Arctic Monkeys officially became ‘Classic Rock” this year after clocking up their 20th anniversary in mid-2002.
The band formed when neighbours Alex Turner and Matt Helders and met Andy Nicholson at school in Sheffield. Jamie Cook then joined as a second guitarist.
The name is a play on the term “Northern Monkey”, an expression for someone from Northern England.
Now that Arctic Monkeys have hit 20, a series of 20ths will occur over the coming years.
June 13 2023 will mark the 20th anniversary of the first Arctic Monkeys gig at The Grapes in Sheffield.
The setlist featured just two original songs, ‘Ravey Ravey Ravey Club’ and ‘Curtains Closed’ and the rest were covers of songs by The Strokes, Hendrix, The White Stripes, The Beatles, Fatboy Slim, The Undertones and New Zealand’s The Datsuns (Harmonic Generator) and Australia’s The Vines.
‘Beneath the Boardwalk’, a collection of 18 demos, was released independently in 2004.
The debut EP ‘Five Minutes with Arctic Monkeys’ was released on Bang Bang Recordings on 30 May 2005.
The first single ‘I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor’ was released on 15 October 2005.
The 20th anniversary of the debut album ‘Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not’ isn’t until 23 January 2026.
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