| "I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single byArctic Monkeys | ||||
| from the albumWhatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not | ||||
| Released | 17 October 2005 (2005-10-17) | |||
| Studio | Chapel (Lincolnshire) | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 2:54 | |||
| Label | Domino | |||
| Composers |
| |||
| Lyricist | Alex Turner | |||
| Producer | Jim Abbiss | |||
| Arctic Monkeys singles chronology | ||||
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| Audio sample | ||||
"I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor" | ||||
| Music video | ||||
| "I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor" onYouTube | ||||
"I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor" is a song by Englishrock bandArctic Monkeys released on 17 October 2005 throughDomino Recording Company. The song was the band's debut single and the first from their debut studio album,Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not (2006). Written by frontmanAlex Turner and produced byJim Abbiss, "I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor" is agarage rock,indie rock, andpost-punk song. It debuted at number one on theUK Singles Chart on 23 October 2005, and remains one of the band's best-known songs in the UK.
The track was recorded during sessions at 2fly Studios inSheffield and Chapel Studios inLincolnshire.[7] Its raw, energetic sound and distinctive opening shout of "Don't believe the hype!" captured the attention of music critics and listeners alike, establishing Arctic Monkeys' reputation for sharp, observational lyrics and driving guitar work. The song's success was amplified by the band'sgrassroots following, built largely throughfile-sharing andword-of-mouth promotion on the Internet, marking a shift in how new artists could achieve mainstream recognition in the mid-2000s.
The accompanying music video,[8] filmed in a single take at ayouth club in Sheffield, reinforced the band's unpretentious image and connection to their local roots. The song has since become a staple of Arctic Monkeys' live performances and is frequently cited as one of the defining tracks of the2000s indie rock revival. It has featured on numerous "best of" lists and continues to be celebrated as a landmark debut single inBritish rock music.
The song was recorded three times with different producers, the first version withAlan Smyth, and another withJames Ford andRich Costey, before landing on Abiss' version.[9]
The line "Your name isn't Rio, but I don't care for sand" is a reference toDuran Duran's song "Rio." The song also has references toRomeo and Juliet.[9]
The single cover features a young girl, wearing a trainee badge, working the cash register at a supermarket, and has the song title and the name of the band, over-imposed in white inside of two black rectangles. The girl in the picture, named Jessie May Cuffe, was discovered at a bar by Juno Creative, aLiverpooldesign company. Cuffe, 16 years old at the time, was chosen for the shoot, which took place at aSPAR in Liverpool. She wore a fake uniform, being mistaken for a store worker by customers.[10][11]
The video is a live recording of the band playing the song in a studio with a small audience watching with both the video and audio taken live. Alex Turner introduces the band and the song and asks viewers not to "believe the hype".[12] The video was shot using threeIkegami 3-tube colour television cameras from the 1980s[13] to give it a more aged effect. The video was inspired byBBC2's television music showThe Old Grey Whistle Test.[9]
Laura Snapes ofThe Guardian described the legacy of the single as one of "creation, destruction and transition." The distribution method of their early songs ushered in a new way of releasing music. In 2004,iTunes launched in the UK and accounted for 17.9% of that year's singles chart; by 2005, that number had more than doubled to 36.6%, with the band serving as a catalyst for this shift.[14]
For music writer Tom Ewing, the rise of the band "gave the impression that a return to theBritpop boom time was upon us." Music business journalist Eamonn Forde thought "Arctic Monkeys were one of those acts, certainly at the mainstream level, that brought those two things together," in regards to the way the Internet could be seen as both a distribution channel and a social space.Mike Smith, who signed the band toEMI Publishing, stated that "Arctic Monkeys created a model that’s absolutely dominant today. The fact that you’re clicking on music to listen to as you did with them – they heralded what we’ve come to live in now."Talent agent andtelevision producer Alison Howe remarked that the week of the single's release "felt like a moment that a generation would remember for the rest of their lives."[14]
In February 2008,Alan Wilder, former member ofDepeche Mode, criticised the mastering of the song in an open letter on theSide-Line Magazine website.[15] He described its sound as "a bombardment of the most unsubtle, one-dimensional noise." On 27 July 2012, once the athletes had gathered in the centre of the stadium, the band performed the song and a cover ofThe Beatles' "Come Together" at the2012 Summer Olympics opening ceremony.[16][17]
On 23 February 2006, the track wonBest Track at the2006 NME Awards—one of three awards won by Arctic Monkeys.[18] One of the B-sides, "Chun-Li's Spinning Bird Kick," was nominated forBest Rock Instrumental Performance at the2007 Grammy Awards.[19]
"I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor" has featured on numerous "best of" lists published by British music publicationNME. In May 2007, the song was ranked No. 10 on the50 Greatest Indie Anthems Ever,[20] No. 11 on the150 Best Tracks of the Past 15 Years list in October 2011,[21] and in January 2014, it was ranked No. 7 on the500 Greatest Songs of All Time.NME stated that the song is "the perfect encapsulation of what it is to be young, pissed, lusty, angry and skint in modern day Britain."[22]
The Sugababes confirmed in January 2006 that theB-side to "Red Dress" would be acover version of "I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor", which replaced the group's 2005 single "Push the Button" at number one on theUK Singles Chart.[23] Upon the recording of the B-side, the Sugababes said: "When our bosses asked us to think of covers for the B-side, we knew which song we would all love to do."[24] Ben Thompson ofThe Observer praised Berrabah's "bluesy rasp" as a novelty,[25] while Jimmy Draper ofTime Out wrote: "It transforms thepunky rave-up into a disco stomper that could make even the staunchiest pop-hater get up and dance."[26]
In June 2007,Tom Jones confirmed he would perform a cover of the track at theConcert for Diana. Jones revealed he was a big fan of the band and wanted to do something different, stating, "It's a great song and I wanted to do it as a surprise for the Princess Diana concert. I haven't been in touch with the lads about it but I hope that they like it."[27] On 1 July 2007, Jones andJoe Perry ofAerosmith performed it live for the celebration atWembley Stadium.[28][29] Reviews of the performance were negative, withThe Guardian saying the cover sounded good on paper, but live "it proved horribly wrong."[30]The Times thought Jones should "plead forgiveness" for his decision to cover the track.[31] When asked if Jones had received any feedback from the band, he responded, "No. The only feedback we got were the reviews which said we’d ruined it! We were going to release it, but the reviews were so bad we thought better of putting it out!”[32]
The song was covered by Britishfunk band Baby Charles and released as a single in 2009.[33] Jayson Greene ofPitchfork was positive towards the cover, and thought the band found, "an easy slinkiness in the groove that feels right for Alex Turner's sidelong, cutting observations."[34] Australian bandThe Vines released a cover of the song as a bonus track on the Japanese edition of their albumFuture Primitive, released 3 June 2011.
All lyrics are written byAlex Turner; all music is composed byArctic Monkeys[6]
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor" | 2:54 |
| 2. | "Bigger Boys and Stolen Sweethearts" | 2:59 |
| 3. | "Chun-Li's Spinning Bird Kick" | 4:40 |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor" | 2:54 |
| 2. | "Bigger Boys and Stolen Sweethearts" | 2:59 |
Weekly charts[edit]
| Year-end charts[edit]
|
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| Canada (Music Canada)[55] | Platinum | 80,000‡ |
| Italy (FIMI)[56] | Gold | 50,000‡ |
| Spain (PROMUSICAE)[57] | Gold | 30,000‡ |
| United Kingdom (BPI)[58] | 4× Platinum | 2,400,000‡ |
| United States (RIAA)[59] | Platinum | 1,000,000‡ |
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. | ||
| Region | Date | Format(s) | Label |
|---|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom[60] | 17 October 2005 |
| Domino |
| Australia[61] | 13 February 2006 | CD | |
| United States | 14 March 2006 | — |
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| Singles |
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| Related articles | |
