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I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor

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"I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor" is a song by English rock band Arctic Monkeys released on 17 October 2005, through Domino 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 frontman Alex Turner and produced by Jim Abbiss, "I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor" is a garage rock, indie rock, and post-punk song. It debuted at number one on the UK Singles Chart on 23 October 2005, and remains one of the band's best-known songs in the UK.

"I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor"
Single by Arctic Monkeys
from the album Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not
Released17 October 2005 (2005-10-17)
StudioChapel (Lincolnshire)
Genre
Length2:54
LabelDomino
Composer(s)
Lyricist(s)Alex Turner
Producer(s)Jim Abbiss
Arctic Monkeys singles chronology
"I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor"
(2005) 		"When the Sun Goes Down"
(2006)
Audio sample
"I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor"
Music video
"I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor" on YouTube

Arctic Monkeys performed the song at the opening ceremony of the 2012 Summer Olympics. The song was ranked at number 7 on NME's list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. Mike Smith, who signed them to EMI Publishing, claimed that with the release of this song, “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.”[7]

Composition and lyrics

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The song was recorded three times with different producers, the first version with Alan Smyth, and another with James Ford and Rich Costey, before landing on Abiss' version.[8]

The line "Your name isn't Rio, but I don't care for sand" is a reference to Duran Duran's song "Rio", the song also has references to Romeo and Juliet.[8]

Single artwork

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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, overimposed in white inside of two black rectangles. The girl in the picture, named Jesse May Cuffe, was discovered by Liverpool's design company, Juno, at a bar. Cuffe, at the time 16, was chosen for the shoot, which took place at a SPAR in Liverpool. She wore a fake uniform, being mistook as a store worker by customers.[9]

Music video

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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".[10] The video was shot using three Ikegami 3-tube colour television cameras from the 1980s[11] to give it a more aged effect. The video was inspired by BBC2's television music show The Old Grey Whistle Test.[8]

Legacy

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Laura Snapes of The Guardian described the legacy of the single as one of "creation, destruction and transition." The way their early songs were distributed ushered in a new way of releasing music, In 2004 iTunes had launched in the UK and accounted for 17.9% of that year’s singles chart but by 2005, that number had more than doubled to 36.6%, with the band as a starting point. For music writer Tom Ewing, the rise of the band "gave the impression that a return to the Britpop 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 not be seen as both a distribution channel and a social space. Talent booker Alison Howe said, the week of the single release "felt like a moment that a generation would remember for the rest of their lives.”[7]

In February 2008, Alan Wilder, former member of Depeche Mode, criticised the mastering of the song in an open letter on the Side-Line Magazine website.[12] 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 of The Beatles' "Come Together" at the 2012 Summer Olympics opening ceremony.[13][14]

Accolades

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On 23 February 2006, the track won Best Track at the 2006 NME Awards—one of three awards won by Arctic Monkeys.[15] One of the B-sides, "Chun-Li's Spinning Bird Kick," was nominated for Best Rock Instrumental Performance at the 2007 Grammy Awards.[16]

In May 2007, NME magazine placed "I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor" at number 10 in its list of the 50 Greatest Indie Anthems Ever.[17] In October 2011, NME placed it at number 11 on its list "150 Best Tracks of the Past 15 Years."[18] It was later ranked seventh on their list of the "500 Greatest Songs of All Time," with NME noting that the song is "the perfect encapsulation of what it is to be young, pissed, lusty, angry and skint in modern day Britain."[19]

Cover versions

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The Sugababes confirmed in January 2006 that the B-side to "Red Dress" would be a cover version of "I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor", which replaced the group's 2005 single "Push the Button" at number one on the UK Singles Chart.[20] 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."[21] Ben Thompson of The Observer praised Berrabah's "bluesy rasp" as a novelty,[22] while Jimmy Draper of Time Out wrote: "It transforms the punky rave-up into a disco stomper that could make even the staunchiest pop-hater get up and dance."[23]

In June 2007 Tom Jones confirmed he would perform a cover of the track at the Concert for Diana, Jones revealed he was a big fan of the band and wanted to do something different, of the song he said, "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."[24] On 1 July 2007, Jones and Joe Perry of Aerosmith performed it live for the celebration at Wembley Stadium.[25][26] Reviews of the performance were negative, with The Guardian saying the cover sounded good on paper, but live "it proved horribly wrong."[27] The Times thought Jones should "plead forgiveness" for his decision to cover the track.[28] 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!”[29]

The song was covered by British funk band Baby Charles and released as a single in 2009.[30] Jayson Greene of Pitchfork 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."[31] Australian band The Vines released a cover of the song as a bonus track on the Japanese edition of their album Future Primitive, released 3 June 2011.

Track listings

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All lyrics are written by Alex Turner; all music is composed by Arctic Monkeys[6]

UK CD single, US 10-inch vinyl[32][33]
No.TitleLength
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
UK 7-inch single[34]
No.TitleLength
1."I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor"2:54
2."Bigger Boys and Stolen Sweethearts"2:59

Personnel

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Personnel adapted from Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not liner notes[35]

Charts

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Certifications

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Region Certification Certified units/sales
Spain (PROMUSICAE)[53] Gold 30,000‡
United Kingdom (BPI)[54] 4× Platinum 2,400,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Release history

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Region Date Format(s) Label Ref.
United Kingdom 17 October 2005
  • 7-inch vinyl
  • CD
 Domino [55]
Australia 13 February 2006 CD [56]
United States 14 March 2006 —

References

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  1. ^ "Coolest Garage Songs". Billboard. United States: Lynne Segall. 22 April 2006. Retrieved 19 July 2016.
  2. ^ Cassie, Perri (27 November 2013). "Top 10 essential Arctic Monkeys". FasterLouder. Junkee Media. Archived from the original on 16 March 2016. Retrieved 19 July 2016.
  3. ^ Colin Larkin (27 May 2011). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Omnibus Press. p. 2006. ISBN 978-0-85712-595-8.
  4. ^ Dolan, Jon (10 May 2018). "Review: Arctic Monkeys' 'Tranquility Base Hotel' Is a Space-Lounge Odyssey". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 11 May 2018. Retrieved 14 May 2018.
  5. ^ Blyweiss, Adam; Terich, Jeff; Whitacre, Wesley (22 March 2018). "10 Essential Post-Britpop tracks". Treble Zine. Retrieved 20 October 2024.
  6. ^ a b "Arctic Monkeys - Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not". AllMusic.
  7. ^ a b "How Arctic Monkeys' debut single changed the music industry and 'killed the NME'". The Guardian. 22 October 2015. Retrieved 10 January 2023.
  8. ^ a b c "Why We Love 'I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor'". NME. 3 May 2012. Retrieved 10 January 2023.
  9. ^ "Who is the girl on the cover of I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor?". Radio X. 17 October 2022. Retrieved 10 January 2023.
  10. ^ "I Bet You Look Good on thefloor (official video)". YouTube. Retrieved 15 July 2017.
  11. ^ "Portfolio A few samples of work undertaken by Golden Age Television Recreations". Retrieved 10 February 2016.
  12. ^ "Recoil / Alan Wilder - 'Music for the Masses - I think not' - interview at SIDE-LINE". Side-line.com. 29 February 2008. Archived from the original on 11 April 2008. Retrieved 2 April 2014.
  13. ^ "Arctic Monkeys play London 2012 Olympics opening ceremony". NME. 26 July 2012. Retrieved 10 January 2023.
  14. ^ "The 2012 Olympics Opening Ceremony Is Still A Heart-Swelling, Lump-In-The-Throat Nostalgia Fest". The Huffington Post. 23 July 2021. Retrieved 10 January 2023.
  15. ^ "Arctic Monkeys make history at ShockWaves NME Awards". NME. 23 February 2006. Retrieved 25 February 2006.
  16. ^ "Arctic Monkeys - Grammy.com". Grammy Awards. Retrieved 10 January 2023.
  17. ^ "The Greatest Indie Anthem Ever revealed". NME.
  18. ^ "150 Best Tracks of the Past 15 Years". NME. 6 October 2011. Retrieved 11 January 2012.
  19. ^ "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time: 100-1 |". NME. 31 January 2014. Retrieved 10 March 2016.
  20. ^ "Sugababes to cover Arctic Monkeys". Digital Spy. 31 January 2006. Archived from the original on 19 October 2012. Retrieved 9 April 2010.
  21. ^ "Love Actually star loses cancer fight". Liverpool Echo. 17 February 2006. Retrieved 6 October 2012.[permanent dead link](subscription required)
  22. ^ Thompson, Ben (19 February 2006). "Hot tunes". The Observer. Guardian News & Media. Archived from the original on 9 March 2016. Retrieved 4 August 2012.
  23. ^ "Pop! Justice: 100olid Pop Music". Time Out. 16 November 2006. Archived from the original on 20 October 2012. Retrieved 9 April 2010.
  24. ^ "Tom Jones to cover Arctic Monkeys hit". Digital Spy. 30 June 2007. Retrieved 10 January 2023.
  25. ^ "Concert for Diana - What happened minute by minute". BBC News. Retrieved 4 July 2013.
  26. ^ "WATCH: Tom Jones Covering Arctic Monkeys Is The Best Thing Ever". Radio X. Retrieved 10 January 2023.
  27. ^ "Stage frights". The Guardian. 14 July 2007. Retrieved 10 January 2023.
  28. ^ "Tom Jones: 24 Hours". The Times. 29 October 2008. Archived from the original on 4 October 2021. Retrieved 10 January 2023.
  29. ^ Ryan, Gary (30 April 2021). "Does Rock 'N' Roll Kill Braincells?! – Tom Jones". NME. Retrieved 10 January 2023.
  30. ^ "Baby Charles". Discogs.
  31. ^ Greene, Jayson (8 April 2009). "Baby Charles: Baby Charles Album Review". Pitchfork. Retrieved 10 January 2023.
  32. ^ I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor (UK CD single liner notes). Arctic Monkeys. Domino Recording Company. 2005. RUG212CD.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  33. ^ I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor (US 10-inch single sleeve). Arctic Monkeys. Domino Recording Company. 2005. DNO 070.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  34. ^ I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor (UK 7-inch single sleeve). Arctic Monkeys. Domino Recording Company. 2005. RUG212.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  35. ^ Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not (booklet). Arctic Monkeys. London: Domino Recording Company. 2006. WIGCD162.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  36. ^ "Arctic Monkeys – I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved 14 April 2016.
  37. ^ "Arctic Monkeys – I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor" (in French). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 14 April 2016.
  38. ^ "R&R Canada Rock Top 30" (PDF). Radio & Records. 5 May 2006. p. 61. Retrieved 4 December 2019.
  39. ^ "Arctic Monkeys – I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor". Tracklisten. Retrieved 14 April 2016.
  40. ^ "Hits of the World – Eurocharts" (PDF). Billboard. Vol. 117, no. 45. 5 November 2005. p. 75. Retrieved 17 April 2020.
  41. ^ "Arctic Monkeys – I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor" (in French). Les classement single. Retrieved 14 April 2016.
  42. ^ "The Irish Charts – Search Results – I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 14 April 2016.
  43. ^ "Arctic Monkeys – I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 14 April 2016.
  44. ^ "Arctic Monkeys – I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved 14 April 2016.
  45. ^ "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 14 April 2016.
  46. ^ "Arctic Monkeys: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 24 May 2021.
  47. ^ "Official Independent Singles Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 14 April 2016.
  48. ^ "Arctic Monkeys Chart History (Alternative Airplay)". Billboard. Retrieved 14 April 2016.
  49. ^ "Arctic Monkeys Chart History (Bubbling Under Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved 14 April 2016.
  50. ^ "End of Year Singles Chart Top 100 – 2005". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 8 July 2018.
  51. ^ "The Official UK Singles Chart 2006" (PDF). UKChartsPlus. Retrieved 4 September 2018.
  52. ^ "Alternative Songs – Year-End 2006". Billboard. Retrieved 6 September 2018.
  53. ^ "Spanish single certifications – Arctic Monkeys – I Bet You Look Good on the Dance Floor". El portal de Música. Productores de Música de España. Retrieved 22 February 2024.
  54. ^ "British single certifications – Arctic Monkeys – I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 8 January 2024.
  55. ^ "New Releases: Singles". Music Week. 15 October 2005. p. 25.
  56. ^ "The ARIA Report: New Releases Singles – Week Commencing 13th February 2006" (PDF). ARIA. 13 February 2006. p. 28. Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 February 2006. Retrieved 12 November 2021.
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