at Battle Born Studios, in Las Vegas. They returned to the studio in 2011.[15][16][17] The third EP, It's Time, was made before they signed a record deal.[18]
They got their first big break when Train's frontman fell sick just prior to the Bite of Las Vegas Festival 2009. Imagine Dragons were called to fill in and performed to a crowd of more than 26,000 people.[19] Local accolades including "Best CD of 2011" (Vegas SEVEN),[20] "Best Local Indie Band 2010" (Las Vegas Weekly),[21] "Las Vegas' Newest Must See Live Act" (Las Vegas CityLife),[22] Vegas Music Summit Headliner 2010,[23] and more sent the band on a positive trajectory. In November 2011 they signed with Interscope Records and began working with English Grammy winning producer Alex da Kid.[24] Eventually the Tolmans would leave the group and Daniel Platzman would be recruited by invitation from Ben McKee, prior to the signing of band's label deal in November 2011.[25]
International success and Night Visions (2011–14)
Imagine Dragons worked closely with Alex da Kid, with whom they recorded their first major label release at Westlake Recording Studios in West Hollywood, California. An EP entitled Continued Silence was released on Valentine's Day (February 14, 2012) digitally and peaked at number 40 on the Billboard 200. The band also released an EP titled Hear Me in 2012.
Shortly after, "It's Time" was released as a single and peaked at number 15 on the Billboard Hot 100.[26] The music video debuted on April 17, 2012 on all MTV affiliates and was subsequently nominated for an MTV Video Music Award in the "Best Rock Video" category.[27] "It's Time" was certified a double platinum single by the RIAA.[28]
The band finished recording its debut album Night Visions in the summer of 2012 at Studio X inside Palms Casino Resort and released the album in the United States on the day after Labor Day (September 4, 2012). It peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 chart with first week sales in excess of 83,000 copies, the highest charting for a debut rock album since 2006.[29] The album also reached No. 1 on the Billboard Alternative and Rock Album charts as well as the top ten on the Australian, Austrian, Canadian, Dutch, German, Irish, Norwegian, Portuguese, Scottish, Spanish, and United Kingdom Albums charts. It won a Billboard Music Award for Top Rock Album and was nominated for the Juno Award for International Album of the Year.[30] Night Visions is certified platinum by the RIAA as well as in Australia, Austria, Brazil, Canada, Mexico, New Zealand, Poland, Portugal, Sweden, Switzerland, and the UK. The album produced three tracks that reached the Billboard Top 40, four tracks in the ARIA Top 40, and five tracks charting in the UK Top 40.
The album's second single "Radioactive" reached No. 1 on the Billboard Alternative Songs, Billboard Rock Songs, and Swedish singles chart and has sold more than seven million singles in the United States, smashing a record by spending 87 weeks on the Billboard Hot 100. "Radioactive" stayed at No. 1 on the Hot Rock Songs chart for a record-breaking 23 weeks and ultimately became the genre's biggest hit of 2013.[31] It peaked at No. 3, becoming their first top ten single in the United States and broke the record for the longest run into the top five. It is the best-selling rock song on the Nielsen SoundScan running list of best-selling rock songs in digital history.[32] By the end of 2013, "Radioactive" had already sold over 3 million copies.[33] Rolling Stone called it "the biggest rock hit of the year". It was also the most streamed song of 2013 on Spotify in the United States.[34] It was nominated for the Grammy Award for Record of the Year and the Grammy Award for Best Rock Performance at the 56th Annual Grammy Awards, winning the latter of the two.
Third single "Demons" reached on the No. 1 Billboard Pop Songs and No. 6 on the Billboard Hot 100 and has sold more than 3 million copies in the United States to date.[28][35]
Billboard listed them as one of "2012's Brightest New Stars" and later "The Breakout Band of 2013".[36] Imagine Dragons won the 2014 Billboard Music Awards for Top Duo/Group, Top Hot 100 Artist, and Top Rock Artist. Amazon.com called the band their "Favorite Rock artist of 2012".[37]
Imagine Dragons has performed "It's Time" live on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno (2012) and Jimmy Kimmel Live! (2012) and Late Night with Jimmy Fallon (2012), and Conan (2013). They performed "Radioactive" live on Jimmy Kimmel Live! (2012), The Late Show with David Letterman (2013), The Tonight Show with Jay Leno (2013), Late Night with Jimmy Fallon (2013), and the MTV Europe Music Awards (2013).[38] They also performed on Good Morning America (2013).[39] The band performed an exclusive show for the sixth season finale of the TV series Live from the Artists Den (2013).[40] The band also performed at the American Music Awards (2013), MTV Europe Music Awards (2013), Grammy Awards (2014), on Saturday Night Live (2014), at the Billboard Music Awards (2014), and the MuchMusic Video Awards (2014).[41][42] They also headlined the MLB's Target All-Star Concert (2014) and the inaugural Made In America Music Festival Los Angeles.[43] Imagine Dragons performed a version of "Revolution" at The Night That Changed America: A Grammy Salute to The Beatles (2014).
In 2013, Imagine Dragons returned to Europe and North America with the Night Visions Tour.[44] The band announced 13 additional US summer tour dates which also sold out.[45] The band then announced a North America Amphitheatre tour.[46] The band also confirmed that they were unable to fulfill the request of acting as support for Muse.[47] Pollstar listed the band in their Top 20 Concert Tours list by average box office gross despite their average ticket price being the third lowest on the list.[48]
The band released a live album, Live at Independent Records, in April 2013.[49]
Smoke + Mirrors (2014–present)
At Lollapalooza in Sao Paulo, Brazil, the last date on the Into the Night Tour, the band announced a rest, and complemented saying, "This is our last show for a while, and had no better place to end this tour".[50] The conclusion of the Into the Night Tour signaled the end of the Night Visions album cycle. Lead singer Dan Reynolds joked about the end of the Night Visions cycle, saying that "We're always writing on the road, [so] that second album will come, unless we die at the age of 27 next year. Hopefully we don't die and there will be a second album. I don't know when it will be, but it may come".[51]
The idea behind the second studio album, dubbed as their "new year's resolution",[52] was to create music and finish it when the band feels that their work is done. Reynolds told MTV in 2014 that the band wanted to "put out an album that we're really happy with". He further said that "we tend to be perfectionists, too hard on ourselves at times, and we don't want to rush anything because we know how we are with things. We don't want to put a record out until we really feel good about it, you know, and who knows how long that will take".[53] Since the beginning of the Night Visions Tour, the band had been writing new material for an upcoming album, and, even as early as the start of the tour, had been recording demos for the album, before entering the studio.[54] By the time that they entered the studio to work on the album, they had amassed 50 demos to work from.[55] The demos had been described by Reynolds as "definitely different", but added that "it’s still Imagine Dragons, but we’ve got a lot of growth and maturing to do as a band. I think the new material is going to hopefully be a step in the right direction. We’re just trying to create and do what comes out and what feels right". Drummer Daniel Platzman added that the band are critical of themselves, with "no room for external pressure".[56]
Inspired greatly by the band's travels on both their previous tours and the Night Visions Tour, the album will explore world culture as a musical item and overall motif in the album. Dan Reynolds told New Orleans-based newspaper The Times-Picayune that there was "a lot of inspiration to be drawn from [the world tour]. You kind of realize that you’re a lot smaller than you think".[57] In addition, Reynolds stated to music magazine Rolling Stone that the next album will be "different" from Night Visions, and that the band intends the album to be "stripped back quite a bit". He added that "we embraced a lot of hip-hop influences with Night Visions, but I think the next record will be more rock-driven. It’s too early to say, but there is some weird stuff going on in these songs".[55]
On June 2, the band released a song for the film Transformers: Age of Extinction, called "Battle Cry".
On September 17, the band, in collaboration with the music department at Riot Games, released the song "Warriors" for the 2014 League of Legends World Championship.[58]
On October 19, Imagine Dragons performed in Seoul World Cup Stadium, South Korea, at the 2014 League of Legends World Championship.[59]
On October 24, they revealed the lead single to the upcoming album, "I Bet My Life" via several visual snippets on Facebook and Instagram. It was released on October 27.[60] It will be sent to US Alternative radio for adds on November 3.[61]
On November 30, the band performed the halftime show at the 102nd Grey Cup in Vancouver, British Columbia.[62]
On December 12, 2014, Imagine Dragons posted on social media a request that fans in the US look around their city for some surprises and post their findings. They also hinted about two locations in Las Vegas. Shortly, billboards featuring artwork, the band's name, a hashtag ("#smoke+mirrors"), and an additional titles, presumed to be the track names were discovered. The following titles were revealed "Summer", "Shots", "Polaroid", "I'm So Sorry", and "Gold". Next, the band direct messaged various fans puzzle pieces of the artwork for the album (each file numbered, at least 13 in total). When combined, the puzzle pieces appear to reveal the cover art and album title. The title, cover art, and release date were revealed on social media two days later.
On January 26, 2015 Imagine Dragons (without notice) released the first song "Shots" off of their upcoming album Smoke + Mirrors on Spotify, then later on iTunes.
On February 5, 2015 Imagine Dragons (along with Metric who did a 3 song acoustic set) played at the Mayan Theater in Los Angeles. First a "Q and A" took place then a show. The 30 minute set included the breakthrough songs "It's Time" and "Radioactive" from Night Visions. They debuted "Summer" and "I'm So Sorry" for the first time live along with "Gold" and "I Bet My Life" from the upcoming album Smoke + Mirrors, which was set to be released on February 17, 2015. They also announced their North American tour that will include openers Metric and Halsey. The first show for the North American tour will be in Portland, Oregon on June 3, 2015. Awards
Main article: List of awards and nominations received by Imagine Dragons
Imagine Dragons have received a Grammy Award, two American Music Awards, and five Billboard Music Awards.
White Shoes & The Couples Companyare an Indonesian pop/ funk/ jazz band from Jakarta,Indonesia. The band are currently signed to both Indonesian label Aksara Records and American independent label Minty Fresh based in Chicago.[1] Their music is influenced by Indonesian movie soundtracks from the 1970s, 1930's jazz and 60's music.
band INDONESIA ini banyak digemari para pecinta aliran musik jazz dan penggemar musik 90'. musik dan suara penyanyi nya yang membuat suasana tenang membuat band ini bahkan sering muncul di acara musik jazz bahkan sampai ke luar negeri
ONE OK ROCK performing in London in 2014. From right to left: Toru Yamashita, Tomoya Kanki, Takahiro Morita and Ryota Kohama. Background information:
OriginJapan
GenresAlternative rock, emo[1]
Years active2005–present
LabelsA-Sketch
Associated actsMY FIRST STORY, NEWS, Simple Plan, Pay Money To My Pain, Ally & Diaz, Crossfaith, SiM, Sleeping With Sirens, Coldrain, Against The Current
Website www.oneokrock.com facebook.com/ONEOKROCK twitter.com/ONEOKROCK_japan youtube.com/ONEOKROCKchannel Members:
Taka
Toru
Ryota
Tomoya
Past membersAlex
Tomo
History
2005-2006: Formation and Early Days[edit]
The foundation for One Ok Rock began when Toru Yamashita, then a high school student, wanted to start a band. He told his friend Ryota Kohama, a fellow member of the hip hop dance group Heads, to learn the bass and asked Alex Onizawa, who was their senior in school to join. He asked his classmate Tomo to play drums, who then left the band in 2006 to pursue an acting career. At that time, Taka Moriuchi was playing with another band named Chivalry of Music; however, Taka didn't enjoy playing with them, so Toru insisted that he join One Ok Rock instead. After signing with a label, Amuse, Inc. Tomo left the band because his parents didn't want their son to pursue that line of work. Tomoya Kanki had been teaching at ESP (Musical Academy) and was already in a band that wasn't going well. He then joined One Ok Rock in 2006, but only became an official member when they debuted in 2007.[3][4]
The band's name, One Ok Rock, comes from "one o'clock", the time that the band used to practice on weekends. They chose to play at one o'clock in the morning because it was cheaper to use the rehearsal space during such hours. However, noticing that the Japanese language made no distinction between r's and l's, they changed "o'clock" to "o'crock" (or "o'krock"), which was then separated to become "ok rock".[3]
2007-2009: Debut Album and Old Formation[edit]
Their debut single, Naihishinsho, reached number 48 on the Oricon Charts and sold 15,000 copies. Their second single, Yume Yume, followed that success and charted at number 43. After those singles, they released their debut album Zeitakubyō in 2007 and had their first tour, the Tokyo-Osaka-Nagoya Quattro Tour. They released their the second album Beam of Light in May 2008. In an interview with Rockin'On Magazine in June 2012, ONE OK ROCK said they didn't count this album as an album, but rather as a part of growing up as a band.[5] When they made the album, they hadn't been in the right mood, but felt that they had to make it to grow as a band. The band came up with many sound sources and ended up making a punk album. The album's confused origins were the reason why they wouldn't play any songs from Beam of Light in live performances until now. Shortly after releasing Beam of Light, they performed a gig at Shibuya AX.[6]
They had planned to release two albums in that one year, so they released Kanjou Effects in November 2008. At this point the band had gained more experience and were able to do some more serious recording. They settled into the western sound they loved and followed by replacing all their engineers and introducing their music to new producers. This led to some division within the band - Taka and Alex in particular disagreed about how to make this album.
On April 5, 2009, Alex was arrested for groping the leg of a twenty-one-year-old female student on a train.[2] He admitted to the charges and the case was settled out of court.[7] The band reached their weakest point at this time. Ryota intended to leave bass and take up guitar. They felt it was impossible for them to add a new member. The band's next single "Around the World Shounen", which was planned for a May 6 release and to be used as the theme song for the TV drama God Hand Teru, and their nationwide tour were both cancelled.[2] In May 2009, it was announced that One Ok Rock would continue on without Alex, who went back to the United States.[7] Toru took his place as lead guitar, and the band re-arranged their songs to be played for one guitar.
Official music videos
Cry Out
Decision
Mighty Long Fall
Be the Light
Clock Strikes
Deeper Deeper
The Beginning
C.h.a.o.s.m.y.t.h
NO SCARED
Re:make
アンサイズニア (Answer is Near)
Liar
じぶんROCK (Jibun ROCK)
完全感覚Dreamer (Kanzen Kankaku Dreamer)
恋ノアイボウ心ノクピド (Koi No Aibou Kokoro No Cupid)
必然メーカー (Hitsuzen Maker)
エトセトラ (Etcetera)
努努ーゆめゆめー (Yume Yume-yume yume)
内秘心書 (Naihi Shinsho)
Keep it real
もしも太陽がなくなったとしたら・・・ (Moshimo Taiyou ga Nakunatta Toshitara) Japanese tours
World Shredder (世の中シュレッダー) (2007)
ONE OK ROCK TOUR 2008 “WHAT TIME IS IT NOW? (2008)
ONE OK ROCK 2009 “Emotion Effect” TOUR (2009)
“This is my own judgment” TOUR (2010)
Answer is aLive TOUR (2011)
ONE OK ROCK 2011-2012“残響リファレンス”TOUR (2011-2012)
“The Beginning” TOUR (2012)
ONE OK ROCK 2013 “人生×君=”TOUR (2013)
ONE OK ROCK 2014 "Mighty Long Fall at Yokohama Stadium" (2014) World tours
“Start Walking The World Tour” (2012)
“Who are you??Who are we??” TOUR (2013)
ONE OK ROCK 2014 South America & Europe Tour (2014)
Arctic Monkeys are an English rock band formed in 2002 in High Green, a suburb of Sheffield. The band consists of Alex Turner (lead vocals, rhythm guitar, lead guitar), Jamie Cook (lead guitar, rhythm guitar), Nick O'Malley (bass, backing vocals), and Matt Helders (drums, backing vocals). Former band member Andy Nicholson (bass guitar, backing vocals) left the band in 2006 shortly after their debut album was released.
They have released five studio albums: Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not (2006), Favourite Worst Nightmare (2007), Humbug (2009), Suck It and See (2011) and AM (2013), as well as one live album, At the Apollo (2008). Their debut album is the fastest-selling debut album by a band in British chart history, an
d in 2013, Rolling Stone ranked it the 30th-greatest debut album of all time.[7][8]
The band have won seven Brit Awards—winning both Best British Group and Best British Album three times, and have been nominated for three Grammy Awards.[9][10] They also won the Mercury Prize in 2006 for their debut album, in addition to receiving nominations in 2007 and 2013.[11] The band have headlined at the Glastonbury Festival twice, in 2007 and again in 2013.
Arctic Monkeys were heralded as one of the first bands to come to public attention via the Internet (through fan-based sites rather than from the band), with commentators suggesting they represented the possibility of a change in the way in which new bands are promoted and marketed.[12]
Contents [hide]
1 History
1.1 Early years and record deal (2003–05)
1.2 Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not (2006)
1.3 Favourite Worst Nightmare (2007)
1.4 Humbug (2008–10)
1.5 Suck It and See (2011–12)
1.6 AM (2013–14)
2 Musical style and influences
3 Band members
4 Discography
5 Tour history
6 Awards
7 References
8 External links
History[edit]
Early years and record deal (2003–05)[edit]
"Ravey Ravey Ravey Club (Live at The Grapes)"
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This is a recording of an early unreleased track, "Ravey Ravey Ravey Club", from Arctic Monkeys' first gig at The Grapes pub in Sheffield, in June 2003.
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The band began rehearsing at Yellow Arch Studios in Neepsend,[13] and played its first gig on 13 June 2003 at The Grapes in Sheffield city centre.[14] After a few performances in 2003, the band began to record demos at 2fly studios[15] in Sheffield. 17 songs were demoed in all and the collection, now known as Beneath the Boardwalk, was burned on to CDs to give away at gigs, which were promptly file-shared amongst fans. The name Beneath the Boardwalk originated when the first batch of demos were sent around. The first sender, wanting to classify the demos, named them after where he received them, the Boardwalk. Slowly, as more demos were spread, they were all classified under this name. This has led to many people falsely believing that Beneath the Boardwalk was an early album, or that the early demos were all released under this title. The group did not mind the distribution, saying "we never made those demos to make money or anything. We were giving them away free anyway – that was a better way for people to hear them."[16] When asked about the popularity of the band's MySpace site in an interview with Prefix Magazine, the band said that they were unaware what it was, and that the site had originally been created by their fans.[16]
The band began to grow in popularity across the north of England,[17] receiving attention from BBC Radio and the British tabloid press. A local amateur photographer, Mark Bull, filmed the band's performances and made the music video "Fake Tales of San Francisco", releasing it on his website,[16] alongside the contents of Beneath the Boardwalk – a collection of the band's songs which he named after a local music venue. In May 2005, Arctic Monkeys released their first single, Five Minutes with Arctic Monkeys on their own 'Bang Bang' label, featuring the songs "Fake Tales of San Francisco" and "From the Ritz to the Rubble". This release was limited to 500 CDs and 1,000 7" records, but was also available to download from the iTunes Music Store. Soon after, the band played at the Carling Stage of the Reading and Leeds Festivals, reserved for less known or unsigned bands. Their appearance was hyped by much of the music press and the band was watched by an unusually large crowd.
I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor
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Sample from "I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor".
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Eventually, they were signed to Domino in June 2005. The band said they were attracted to the DIY ethic of Domino owner Laurence Bell, who ran the label from his flat and only signed bands that he liked personally.[18] The UK's Daily Star reported that this was followed in October by a £1 million publishing deal with EMI and a £725,000 contract with Epic Records for the United States.[19] Arctic Monkeys denied this on their website, dubbing the newspaper "The Daily Star". However, Domino had licensed the Australian and New Zealand publishing rights to EMI and the Japanese rights to independent label Hostess.[17] Their first single with Domino, "I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor", which was recorded at Chapel Studios in Lincolnshire, was released on 17 October 2005 and went straight to No. 1 on the UK Singles Chart, beating Sugababes and Robbie Williams. Two weeks previous to this, it made its first appearance on the cover of NME. Their second single, "When the Sun Goes Down" (previously titled "Scummy"), released on 16 January 2006, also went straight to No. 1 on the UK Singles Chart, selling 38,922 copies and taking over that position from Shayne Ward. The band's success with little marketing or advertising led some to suggest that it could signal a change in how new bands achieve recognition.[12]
Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not (2006)[edit]
Main article: Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not
Arctic Monkeys performing in 2006
The band finished recording their debut album, Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not, at Chapel Studios in Lincolnshire in September 2005 with Jim Abbiss producing. Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not became the fastest selling debut album in UK chart history, selling 363,735 copies in the first week.[20] This smashed the previous record of 306,631 copies held by Popstars by Hear’Say, and sold more copies on its first day alone – 118,501 – than the rest of the Top 20 albums combined.[21] The cover sleeve of Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not, showing Chris McClure, a friend of the band smoking a cigarette, was criticised by the head of the NHS in Scotland for "reinforcing the idea that smoking is OK".[22] The image on the CD itself is a shot of an ashtray full of cigarettes. The band's product manager denied the accusation, and suggested the opposite – "You can see from the image smoking is not doing him the world of good."[22]
The record was released a month later in the US on February 21, 2006[23] and entered at No. 24 on the Billboard album chart after it sold 34,000 units in its first week, making it the second fastest selling for a debut indie rock album in America.[24] However, US sales for the first year did not match those of the first week in the UK for the album. US critics were more reserved about the band than their UK counterparts, and appeared unwilling to be drawn into the possibility of "yet another example of the UK's press over-hyping new bands".[25] However, the band's June 2006 tour of North America received critical acclaim at each stop[26][27][28] – the hype surrounding them "proven to exist for good reason".[29] Meanwhile, the UK's NME magazine declared the band's debut album the "5th greatest British album of all time".[30] It also equalled the record of The Strokes and Oasis at the 2006 NME Awards, winning three fan-voted awards for Best British Band, Best New Band and Best Track for "I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor".
Arctic Monkeys wasted no time in recording new material, and released a five-track EP on 24 April 2006, titled Who the Fuck Are Arctic Monkeys?. Due to its length, the EP was ineligible to chart as a UK single or album. Furthermore, the record's graphic language has resulted in significantly less radio airplay than previous records, although this was not a reported concern according to an insider – "since they made their name on the Internet... they don't care if they don't get radio play".[31] The release of the EP Who the Fuck Are Arctic Monkeys? just three months after their record-breaking debut album has been criticised by some, who have seen it as "money-grabbing" and "cashing in on their success".[32] The band countered that it regularly releases new music not to make money, but to avoid the "boredom" of "spending three years touring on one album".[33]
Soon after the release of the EP in the UK, the band announced that Andy Nicholson would not take part in the band's forthcoming North America tour due to fatigue from "an intensive period of touring".[34] On returning to the UK, Nicholson confirmed that he would leave Arctic Monkeys and start his own project. He also said that he couldn't deal with the band's fame and the success over the previous six months. In a statement on their official website, the band said: "We are sad to tell everyone that Andy is no longer with the band", also confirmed that Nick O'Malley – former bassist with The Dodgems who had drafted in as temporary bassist for the tour – would continue as bassist for the rest of their summer tour schedule.[35] Shortly after, Nick O'Malley was confirmed as the formal replacement for Nicholson.
Arctic Monkeys' first release without Nicholson, the single "Leave Before the Lights Come On", came on 14 August 2006. Turner said that the song was one of the last songs he wrote before their rise to fame, and suggested that "it feels very much like it could be on the album".[36] Peaking at No. 4 in the UK, the single became the band's first failure to reach No. 1. The band was re-united at the Leeds Festival when Nicholson met up with his former band mates and his replacement bassist, O'Malley.[37] Only the original band members, minus Nicholson, were present at the award ceremony when Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not won the 2006 Mercury Prize two weeks later.[38]
Favourite Worst Nightmare (2007)[edit]
Main article: Favourite Worst Nightmare
The band's second album, Favourite Worst Nightmare, was released on 23 April 2007, a week after the release of accompanying single "Brianstorm". Like its predecessor, Favourite Worst Nightmare also quickly reached No. 1 in the album charts. Turner described the songs as "very different from last time", adding that the sound of some tracks are "a bit full-on – a bit like "From the Ritz to the Rubble", "The View from the Afternoon", that sort of thing."[39] A secret gig played at Sheffield's Leadmill on 10 February 2007, debuted seven new songs (six from Favourite Worst Nightmare and one other).[40] Early reviews of the release were positive, and described it as "very, very fast and very, very loud."[41]
Meanwhile, the band continued to pick up awards from around the world, namely the 'Best New Artist in the United States' at the PLUG Independent Music Awards, the "Album of the Year" awards in Japan, Ireland and the US, awards for "Best Album" and "Best Music DVD" for the short film "Scummy Man" at the 2007 NME Awards.[42] It ended the year by clinching the "Best British Band" and "Best British Album" at the 2008 BRIT Awards. For the second year in a row, the band was nominated for the annual Mercury Prize, although it failed to match its feat of 2006 after the award went to Klaxons' Myths of the Near Future.
On 29 April 2007, the day Favourite Worst Nightmare charted at No. 1 in the UK Albums Chart, all 12 tracks from the album charted in the Top 200 of the UK Singles Chart. On 27 April 2007 it had a total of 18 tracks in the Top 200. "Fluorescent Adolescent" and "505" charted in the Top 75, at No. 60 and No. 74 respectively. The band later released "Fluorescent Adolescent" as a single, and it charted at No. 5, after debuting the song live on The Jonathan Ross Show.
The third single from Favourite Worst Nightmare, "Teddy Picker", was released on 3 December 2007. It charted at No. 20 and remained only one week in the top 40 staying in this position, making it the lowest charting single for the band so far. Prior to this release the band released an extremely limited number of 250 vinyl under the pseudonym The Death Ramps containing two of the b-sides from the "Teddy Picker" single.
Arctic Monkeys headlined the Glastonbury Festival on 22 June 2007, the highlights of which were aired on BBC2. During their headline act, the band performed with Dizzee Rascal and Simian Mobile Disco and covered Shirley Bassey's "Diamonds Are Forever".[43] The band also played a large gig at Dublin's Malahide Castle on 16 June 2007, with a second date added the following day.[44] The band was also slated to play the Austin City Limits Music Festival in September 2007. Other European festivals include Rock Werchter in 2007. The band played two shows at Cardiff International Arena on 19 and 20 June 2007 supported by local friends of the band, Reverend and the Makers. It also played two London gigs at Alexandra Palace on 8 and 9 December 2007. On 1 September 2007 the band insisted on taking a working holiday to Ibiza where it played what turned out to be the last ever full live Ibiza Rocks show in Bar M (now Ibiza Rocks Bar). The band performed in front of 700 people in the bar by the beach whilst many thousands lined the beach outside unable to get a ticket – The Sun described this concert as the "rock event of the summer" stating that "most people left saying they had just witnessed the best gig of their lives".[45] The band played their last show of the tour on 17 December 2007 at Manchester Apollo, which was filmed for the live DVD 'At The Apollo' which was released in cinemas the following year.
Humbug (2008–10)[edit]
Main article: Humbug (album)
Arctic Monkeys at the Shepherd's Bush Empire, London, March 2010
After a brief hiatus during which Alex Turner toured and recorded with his side project The Last Shadow Puppets, the band recorded a total of 24 songs; 12 in the Rancho De La Luna recording sessions with Josh Homme of Queens of the Stone Age in early autumn, 2008, and 12 in the New York sessions with James Ford in spring, 2009, following their January tour of New Zealand and Australia. During this tour, lead single "Crying Lightning", along with Humbug songs "Pretty Visitors", "Dangerous Animals", and "Potion Approaching" (then known as "Go-Kart"), was debuted live. It was later revealed by Matt Helders in a video diary that the album would consist of 14 tracks and that Alex Turner would stay in New York to oversee the mixing of the material.[46] However, the final tracklisting, revealed on 1 June 2009, listed only 10.[47]
In a preview article on ClashMusic.com, writer Simon Harper claimed that the band had "completely defied any expectations or presumptions to explore the depths they can reach when stepping foot outside their accepted styles," and that "Turner is his usual eloquent self, but has definitely graduated into an incomparable writer whose themes twist and turn through stories and allegories so potent and profound it actually leaves one breathless".[48] On the same site, Alex Turner revealed that the band had listened to Nick Cave, Jimi Hendrix, and Cream while writing the new album, the title of which would be Humbug.[49] Humbug was released on 19 August 2009, and, like both of its predecessors, the album went straight to No. 1.
As announced on Arctic Monkeys' website, the first single was "Crying Lightning", released on 6 July, digitally through iTunes and also received its first radio premiere on the same day. On 12 July 2009, the single "Crying Lightning" debuted at number 12 in the UK Singles Chart and number 1 on the UK Indie Chart. The second single, "Cornerstone", was released on 16 November 2009 to much critical acclaim, but failed to replicate the same success that every prior Arctic Monkeys single had, reaching a peak at position 94 on the UK singles chart.[50] It was announced in February 2010 that the third and final single to be taken from Humbug would be "My Propeller", released on 22 March, shortly before a one off UK show at the Royal Albert Hall in support of the Teenage Cancer Trust on 27 March.
Arctic Monkeys embarked on the first leg of the worldwide Humbug Tour in January 2009 and went on to headline 2009's Reading and Leeds Festivals. During this performance, it played a number of songs from Humbug, plus older tracks and a cover of Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds' "Red Right Hand". It was also the headline act on the first night of 2009's Exit festival in Serbia. In North America, where it has less of a following, it played abridged sets at Montreal's Osheaga Festival, as well as New Jersey's All Points West Music and Arts Festival. The tour finished on 22 April 2010 in Mexico.
Suck It and See (2011–12)[edit]
Main article: Suck It and See
Lead vocalist Alex Turner at Lollapalooza in Chicago, August 2011
NME reported in May 2011 that the band were teaming up with producer James Ford once again, and would be releasing their fourth studio album in late spring at the earliest.[51] Q magazine reported that the fourth Arctic Monkeys album would be of a "more accessible vintage" than Humbug.[52] Q printed edition 299 states 'It's the sound of a band drawing back the curtains and letting the sunshine in'.[53]
The album was recorded in Sound City Studios in Los Angeles in 2010 and 2011. On 4 March 2011 the band premièred on its website a new track called "Brick by Brick" with lead vocals by Matt Helders. Helders explained that this is not a single, just a tease of what is coming and that is definitely going to be in the fourth album.[54] On 10 March 2011 the band revealed the album is to be called Suck It and See and was released on 6 June 2011.
Their fourth album's first single, titled "Don't Sit Down 'Cause I've Moved Your Chair" was released as a digital download on 11 April, and on Vinyl with "Brick by Brick" on 16 April for Record Store Day. On 17 April, it went to No. 28 in the UK Singles Chart. A version of the single with 2 B-sides was released on 7 and 10 inch vinyl on 30 May. The band allowed fans to listen to the entire album on their website before deciding about whether to purchase it or not. Suck It and See was then released on 6 June 2011, and went straight to No. 1 in the album charts. In doing so, Arctic Monkeys became only the second band in history to debut four albums in a row at the top of the charts.[3]
The band announced "The Hellcat Spangled Shalalala" as the second single to be taken from Suck It and See. Most of the stock was burned because of the London riots. A limited edition 7" Vinyl of the single was then released over the band's website on 14 August. The song only managed to chart in the top 200 in the UK, however reaching higher in Belgium at No. 25. In September 2011 the band released a music video for the song "Suck It and See" featuring drummer Matt Helders, and announced they would be releasing it as a single on 31 October 2011. In July 2011, the band released a live EP over iTunes with 6 live recordings from the iTunes Festival in London.
Arctic Monkeys embarked in May 2011 on their Suck It and See Tour. They headlined the Benicassim Festival 2011 alongside The Strokes, Arcade Fire and Primal Scream. They also headlined Oxegen 2011,[55] Super Bock Super Rock 2011, V Festival 2011,[56] Rock Werchter.[57] and T in The Park. They confirmed on 7 February that they were playing two "massive homecoming shows"[58] at the Don Valley Bowl in Sheffield on 10 and 11 June, support included Miles Kane, Anna Calvi, The Vaccines, Dead Sons and Mabel Love, clips from the show were also used in the music video for "The Hellcat Spangled Shalalala". They played at Lollapalooza 5–7 August 2011. On 21 August, they also played at Lowlands, the Netherlands. The tour continued until March 2012.[59] On Friday 27 July 2012 Arctic Monkeys performed during the 2012 Summer Olympics opening ceremony in the Olympic Stadium, London.
On 27 October they released a music video for "Evil Twin" on YouTube, the b-side to their new single "Suck It and See". They performed the song on The Graham Norton Show on 28 October. The 4th single from Suck It and See, "Black Treacle" was released on 23 January 2012. The video for the single was released on YouTube on 5 January 2012. This video continued the theme from the previous single, "Suck It and See" and "Evil Twin".
AM (2013–14)[edit]
Main article: AM (Arctic Monkeys album)
Arctic Monkeys performing at INmusic festival on 25 June 2013. The concert was a part of the AM Tour.
On 26 February 2012, the band released a brand new song titled "R U Mine?" on their YouTube channel.[60] On 4 March, it went to No. 23 on the UK Singles Chart on downloads alone. On 21 April, the song was released as a single, with the track "Electricity" as a B-side, released additionally for the Record Store Day. The song marked a direct shift in musical direction in comparison to their previous album, Suck It and See, by incorporating a heavy use of falsetto and hip hop beats, and eventually became the inspiration for AM.
On 27 July 2012, Arctic Monkeys played in the London Summer Olympics opening ceremony, performing "I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor" and a cover of The Beatles' song "Come Together". After the opening ceremony, their version of "Come Together" entered the UK Singles Chart. It later peaked at number 21, becoming their highest charting single since 2009's "Crying Lightning".[61]
On 22 May 2013 the band started the AM Tour at the Ventura Theatre in Ventura, California, where they debuted a new song titled "Do I Wanna Know?". On 1 June 2013, the band performed at Free Press Summer Fest in Houston, TX, where they also played "Do I Wanna Know?". On 14 June, the band debuted another song titled "Mad Sounds" at Hultsfred Festival in Sweden. Four days later, on 18 June 2013, the band released the official video to "Do I Wanna Know?" via their Facebook page. The studio version of the song, along with accompanying visuals, was also made available to purchase via iTunes, and entered the UK Singles Chart at number 11. On 23 June 2013 Arctic Monkeys headlined Southside Festival in Germany.
On 24 June 2013, the band announced that their new album, entitled AM, would be released on 9 September 2013. The album was recorded in Rancho de la Luna in Joshua Tree, California, and features guest appearances from Josh Homme of Queens of the Stone Age, Elvis Costello's drummer Pete Thomas and Bill Ryder-Jones of The Coral.[62] Further, on 27 June, the band announced an eight date UK arena tour culminating with a homecoming gig at the Motorpoint Arena Sheffield.[63] The band played at the 2013 Glastonbury Festival on 28 June as headliners at the Pyramid stage to resounding success, playing 'Mad Sounds' and 'Do I Wanna Know?' from the forthcoming album 'AM'. Arctic Monkeys also headlined the 2013 Open'er Festival in Gdynia, Poland and played on the main stage on 4 July.[64] On 20 July, the band performed at Benicassim 2013.[65]
On 11 August 2013, the third single from the album, "Why'd You Only Call Me When You're High?", was released, with B-Side 'Stop The World I Wanna Get Off With You'. It debuted at no. 8 on the UK Singles Chart on 18 August 2013, making it the band's first UK Top 10 single since 2007's "Fluorescent Adolescent". The band streamed the album in its entirety four days ahead of its release.[66]
Upon the release of AM on 9 September 2013, the album debuted at number 1 in the UK album charts, selling over 157,000 copies in its first week.[67] As a result, Arctic Monkeys made history as the first independent label band with five consecutive number 1 albums in the UK.[68] The album received widespread critical acclaim and brought Arctic Monkeys their third nomination for the Mercury Prize.[69] The album also won the Brit award for Best British Album [70]
Alex Turner described AM as the band's "most original [album] yet," merging hip-hop drum beats with 70's heavy rock. The frontman has said that the song "Arabella" expresses the two styles of the album most effectively in one track. On AM, Turner continued to experiment with unusual lyrics, and the album includes the words from poem "I Wanna Be Yours" by John Cooper Clarke.[71] Turner has stated that Homme's appearance on the song "Knee Socks" marks his favourite moment of the whole album.[72]
Arctic Monkeys headlined the Reading and Leeds Festival in August 2014, with Turner stating 'I'm going to have fun with you, Yorkshire' at the Leeds show. The band had a handful of shows in late 2014, which closed the 'AM' Tour. In December 2014, "Do I Wanna Know?" was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Rock Performance.[73]
Musical style and influences[edit]
The band's music is known to fall under the umbrella of indie rock although they have changed their style of rock on each album, which is one of the band's key features. Musically the band have expanded and altered their sound with each of their five albums making it difficult to pin a description to their style. Perhaps the key part of their sound and one that translates across their whole discography is lead singer and frontman Alex Turner's intricate and often rapidly delivered lyrics, sung in a distinctive strong Sheffield accent that their music became famed for in their early years. Their early albums Whatever People Say I Am That's What I'm Not and Favourite Worst Nightmare were rooted in garage rock and post-punk revival, with Turner's sharp lyrics the focal point. On the first album Alex Turner examined human behaviour in nightclubs and in the culture of the band's hometown, Sheffield. Turner describes "Dancing Shoes" as being about "people always looking to pull when they go out however much they mask it."[74]
These themes continued on the following album Favourite Worst Nightmare with the band still progressing as musicians. Songs such as "Fluorescent Adolescent" and "Do Me a Favour" explored failed relationships, nostalgia and growing old, while musically the band took up a more uptempo and aggressive sound.
Their fourth album Suck It and See sees the band exploring styles, mixing them with newfound maturity. Turner said: "I think the new album is a balance between our first three. There's nothing about taxi ranks or anything like that, but there's a bit of the standpoint I had on those early songs and the sense of humour, but also there's a bit of the 'Humbug' stuff which is kind of off in the corners."[75] Critics noted an influence from British rock bands from the 1960s, as well as The Smiths, and slower, love-themed ballads featured more heavily on the album than the fast-paced, rockier songs that typifies the band's sound.
In a 2012 interview with NME magazine, frontman Alex Turner cited John Lennon as a major influence lyrically. Speaking about Lennon, Turner said; "I remember when I first started writing songs, and writing lyrics, I really wanted to be able to write an "I Am the Walrus" type song, and I found it very difficult. You listen to that and it sounds like it's all nonsense, but it's difficult to write that sort of thing and make it compelling. Lennon definitely had a knack for that".[76]
According to the band, the fifth album AM is more hip-hop influenced. As Alex Turner stated in an interview with NME, it's "like a Dr. Dre beat, but we've given it an Ike Turner bowl-cut and sent it galloping across the desert on a Stratocaster".[77] He also cited Outkast, Aaliyah and Black Sabbath as influences for the album.[78][79]
Band members[edit]
Current members
Alex Turner – lead vocals, lead & rhythm guitar, keyboards (2002–present)
Jamie Cook – lead & rhythm guitar (2002–present)
Nick O'Malley – bass, backing vocals (2006–present)
Matt Helders – drums, percussion, backing vocals (2002–present)
Former members
Andy Nicholson – bass, backing vocals (2002–06)
Discography[edit]
Main articles: Arctic Monkeys discography and List of songs recorded by Arctic Monkeys
Studio albums
Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not (2006)
Favourite Worst Nightmare (2007)
Humbug (2009)
Suck It and See (2011)
AM (2013)
Tour history
Main article: Arctic Monkeys tour history
Whatever People Say I Am Tour (2005–06)
Favourite Worst Nightmare Tour (2007–08)
Humbug Tour (2009–10)
Suck It and See Tour (2011–12)
AM Tour (2013–14)
Awards[edit]
Main article: List of awards and nominations received by Arctic Monkeys
