Arctic Monkeys are a four-piece indie rock band from High Green, a suburb of Sheffield, England. Their first two singles, " I Bet You Look Good On the Dancefloor" and " When The Sun Goes Down", both went straight to number one in the UK Singles Chart, and the band's debut album, Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not, holds the record for the largest first week sales of a debut album in the UK. The band won "Best New Act" at the 2006 Brit Awards, and created history at the 2006 NME Awards in becoming the first band to win "Best New Band" and "Best British Band" in the same year.
The band's northern roots, often seen as a key element of the band's style, have seen them billed as a "northern Libertines", while their unique sound and wry lyrics—often social commentaries—have been compared to the The Jam, Blur, Pulp and The Streets.
Established in 2002, the band consists of:
Alex (born 1986) is the band's lead vocalist and plays the guitar. He first met drummer Matt Helders at Barnsley College. He has maintained a very private life, and shunned media publicity when declared the Coolest Man On The Planet by NME magazine in December 2005.
Jamie is the band's lead guitartist and also provides backing vocals.
Again a backing vocalist, Andy plays bass guitar for the band.
The drummer who attended Barnsley College alongside Turner, he was also born in 1986. He is the most comprehensive backing vocalist, appearing in the tracks "You Probably Couldn't See For The Lights But You Were Looking Straight at Me" and " I Bet You Look Good On the Dancefloor". Like the other three members, Helders has largely avoided the spotlight.
