Arctic Monkeys

United Kingdom, 2002–now

English rock band formed in High Green, Sheffield in 2002 — Alex Turner, Jamie Cook, Nick O'Malley and Matt Helders. Their debut Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not (2006) became the fastest-selling debut album in UK chart history. Fusing sharp, observational lyrics with post-punk-revival energy, they evolved from garage-rock immediacy to the sleek desert-rock of AM (2013) and the lounge-pop of Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino (2018).

MusicRoots documents 9 artists who influenced Arctic Monkeys and 1 artist Arctic Monkeys influenced in turn. Every connection cites a published source.

Who influenced Arctic Monkeys?

• The Strokes — The Strokes' Is This It was the record Alex Turner played constantly as Arctic Monkeys formed — the band consciously borrowed and then pushed away from its blueprint.
• The Libertines — The Libertines were a key teenage touchstone for Arctic Monkeys, feeding their ideas about song structure and their scrappy early energy.
• Oasis — As teenagers the band were steeped in Oasis alongside The Strokes and The Libertines — the Britpop swagger that first pulled Alex Turner and Jamie Cook towards guitar bands.
• The Clash — Their sense of song structure and taut punk drive traces back through The Strokes and The Libertines to The Clash and The Jam.
• Nick Cave — Nick Cave is among the lyricists Alex Turner most admires, a touchstone for his narrative, character-driven songwriting.
• David Bowie — Turner is drawn to artists who reinvented themselves — 'The Beatles, David Bowie… the big ones' — a model for Arctic Monkeys' restless stylistic shifts.
• The Jam — Among the bands the teenage Arctic Monkeys were listening to, beside The Strokes and The Libertines.
• Bob Dylan — One of the lyricists Alex Turner names as a model, with Nick Cave, Leonard Cohen and John Cale.
• Leonard Cohen — Another of the lyricists Alex Turner names as a model.

Which artists did Arctic Monkeys influence?

• Louis Tomlinson — The other half of the same statement, and the one he credits for the lyric writing specifically.