Hailing from Sheffield suburb High Green, English indie rock group Arctic Monkeys’ were formed in 2002. Achieving their early success through fan-made demo tapes and online file sharing, they were heralded as one of the first groups to come to the public attention via the Internet. For lead vocalist and guitarist Alex Turner, drummer Matt Helders, guitarist Jamie Cook, and bassist Andy Nicholson, chart success came when first single, "I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor" reached number 1 in the UK Singles Chart. Debut LP "Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not" (a line taken from the 1960's film "Saturday Night and Sunday Morning") was released in January 2006, and it became the fastest-selling debut album in British music history, beating Oasis’ "Definitely Maybe" (it remains the fastest-selling debut album for a group). The album also won both the 2006 Mercury Prize and the 2007 Brit Award for Best British Album. Sophomore album, "Favourite Worst Nightmare", with Nick O'Malley replacing Nicholson on bass, was released in April 2007, sold over 225,000 copies in its debut week, and helped the group to the Best British Album and Best British Group titles at the Brit awards in 2008.

Lyrically observing chav culture ("A Certain Romance") and the social issues of life in Sheffield ("When the Sun Goes Down" - described as a 'witty, poignant song about prostitution in the Neepsend district of Sheffield') the Arctic Monkeys comments and humour have been compared to the word play of Mike Skinner (The Streets) and the iconic fellow Sheffielder Jarvis Cocker (Pulp).