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Arctic Monkeys · S1 E4
MySpace Revolution
How the internet made Arctic Monkeys the biggest unsigned band in Britain
Reading Festival, August 2005. Alex Turner steps back from the microphone during an unreleased song and 500 people who have never bought an Arctic Monkeys record sing every word back to him.
Arctic Monkeys, Leave Before the Lights Come On (2006). A standalone single about Sheffield nightlife at closing time: the last dance, the wrong decision, the walk home in the cold. Pure Arctic Monkeys storytelling.
Leave Before the Lights Come On, Arctic Monkeys (2006)
Leave Before the Lights Come On is Turner at his sharpest as a short story writer. The whole song is a single scene: a one-night stand neither person wanted, the awkward morning after, the quiet agreement to pretend it never happened. The production is stripped back compared to the debut album, giving Turner's vocal room to carry every uncomfortable pause. Listen for how the tempo drags slightly, mimicking the slow, reluctant walk home at 3 AM.
Sources
Arctic Monkeys Wiki, 'Leave Before the Lights Come On'
800,000 Plays, Zero Involvement
By late 2005, Arctic Monkeys' MySpace profile shows nearly 800,000 plays and over 50,000 friends. The band has never logged into the account. A friend ripped their demo MP3s and uploaded them. Fans built the page, shared the tracks, and turned a Sheffield band into a national phenomenon without anyone in the band lifting a finger.
Sources
Official Charts, 'MySpace Acts Who Found Success'
MOJO, 'Inside the Making of Arctic Monkeys' Debut'
“Somebody said to us, 'I saw your profile on MySpace.' I said, 'I don't even know what MySpace is.' Then we were on the news about how MySpace has helped us. But that's just the perfect example of someone who doesn't know what the fuck they're talking about.”
— Matt Helders, MOJO Magazine (2005)
From 50 to 500
In late 2004, Arctic Monkeys play to rooms of about 50 people. By January 2005, that number is over 500. Fans organise through online forums and show up knowing every lyric to songs that don't officially exist. Turner looks up mid-song at a packed Leadmill in Sheffield and thinks, "What the fuck?"
Sources
NME, 'Arctic Monkeys' first NME interview (2005)'
Wikipedia, 'Beneath the Boardwalk'
TAP TO REVEAL: What did Turner say right before playing the debut single for the first time on TV?
London Astoria, Charing Cross Road
In October 2005, Arctic Monkeys sell out the 2,000-capacity Astoria after being upgraded from the smaller venue next door. Two thousand fans sing along word-perfect to songs that haven't been released yet.
What role did Arctic Monkeys play in creating their own MySpace page?
Still Take You Home, Arctic Monkeys
From Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not (2006). One of the 18 Beneath the Boardwalk demo tracks that spread across the internet before anyone could buy it. A bleary Friday night anthem about lowering your standards and not caring, written in a garage in High Green before the world came knocking.
Still Take You Home, Arctic Monkeys (2006)
Turner writes about beer goggles and bad decisions with zero judgement and total honesty. It's also the only song on an Arctic Monkeys album with a co-writing credit for Jamie Cook. These are the lyrics that 500 strangers were singing back to him before anyone had paid a penny for them.
Internet Revolution Speed Round
The internet has done its job. Now NME, the BBC, and every music journalist in Britain are circling. Next: the hype machine goes into overdrive, and four teenagers from Sheffield have to decide how much of it to believe.
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