Arctic Monkeys - Believe The Hype

Episodes

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01Anticipation2023012320230208 (R1)Curtains up on the moment just before Whatever People Say's release. On the video to their debut single, I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor the band issued a warning: ‘Don't Believe the Hype'. Fat lot of good it did; the single went number one - and the band, four baby-faced Northerners, barely out of their teens, are already being described as the greatest thing to happen to British music in a generation. So what's the world they're arriving into? And why is it so ready to greet the Arctics? A nostalgia-fuelled survey of the landscape of of the mid-noughties - and a snapshot of the band in the eye of the storm, poised to change everything.

The year is 2005, and four lads from Sheffield are about to define their generation.

02Boys In Bands2023012320230208 (R1)Backtrack to the birth of Arctic Monkeys. Four friends at school decide to coordinate Christmas presents and start a band. They're inspired by music venue, the Boardwalk, in Sheffield, where they meet like-minded young bands, receive a free education in music history, and get to know the elders who've shaped their city's sound.

Arctic Monkeys, the origin story. As told by the mates and musicians closest to them.

03Beneath The Boardwalk2023012220230208 (R1)Rome wasn't built in a day, and nor was the Arctic Monkeys' reputation. Their first gigs were chaotic. Their early demos were rough and ready. But very quickly, they got better, and people began to notice. So what was it that set the Arctic Monkeys apart from their peers in a crowded scene? The answer lies in Alex Turner's quick wit, and a fly-on-the-wall observational style that would soon become his trademark.

The chaotic first gigs. The scrappy early demos. The first whispers of hype.

04Music For Ringtones2023012220230208 (R1)After Arctic Monkeys' demos begin circulating online, the hype reaches a fever pitch - and the band become emblematic of an entire shifting landscape of music distribution, embodied by the rush of every new band to MySpace. The old guard are wary of the unregulated chaos of it all. But Arctic Monkeys instinctively understand the opportunities in this new wild west - and watch their fanbase multiply across the country.

Arctic Monkeys ride the digital wave and reap the rewards in the blogosphere.

05What On Earth's The Plan?2023012220230301 (R1)Amidst the deafening hype, Arctic Monkeys head to a studio in the country under the stewardship of Jim Abbiss and set about making their debut album. Together, they concoct a plan to capture the raw energy of the band's live performances. Jim Abbiss is bowled over to find a young band with such developed ideas.

Amidst the deafening hype, the Monkeys decamp to a country studio to make the album.

06A Weekend With Arctic Monkeys2023012320230301 (R1)Whatever People Say tells a story: the full cycle of a night out, from giddy preparation to bleary-eyed morning after - by way of dodgy doormen, seedy street life, and a doner-grasping cab ride home. Take a moment to bask in the text of the Monkeys' debut album - with the artists and fans who took so much inspiration from it.

Pub, Club, Kebab, Cab - the story of Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not.

07Wishing They Weren't There2023012220230301 (R1)Whatever People Say I Am is released to a critical frenzy, and becomes the fastest selling UK debut of all time, winning the Mercury Prize in the process - but the Arctics are already withdrawing, setting a template for their future (lack of) engagement with the public and media. Where does a young band find the confidence to say no?

They may have released the fastest selling debut ever, but the Monkeys aren't fussed.

08The Sun Goes Down2023012220230301 (R1)Star, unlock. Whatever People Say I Am\u2026 as time-capsule from a by-gone era.