Artist

Arctic Monkeys

Sheffield, United Kingdom • Formed 2002

Arctic Monkeys is a music group from Sheffield, United Kingdom, active since 2002. Their discography on Gatefold includes 24 records.

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Albums tracked

687

In collections

2002

Since

Biography

Arctic Monkeys are an alternative rock band formed in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England in 2002 after meeting at Stocksbridge High School. The band consists of Alex Turner (vocals, guitar, piano), Jamie Cook (guitar), Nick O'Malley (backing vocals, bass) and Matt Helders (drums, vocals). Founding bassist Andy Nicholson left in 2006. They are one of the first bands to come to public attention via the Internet via MySpace, despite none of them having an account.

The Arc of Arctic Monkeys

The pivots — what forced Arctic Monkeys to reinvent.

The MySpace Groundswell
Before the first album was even pressed, the band was already a phenomenon because they let fans distribute their demos for free online. Jim Abbiss took them into the studio to capture that live friction, resulting in a record that felt like a frantic night out in a dying industrial town. You hear the urgency in the treble-heavy guitars and the way Alex Turner spits out lyrics like he’s running out of breath. It was the last time they sounded like kids from the neighborhood before the scale of their success made that impossible.
The Humbug Shift
Everything changed when they decamped to the Mojave Desert to work with Josh Homme of Queens of the Stone Age. Homme pushed them away from their pop sensibilities, encouraging the use of Baritone guitars and a murky, psychedelic atmosphere that felt miles away from Sheffield. The songs slowed down, the drums got heavier, and they started leaning into the weirdness of the 1960s fringe. This is the moment they stopped being a 'new wave' revival act and started becoming a heavy rock band.
The Lounge Act Pivot
After conquered the world with the stadium-sized riffs of AM, they threw a curveball by moving to a Steinway Vertegrand piano in a home studio. Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino ditched the guitars almost entirely in favor of a space-age bachelor pad vibe that confused half the fanbase. James Ford helped them sculpt a sound that was more about texture and film noir dialogue than radio hooks. It was a total rejection of the 'rock star' archetype they had just spent a decade perfecting.

Influences

The Smiths — Turner has repeatedly cited Morrissey’s lyrical specificity and Johnny Marr's jangle as the blueprint for his early writing. You hear it in the wordy, observational sketches of Sheffield nightlife that mirror the kitchen-sink realism of 80s Manchester. It’s that blend of high-concept vocabulary and working-class frustration.
Queens of the Stone Age — Josh Homme didn't just produce Humbug; he reshaped their entire approach to the fretboard and the groove. The staccato, desert-rock weight on tracks like 'Don't Sit Down 'Cause I've Moved Your Chair' is a direct result of that apprenticeship. They stopped playing like a punk band and started playing like a machine.
Dr. Dre — During the AM sessions, the band obsessed over the low-end and rhythmic spacing of 90s West Coast hip-hop. You hear the influence in the way the bass and drums lock together on 'Why'd You Only Call Me When You're High?' to create a heavy, looped feel. It’s G-funk played by four guys with guitars.
The Strokes — The band famously opened 'Star Treatment' by admitting they just wanted to be one of The Strokes. That debut record's tight, dual-guitar interplay was the catalyst for them picking up instruments in the first place. Without Is This It, there is no Sheffield indie scene.
Dion — The 1975 Phil Spector-produced album Born to Be with You became a massive touchstone for their later, more orchestrated work. The lush, melancholic baritone delivery on The Car is a straight line back to Dion’s mid-70s reinvention. It’s the sound of a rocker growing into a crooner.