Arctic Monkeys are a multi-award winning rock band that hailed from Sheffield, England in 2002. The band were one of the first music groups to gain mainstream attention via the internet, such as their debut album, Everything What People Say I Am Is What I Am Not (2006), became the best-selling debut album by a band in UK charting history. The album has since sold over six million in the UK alone, earning the band two Brit Awards and a Grammy nomination for Best Alternative Music Album.
Their second album, Favorite Worst Nightmare, released in April 2007, sold over four million copies and won them Best British Album at the 2008 Brit Awards. The Arctic Monkeys’ third album, Humbug, was released in 2009, just before it headlined Reading and Leeds Festivals. The album was not as good as the band’s previous works as just over a million copies were sold in the UK. Their next effort, Suck It and See (2011), was similar to the band’s previous album in that it sold over a million copies in the UK, but did not chart. able to obtain significant award nominations. In 2013,A M to the review. AM was hugely commercially successful as it topped the charts in many countries and sold over three million copies in the UK alone. It also won British Album of the Year at the 2014 Brit Awards.
Arctic Monkey’s latest album, Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino, which was released in 2018, received positive reviews as it sold 86,000 copies in its first week of release. It became the band’s sixth consecutive number-one album in the UK and earned a Grammy nomination for Best Alternative Music Album.
Read on to learn more about the members of Arctic Monkeys, their different roles, and how the group got started.
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Alex Turner
Alex Turner was born Alexander David Turner, his parents’ only child; Penny and David Turner on January 6, 1986 in a suburb of Sheffield, South Yorkshire called High Green. As a child, Turner was exposed to a lot of music, thanks to his parents’ love of artists like Frank Sinatra, The Beatles, David Bowie, Led Zeppelin, Al Green and The Beach Boys. It further helped that his father was a music and physics teacher who played saxophone, trumpet and piano and had been a member of a band.
Around the age of 5, Turner, who had been recruited by his parents to take piano lessons, he met and became friends with a neighbor and future Arctic Monkeys bandmate, Matt Helders. The pair attended Stocksbridge High School where they met fellow future Arctic Monkey bandmate Andy Nicholson, with whom they immediately bonded over their love of rap music.
Turner spent most of his high school days obsessed with things music-related, making hip hop beats with his friends and learning to use the guitar his father bought him because his school performance suffered. He then went on to Barnsley College in 2002, where he studied Music Technology and Media Studies for his A degrees and English, Photography and Psychology for his AS degrees. It was also around this time that he and his friends, along with another neighbor of his, Jamie Cook, came together to form Arctic Monkeys.
After graduating from college in 2004, Alex Turner postponed college in order to fully focus on his music career. The band’s songs had by this time gained traction as they had recorded a number of demo tapes and toured the UK. In 2005, the group achieved national fame with Alex Turner as lead singer and songwriter while the rest was history.
Matt Helders
ArcticMonkeys founding member Matt Helders is the band’s drummer and backing vocalist. The native of Sheffield, England, got involved in music at a very young age thanks to his friendship with Alex Turner. He started playing drums because all his other friends all had guitars. Later, he found the musical instrument very suitable while attending the concert of American rock band Queen of the Stone Age, who he said used drums heavily in their music, which prompted him to want to hit stronger.
During the band’s formative period, Heldersmère was responsible for driving the then-teens to their rehearsal room in an unused warehouse, three times a week. Helder and his bandmates continued to enjoy good success, which allowed him to work with other bands. He played for American rock band We Are Scientists on their UK tour and worked with artists like Iggy Pop, Josh Homme and Lady Gaga. He also has his own clothing line which consists of a jacket, a zip-up hoodie, and three t-shirts.
In his personal life, Helders is married to model Breana McDow. The couple tied the knot in 2016 after dating for 5 years. Together they have a daughter named Amelia Darling Helders.
Jamie Cook
Jamie Cook, who was born Jamie Robert Cook on July 8, 1985, is the third founding member of the Arctic Monkeys. He is the band’s lead guitarist, but has also contributed vocals and played keyboards. He is also known as the band’s most outspoken member as he publicly denounces anyone, including print media, who criticizes their work as well as other bands, such as Coldplay, whom he deems annoying.
As a child, Cook and Turner with Helders were reportedly neighbors, which sparked their friendship. He did not attend the same secondary school as the other founding members, as he was enrolled at Ecclesfield Secondary School in Chapeltown, Sheffield. That didn’t stop him from getting involved with the band though as they practiced their music together for so many years before becoming successful.
As for his personal life, Cook is married to English glamor model, Katie Downes. The two, who have been together since 2006, got engaged in 2012 before moving forward to exchange vows in May 2014. In September 2015, they welcomed their first child, a son named Forrest.
Nick O’Malley
Nick O’Malley, whose full name is Nicholas Edward O’Malley, born July 5, 1985, is the bassist and backing vocalist of Arctic Monkeys. He joined the band in 2006 as a temporary replacement for Andy Nicholson before permanently replacing the band’s fourth founding member.
As a young boy, O’Malley was interested in playing drums and guitar, but did not receive his father’s approval. By the time he turned 16 he started playing bass guitar, which led to him joining local Sheffield band The Dodgems. When the opportunity later arose to temporarily join the Arctic Monkeys on their North American tour, O’Malley said he was overjoyed and had to lock himself up at home for two days to properly learn everything. band’s album. As a test before the tour, Arctic Monkeys played a secret gig in a London pub where O’Malley was said to have played very well, as he got the approval of all the band members and their management.
Andy Nicholson
Andy Nicholson is the fourth founding member of the Arctic Monkeys. He appeared on the album No Matter What People Say I Am, That’s What I Am Not (2006) as well as the EPs Five Minutes with Arctic Monkeys and Who Are the Arctic Monkeys? before leaving the group.
As the story goes, Nicholson initially left the band in May 2006 on a temporary basis due to exhaustion and fatigue following an intensive period of touring. He was unable to join the band for their North American tour, prompting the band to temporarily replace him with Nick O’Malley. His replacement was later made a permanent member in June 2006 as Nicholson moved on to other projects.
Prior to the formation and success of the ArcticMonkeys, Nicholson, who attended Stockbridge High School with Alex Turner and Matt Helders, had made a name for himself in Sheffield as a DJ. After leaving the band, he continued to DJ before forming the band Mongrel in 2008, which consisted of former bandmate Helders, Reverend and the Makers’ Jon McClure, Drew McConnell of Babyshambles and the rapper Lowkey of the Poisonous Poets. He became an official member of Reverend and the Makers until their hiatus in 2010 and also served for a short time as a member of The Book Club.
Lately, Andy Nicholson has been part of hip hop group Clubs & Spades and is also one half of production duo, Sticky Blood.
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