The band has released seven studio albums: Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not (2006), Favourite Worst Nightmare (2007), Humbug (2009), Suck It and See (2011), AM (2013), Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino (2018) and The Car (2022) (the first six of which debuted at #1 on the UK Albums Chart.
Each of the band's first five singles "I Bet You Look Good On the Dancefloor", "When the Sun Goes Down", "Leave Before The Lights Come On", "Brianstorm" and "Fluorescent Adolescent" hit the UK Top Five, but their sixth single, "Teddy Picker", only went Top 20 and their seventh single, "Crying Lightning" peaked at #12.
The band's rise to success started in late 2004/early 2005 when demo songs that had been handed out in CD form at gigs found their way onto the internet. These demos rapidly spread among message boards and friends leading to a growing fan base for the band, and were collected on the unofficial Beneath the Boardwalk, which the band recognizes on their website. The band owe much of their success to viral buzz via the Internet, and have eschewed typical 'commercial' channels, including refusing to appear on the UK's (now discontinued) Top Of The Pops music program, which was often seen as a gateway to success.
The band's debut album, Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not, held the record for the largest first week sales of a debut album in the UK (in its first week, it sold more than the rest of the Top 20 albums combined). The album sold over 360,000 copies in its first week, but lost the title in November 2007 to Leona Lewis's album Spirit.
On 19th June 2006 the band officially announced that founding member and bassist Andy Nicholson had left the band after missing the American leg of their tour due to 'fatigue' and the other band members couldn't stand the constant 'missing his girlfriend syndrome' so they told him to sling his hook. Former Dodgems bassist Nick O'Malley was initially brought in as a stand-in, and played the band's remaining summer commitments. He was then announced as Nicholson's permanent replacement.
The single "Leave Before The Lights Come On" came out on August 14th, but only reached Number 4 on the UK charts, denying the band a third consecutive number 1 single.
Their debut album Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not won the 2006 Mercury Prize, was chosen as the best album of year 2006 by Q Magazine, and received a slew of other accolades.
Their second album Favourite Worst Nightmare was released on April 23rd 2007. It was preceded by "Brianstorm", the first single from the album, which was released a week before. Like its predecessor, "Favourite Worst Nightmare" sold more than the rest of the Top 20 combined, and - due to an error on iTunes - every song on the record appeared on the UK Top 200 Singles the next week.
When asked about Favourite Worst Nightmare Turner commented, "We haven't changed that much. It's still about making contact with girls or not making contact with girls".
The band began to write and record demos for the third album in January 2008, Turner said "We had tunes that we'd already been playing on tour so we recorded them. That’s six [songs]. We’re going to take it easy and start practicing over the summer and doing new stuff."
The band premiered new material from the unreleased album during their January 2009 tour of New Zealand, playing small venues in Wellington and Auckland ahead of the Big Day Out festival. Their first show in more than a year was on January 13, 2009 at Wellington's Town Hall. In both cities, the new songs played were "Crying Lightning", "Go-Kart", "Dangerous Animals" and "Pretty Visitors." The full setlist from the Auckland gig is available online. Also played was a cover of the Nick Cave song "Red Right Hand." During their last tour, the band had played new songs "Put Me In A Terror Pocket", "Sandtrap," and "The Fire and The Thud" live.
Lead singer/songwriter Alex Turner started a two-man project with the singer from the Rascals, Miles Kane.
The band is called 'The Last Shadow Puppets'
The Arctic Monkeys band released their album Humbug in August of 2009, preceded by the single "Crying Lightning"
They released their fourth studio album, Suck It And See, on June 6th, 2011.
They released their fifth studio album, AM, on September 9th, 2013.
They released their sixth studio album, Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino, with no preceding single releases, on May 11th, 2018.
They released their seventh studio album, The Car, on October 21st, 2022, preceded by the singles "There'd Better Be a Mirrorball", "Body Paint" and "I Ain't Quite Where I Think I Am".
http://www.arcticmonkeys.com/
On the Run From the MI5
Arctic Monkeys Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I'm a crack dealing crook
Selling lots of rock and roll to the masses
And I know if you wanna take a trip to the city
We can go (to Gibraltar)
We can go (to Gibraltar)
Let's go, let's go, let's go, come on
Let's go, let's go, let's go, come on
Give me your switch card - I'll book some flights
1996 and I'm stuck at the bottom of a truck
On the run from the MI5, got detectives
And I'll say if you catch me that I really wish
That I had stayed (in Gibraltar)
That I had stayed (in Gibraltar)
Let's go, let's go, let's go, come on
Come on, come on, come on, come on
Let's go, let's go, let's go, come on
Give me your switch card - I'll book some flights
The Arctic Monkeys' song "On the Run From the MI5" is a fast-paced tune infused with their signature brand of punk rock. The song tells the story of an aspiring drug dealer who's trying to escape law enforcement's grasp. The first verse sees the drug dealer offering to show someone how he operates his illegal business, proclaiming himself as a "crack dealing crook" who sells "lots of rock and roll to the masses." He then suggests they go to Gibraltar, a British Overseas Territory near Spain.
However, the chorus reveals that the singer is actually on the run from the British intelligence agency, MI5, who are pursuing him with detectives. He mentions being stuck at the bottom of a truck in 1996 and how he wishes he had stayed in Gibraltar. The song is full of frantic energy, reflecting the feeling of constantly being on the move and looking over your shoulder.
Overall, the song has a rebellious spirit, which is typical of Arctic Monkeys' music. It's about living life on the edge and taking risks, even if it means running from the authorities.
Line by Line Meaning
Come and take a leaf out of my book
Follow my example
I'm a crack dealing crook
I'm engaged in illegal drug trade
Selling lots of rock and roll to the masses
I'm successfully selling music to a large audience
And I know if you wanna take a trip to the city
If you want to go to the city
We can go (to Gibraltar)
We can travel to Gibraltar
Let's go, let's go, let's go, come on
Let's move quickly
Give me your switch card - I'll book some flights
Give me your credit card and I'll book our air travel
1996 and I'm stuck at the bottom of a truck
I'm stuck beneath a truck at some point in 1996
On the run from the MI5, got detectives
I'm evading the MI5 and being pursued by detectives
And I'll say if you catch me that I really wish
If caught, I'll regret not staying in Gibraltar
That I had stayed (in Gibraltar)
That I didn't leave Gibraltar
Come on, come on, come on, come on
Encouragement to move quickly
Let's go, let's go, let's go, come on
Encouragement to move quickly
Contributed by Leah F. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Nrthern Line
A-side and B-side originally referred to the two sides of 7 inch vinyl records on which singles were released beginning in the 1950s. The terms have come to refer to the types of song conventionally placed on each side of the record, with the A-side being the featured song (the one that the record producer hopes will receive radio airplay and become a "hit"), while the B-side, or flipside, is a secondary song that often does not appear on the artist's LP.
Becky Pusey
this is fantastic way good enuf to be a single thats wats so good bout AM even their bsides and demos are amazing x
Charles Uzuegbunam
Sounds like The Hives! And is frickin' awesome!
JEEP McCann
Great tune too bad they never play it live
B F
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Stranger Things
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Erenikos
@Tonsillitis Mcgee suc
Tonsillitis Mcgee
@BLASER 22 such
Ethan Mayes
I'm getting a little bit of cage the elephant, probably the fast pace