{"id":428413,"date":"2026-01-23T16:51:07","date_gmt":"2026-01-23T16:51:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/428413\/"},"modified":"2026-01-23T16:51:07","modified_gmt":"2026-01-23T16:51:07","slug":"on-the-20th-anniversary-of-arctic-monkeys-debut-revisit-alex-turner-explaining-i-bet-you-look-good-on-the-dancefloor","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/428413\/","title":{"rendered":"On the 20th anniversary of Arctic Monkeys’ debut, revisit Alex Turner explaining ‘I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

It has been 20 years since Arctic Monkeys<\/a> dropped their debut album \u2018Whatever People Say I Am, That\u2019s What I\u2019m Not<\/a>\u2019, and footage has resurfaced of Alex Turner<\/a> explaining the hit single \u2018I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor\u2019. Check it out below.<\/p>\n

The breakthrough record was released on this day (January 23) back in 2006, and helped launch the Sheffield indie giants to global fame with tracks including \u2018When the Sun Goes Down\u2019 and \u2018I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor\u2019.<\/p>\n

Now, a past NME interview has resurfaced, showing the frontman looking back at the latter single and revealing how it came to be made.<\/p>\n

Shared on YouTube back in 2011, the singer recalled how he got thinking about the song after he \u201cfound the lyrics for it scribbled on a piece of paper\u201d and went on to explain how there were different versions of it that the band worked on before landing on the final recording.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere was all sorts of stuff about cigarettes and stuff\u2026 There were some stinkers in there,\u201d Turner said about some of the early lyrics he wrote. \u201cArguably, there still is.\u201d<\/p>\n

He also went on to explain how they first recorded the song in Sheffield, before joining up with producer James Ford in Liverpool to record all the songs they wanted on their debut album.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe recorded 10 songs in a week, and we were like \u2018This is it, we\u2019ve done the album. Put it out tomorrow please, or yesterday if you can\u2019,\u201d the frontman explained, adding that they later released they were playing \u201ceverything at 300mph\u201d and had to go back to another studio in Lincoln to re-record it.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

\u201c[We were] trying to pick the best bits. Everyone was into the demos, so we were trying to get a bit of that, but also a better recording of it,\u201d he added. \u201cIt was weird because when we were recording that tune, the video was already on telly for it.\u201d<\/p>\n

That, he shared, was because the band recorded the song and shared it as a single and found that it was getting rapid momentum before they had a chance to re-record it for the full debut album. \u201cIt was weird, we were trying to cut this single in one room, but it was on telly in the other room,\u201d Turner said, before revealing that the song started from a drum riff made by Matt Helders<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The singer would then go on to explain how he found a new sense of appreciation for the single after a period of disliking it, and went on to share why it remained in their setlist for years, long after other tracks from the album got left behind.<\/p>\n

\u201cIts more fun than ever to play it now. I fell out with it for a moment, somewhere along the way,\u201d he said. \u201cI fall out with all of them at some point\u2026 but that\u2019s one I can\u2019t imagine not playing. When it comes around in the set, it\u2019s just fun. We all really enjoy playing it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSome of the other songs we\u2019ve written since then are more complex, and you have to concentrate a bit more. You have to think about singing in tune and playing the right note, but that one was more like \u2018Let\u2019s have a laugh for a few minutes\u2019. I still manage to murder it, though sometimes,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe don\u2019t play a lot of those older tunes because it feels like you can\u2019t anymore. Whatever it took to write and play those songs at the time isn\u2019t there anymore. For some reason, some have a longer shelf life than other ones, and it sometimes feels like we\u2019re doing covers of them. We can\u2019t do a cover of \u2018Fake Tales Of San Francisco\u2019, but I think we do a pretty good cover of \u2018I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor\u2019\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

The \u2018Whatever People Say I Am, That\u2019s What I\u2019m Not\u2019 album went on to shift 360,000 units in its first week, surpassing Oasis<\/a>\u2019 \u2018Definitely Maybe\u2019 in becoming the fastest-selling debut album in British music history.<\/p>\n

Since then, it has been certified eight-times platinum in the UK, and in the US it became the second-fastest selling debut album on an independent record label. It also saw the band win the 2007 Mercury Prize<\/a>, take home the BRIT Award<\/a> for Best British Album, and get nominated for the Grammy\u2019s Best Alternative Music Album award.<\/p>\n

It was followed by 2007\u2019s \u2018Favourite Worst Nightmare<\/a>\u2019, 2009\u2019s \u2018Humbug<\/a>\u2019, 2011\u2019s \u2018Suck It And See<\/a>\u2019, 2013\u2019s \u2018AM<\/a>\u2019, 2018\u2019s \u2018Tranquillity Base Hotel & Casino<\/a>\u2019, and finally 2022\u2019s \u2018The Car<\/a>\u2019. Throughout that time, the band have won seven BRITs, taken home 20 NME Awards, and been nominated for nine Grammys.<\/p>\n

Arctic Monkeys wrapped up their latest tour in 2023<\/a>, closing the run of shows in Berlin with James Ford and Miles Kane appearing as special guests<\/a>. Earlier that year, they locked in a headline slot at Glastonbury 2023<\/a> and were praised by NME as delivering a slot that \u201ccements their legacy as their generation\u2019s finest band\u201d.<\/p>\n

The band surprised fans yesterday by releasing a brand new song called \u2018Opening Night\u2019<\/a>. This was recorded as a one-off release, and the first taste of a new all-star charity album \u2018Help(2)\u2019, made in conjunction with War Child.<\/p>\n

Other huge names to feature will include Damon Albarn<\/a>, Pulp<\/a>, Johnny Marr<\/a>, Fontaines D.C.<\/a>, Olivia Rodrigo<\/a> and Depeche Mode<\/a>, and many others.<\/p>\n

NME gave \u2018Opening Night\u2019 a four-star review<\/a>, noting that the song\u2019s release had been \u201cenveloped in hearsay \u2013 that it\u2019s their final release, that it\u2019s an outtake from \u2018AM\u2019 sessions\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you\u2019re looking for answers as to what the future holds, you\u2019re not going to get them here,\u201d it read. \u201cBut if this is the last piece of music we\u2019re going to get from Arctic Monkeys, it\u2019s a solid way to bow out \u2013 interesting, enjoyable and for a mighty good cause. More tunes aside, it\u2019s all we could ask for.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"It has been 20 years since Arctic Monkeys dropped their debut album \u2018Whatever People Say I Am, That\u2019s…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":428414,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[49,48,75,1645,341,1352],"class_list":{"0":"post-428413","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-music","8":"tag-ca","9":"tag-canada","10":"tag-entertainment","11":"tag-indie","12":"tag-music","13":"tag-rock"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/428413","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=428413"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/428413\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/428414"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=428413"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=428413"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=428413"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}