Every British band since the Beatles has seen going mainstream in America
as a measure of supreme success.
But rarely does that happen?
It's a big place and just because something appeals to UK taste
doesn't mean you'll definitely cross over.
Some of the greatest British acts of all time haven't made a dent in the US:
Cliff Richard, The Kinks, The Jam, The Stone Roses, Blur and The Libertines
all household names in Britain but barely known in the US.
- "We're Arctic Monkeys and this is 'I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor.'"
"Don't believe the hype."
Arctic Monkeys were a band that seemed destined for this lack of US appreciation.
A Sheffield guitar band beloved in the UK
whose singer's insightful lyricism followed a British songwriting tradition,
passed down from The Kinks' Ray Davies through Paul Weller, Morrissey and Pulp's Jarvis Cocker.
This quintessential British view on nights out, relationships and not very good local bands
ran through their 2006 debut.
But references to Rotherham, the phrase 'Mardy Bum'
and frontman Alex Turner's thick Yorkshire accent were not gonna translate internationally.
But then seven years later they beefed up their sound, slowed down and made the US Billboard top 10
with "Do I Wanna Know?"
This is New British Canon and here's the story of How the Arctic Monkeys broke America.
Arctic Monkeys formed in Sheffield in the early 2000s,
composed of guitarist vocalist Alex Turner guitarist Jamie Cook,
drummer Matt Helders and bassist Andy Nicholson.
Previous to starting the band, none of their members had played an instrument before
but called to action by the retro rock'n'roll of The Strokes and their landmark Is This It album
they started a band.
Their initial sound was an energetic British spin on that:
With Turner's intricate and rapidly delivered lyrics
inspired by the flows of the Wu-Tang Clan and punk poet John Cooper Clarke.
Through Myspace their demos gained them a sizable following
and they signed to London-based indie label Domino.
This early hype got their first single 2005 "I Bet You Look Good on the Dance Floor"
straight to number one in the UK charts.
Then in January 2006 their debut album Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not
over took Oasis and Elastica to come the fastest-selling debut album in the UK.
The week it was released NME writers voted it the fifth Best British album of all time
beating London Calling and Revolver.
Despite being a very big deal in the UK their appeal in the US was limited.
This was not helped by the band not wanting to do press,
award shows and the usual promotional ephemera.
- "C'mon, be excited. You're supposed to be like a next big thing."
- "Well supposed to be but...
"Probably aren't."
In an interview with Rolling Stone in 2013 Cook and Helders defended their unwillingness to play the game:
Rather than spend time touring America to build their profile,
they instead dove straight into album number two, Favourite Worst Nightmare.
Around this time Nicholson left the band to be replaced by Nick O'Malley.
Again it was a British number-one album but with even less attention in the US.
For their third album Humbug they moved out to Rancho de la Luna in Joshua Tree, California
and with the help from co-producer Queens of the Stone Age's Josh Homme,
the band were able to really lean into a slower sludgier version of their sound.
This can be heard on the album's lead single "Crying Lightning."
About Homme, Turner stated:
After their Pixies indebted fourth album 2011's Suck It And See,
during spring 2012 Arctic Monkeys supported the Black Keys on their El Camino tour
but beforehand they recorded something new so they'd have some fresh material
namely the standalone single "R U Mine?"
Based on a riff that O'Malley had written the track went harder than anything they previously recorded.
While its lyricism and flow was influenced by modern hip-hop:
But it turned out "R U Mine?" was just a warm-up for what would feature on their next album.
As The Black Keys' tour was their first they'd ever done where they weren't the headliner,
the band quickly learned they needed to up their game in a live setting.
just playing their songs with teenaged energy wasn't gonna win over a disinterested US crowd.
Due to this Turner's stage persona evolved,
moving further from the shy Sheffield lad of 2006 with his guitar up to his chest
and into a definite rockstar with swagger, a killer Teddy Boy hairdo and actual slick attire.
Also by this time three of the Arctic Monkeys were living in LA, riding motorcycles and dating models,
but they needed more songs that reflected this change.
That strutted rather than ramshackled.
Bassist O'Malley bluntly recalled the band wanted to avoid "the same old indie bullshit."
Written early in their new album sessions back at Rancho de la Luna with co-producer Ross Orton
"Do I Wanna Know? was the first moment that achieved this:
This building block approach of recording "Do I Wanna Know?" began with the recording of the backbeat
a mixture of drums, handclaps and foot stomps
before fleshing out the rest of the song.
The influence from Timbaland is also present on the backing vocals
i.e. O'Malley and Helders,
or as Turner referred to them in the AM press tour: The Space Choirboys.
On the track rather than shouty call-and-response backups present on older tracks:
their vocals are R&B velvet smooth, adopting an almost falsetto
while dipping in and out of the mix for emphasis,
similar to the vocals on Timbaland's work with Aaliyah.
But The Space Choirboys were almost not present on the recorded version of the song.
LA band Haim were originally asked if they would sing on the track
but due to them being deep in the process of concocting
their own brand of hard rock flecked R&B on their debut Days Are Gone,
they had to decline.
Said Este Haim:
Along with Timbaland the band have also stated
the importance of the beats and bass on Dr. Dre's 2001 album.
As well as the rock elements of Ziggy-era David Bowie.
The central riff on "Do I Wanna Know?" was written and recorded by Turner
on a 12 string Vox Starstream
which gives the lumbering almost Sabbath-like riff a fuller meatier sound:
Said longtime Arctic Monkeys producer James Ford:
Despite a sonic shift for the band, at its core lyrically there was limited evolution.
Since the beginning Turner's mind has rarely strayed from writing about
the women he loves, lusts and longs after.
When questioned about this by Esquire he stated:
"Do I Wanna Know?" continues this trend, its title questioning
whether to continue pining over an ex-partner and the emotional in certainty involved,
mirroring the similarly unsure "R U Mine?"
Pitchfork writer Larry Fitzmaurice compared the song to Drake's "Marvin's Room,"
another track where the protagonist is longing after an ex-partner
and so he, intoxicated, calls her to try and get answers.
Turner retorted:
Those reflections especially when shit-faced about what could have been
and the gray area between longing and lusting after a memory, are fertile ground for pop music,
as it is such a universal experience.
One thing that especially UK fans feared
now that Turner was a resident of LA instead of his native Sheffield
is that his iconic accent would escape him.
While nowhere near the syllable chewing delight of tracks like "From The Ritz To The Rubble,"
"Do I Wanna Know?" still momentarily throws back to where he came from in the song's first verse:
Proving that you can take the man out of Yorkshire but you can't take Yorkshire out of the man.
Most covers of the track change it to the less regional 'something,'
aside from Dua Lipa who commits to the dialect word:
- "That rock'n'roll, eh?"
"Do I Wanna Know?" secured its place in the British rock pantheon
when Arctic Monkeys headlined Friday night at Glastonbury 2013.
At this point the song had barely been released a fortnight.
But in an act of sheer arrogance, the band opened with it.
A field of onlookers chanted the riff back in unison
a ritual that will continue for each future live appearance.
Beyond being an now eternal football chant
the riff was placed at number three of Guitar World's best guitar riffs of the decade:
"Do I Wanna Know?" also became the Arctic Monkeys' biggest hit in the UK
since 2007's "Fluorescent Adolescent", peaking out at number 11 in the singles chart.
But as a bigger achievement the single reached the top of the US Billboard alternative charts
and remained on the chart for 48 weeks.
Their previous entry on the alternative charts "I Bet You Look Good on the Dance Floor"
had only managed to reach number 7 in 2006.
And while their greater focus on publicity didn't win them a Grammy,
in 2015 "Do I Wanna Know?" was at least nominated the best rock performance.
The song's parent album AM arrived in September 2013.
With its release Arctic Monkeys became the first ever independently released group
to score five consecutive UK number-one albums.
In the US it became their proper breakthrough reaching the top 10 of the Billboard chart.
Finally the Arctic Monkeys had broken America but they did much more than that.
With "Do I Wanna Know?" they signaled that rock music wasn't dead.
The crowning ceremony in British popular music, the BRIT Awards, greeted them with praise,
similar to every other year that the Arctic Monkeys had released music.
They had had a fractious relationship with the award show,
having not attended and got We Are Scientists' Keith Murray to say a few words
when they won Best Breakthrough Act in 2006.
Then varyingly accepted their accolades dressed as the Village People, the cast of The Wizard of Oz
and some Yorkshire farmers.
2014 was no different.
When collecting the prize for Best British album for AM,
Turner delivered the following speech, edited for length and clarity:
In 2014, Arctic Monkeys seemed like the last rock band standing.
For Best British band, which they also won, they are up against the electronic focused likes of Bastille
and Disclosure as well as One Direction.
Not a single loud distorted guitar between them.
As arrogant and/or drunk as he may have seemed,
Alex Turner was pointing out something that became more obvious as the decade wore on.
Though rock music isn't as prevalent as it once was, Arctic Monkeys "Do I Wanna Know?" is proof
that guitar based music can exist and be loved in a modern musical climate.
It just needs to try something new, challenge itself and know what makes Rock exciting.
It's not that hard.
Turner chose to write their follow-up Tranquillity Base Hotel & Casino solely on a piano
leaving rock behind.
But the next wave is just around the corner,
ready to make its way through the sludge,
looking better than ever.
And there's nothing you can do about it.
Thanks for watching.
What are some your favorite rock songs of the last decade?
Comment down below.
While this video was about one of the best British songs of the decade
what was the best British song last year?
In the next video you'll find out.
I'd like to shout out last month's top tier patrons: Andy Carlson, D F,
Emily Violet Richardson and Xi Melrose.
Thank you, it really does help and I'll see you next time.