By distilling the sounds of Franz Ferdinand, the Clash, the Strokes, and the Libertines into a hybrid of swaggering indie rock and danceable neo-punk, the Arctic Monkeys became one of the U.K.'s biggest bands of the new millennium. Their meteoric rise began in 2005, when the teenaged bandmates fielded offers from major labels and drew a sold-out crowd to the London Astoria, using little more than a self-released EP as bait. Several months later, Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not became the fastest-selling debut album in British history, entrenching the Arctic Monkeys in the same circle as multi-platinum acts like Oasis and Blur.

Frontman Alex Turner and guitarist Jamie Cook began their music careers in 2001, when the friends both received guitars for Christmas. Two years later, they began performing shows around their native Sheffield with drummer Matt Helders and bassist Andy Nicholson, two fellow students at Stocksbridge High School. A series of demo recordings followed, and the Arctic Monkeys' audience swelled as fans circulated those recordings via the Internet. The musicians soon found themselves at the center of a growing media circus, with such outlets as BBC Radio examining the band's music and mounting hype.

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By distributing their homemade material on the Internet, the Arctic Monkeys were able to build a rabid fan base without the help of a record label, effectively circumventing the usual road to superstardom. They continued to buck tradition by signing with Domino Records in 2005, eschewing a major label's help for Domino's D.I.Y. mentality and hip roster (which also included Franz Ferdinand, a touchstone for the band's sound). The smart moves paid off as the Arctic Monkeys' first two singles -- "I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor" and "When the Sun Goes Down" -- both topped the U.K. charts. Critical reception was similarly favorable, but few could have predicted the whirlwind success of the band's debut album, which ousted Oasis' Definitely Maybe as the fastest-selling debut in British history (a record that was lost one year later to Leona Lewis' Spirit). Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not sold 363,735 copies during its first week alone, transforming the Arctic Monkeys from underground stars into mainstream figures.

The Arctic Monkeys' debut sold approximately 300,000 total copies in America -- enough to warrant more media coverage, but notably less than the album's British sales during its first week alone. Nevertheless, the band's success continued as they released a spring EP, Who the F**k Are Arctic Monkeys, and prepared for a stateside tour. Temporary bassist Nick O'Malley was brought aboard for the band's American shows, while a fatigued Nicholson stayed at home. Nicholson then announced his official departure when the band returned home in  June 2006, and O'Malley remained with the Arctic Monkeys as a permanent member. That fall, the musicians received the 2006 Mercury Prize and donated the accompanying money to an undisclosed charity. Additional accolades included Best British Breakthrough Act at the Brit Awards and Best New Band at the NME Awards. NME also made a bold assertion by deeming the band's debut one of the Top Five British albums ever released.

Released in April 2007, Favourite Worst Nightmare updated the the Arctic Monkeys' sound with louder instruments and faster tempos. The bandmates had recorded the sophomore album quickly, wishing to return to the road as soon as possible, and the speedy turnaround between records only helped solidify the band's popularity at home. Favourite Worst Nightmare sold 85,000 copies during its first day of release, while all 12 tracks entered the Top 200 of the U.K. singles charts. As Alex Turner briefly turned his attention to a side project, the Last Shadow Puppets, the Arctic Monkeys received another Mercury Prize nomination and took home two titles at the 2008 Brit Awards.

Recording sessions for a third album commenced in early 2008 and lasted throughout the year. Meanwhile, the band released a concert album entitled Arctic Monkeys at the Apollo -- with accompanying video footage captured on 35mm film -- to maintain their prolific pace. ~ All Music Guide

Source: Andrew Leahey

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Gorillaz are a virtual band brought to life by Blur's Damon Albarn and ''Tank Girl'' comic's creator, Jamie Hewlett. Formed in 1998, the group is made up of 2D (vocals and keyboards), Murdoc (bass guitar), Noodle (lead guitar and occasional vocals) and Russel (drums and percussion).

Gorillaz's music has its roots in pop, Britpop, hip-hop and dub, and the band has released 2 albums, ''Gorillaz'' (released in 2001) and ''Demon Days'' (released in 2005), the pair have sold in excess of 15 million albums worldwide.

Songs that have pierced the Top 10 include ''Feel Good Inc'', ''Dirty Harry'' and ''Dare'' (which featured The Happy Mondays' 'Shaun Ryder.)

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In 2007/8 Albarn and Hewlett devised an ambitious world tour, with the cartoon members shown as holograms on stage. This was seen at the 2005 MTV Europe Music Awards but due to the expense and technical difficulties the tour was scrapped.

Gorillaz released their third album ''Plastic Beach'' in March 2010.

Wendy Gabriel

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Blur

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Blur are an indie rock band formed in 1988 in London consisting of singer Damon Albarn, guitarist Graham Coxon, bassist Alex James and drummer Dave Rowntree. They are best known for their chart battle with Oasis in ‘The Battle of Britpop’.

Their debut album, “Leisure” was released in 1991 and was heavily influenced by the ‘Madchester’ scene. Peaking at No.7 in the UK chart it received mixed reviews from the critics. In 1992 the band embarked a 2 month tour of the US and during this period became increasingly unhappy and often fought with each other. They began writing about the things they missed from England. By 1993 the band had released their second album, “Modern Life Is Rubbish” which had limited commercial success peaking at No. 15 in the UK chart and failing to impact upon the US.

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1994 was a turning point in the band’s fortunes. “Parklife” was a massive success and went straight to No.1 staying in the UK charts for a massive 90 weeks. The album’s first single, “Girls & Boys” went to No.5 in the UK and No.4 in the US and also generated further hit singles with title track, “Parklife” and “To the End”. Blur won four BRIT awards that year including Best Band. 1995 saw the start of the antagonistic rivalry between Blur and Oasis and both bands decided to release a new single on the same day. Blur’s “Country House” outsold Oasis’, “Roll With It” by 48,000 copies and was the band’s first No.1. Their next album, “The Great Escape” was released the same year and went straight to No.1 and received excellent reviews. They were soon the media losers again when Oasis’, “(What’s the Story) Morning Glory” went quadruple platinum in America.

After a strained 1996 the band reinvented their musical style for the self titled album, “Blur” in 1997. The album produced hit singles, “Beetlebum” and “Song 2”, the latter being used for soundtracks, adverts and TV shows. The band released, “13” in 1999 and went straight in at No.1 in the charts and included gospel-based, “Tender” and “Coffee & TV”. After “13” the band went into hiatus and pursued other projects such as Gorillaz. The band released a new album, “Think Tank” in 2003 which was heavily electronic and was another UK No.1.

The band reunited in 2009 for a brief UK tour.

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Gene

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Gene was a British indie/rock quartet formed in 1993 in London. They were popularly labelled as a Britpop band and often drew somewhat superficial comparisons to The Smiths, if only because of their slightly Morrissey-esque lead singer. Despite this comparison, there is a lot more to Gene’s music than met the eyes of their critics. Their music takes influence from punk-rockers The Jam, blues riffs from the Small Faces, all mixed in with the soulful sound of motown.

The roots of Gene lay in a band called Spin, which featured guitarist Steve Mason and drummer Matt James. Despite Spin’s split, Mason and James continued playing together, recruiting bassist Kevin Miles. The trio eventually met vocalist Martin Rossiter, and they formed Gene in 1993. Soon after forming, the quartet began to write songs, and had performed a number of shows by the end of the year. They were later signed to Costermonger, a label set up by two journalists, through which they released their debut single, ‘For The Dead’ in 1994.

After their next single ‘Be My Light, Be My Guide’ reached number one in the indie charts, the band signed to Polydor. In 1995, following this, they were named Best New Act at NME’s Brat Awards.

Their debut album, ‘Olympian’ was released in 1995. It received mixed reviews, and although it entered into the Top Ten – the band were soon overshadowed by upcoming acts such as Blur and Oasis.

Early in 1996, ‘To See the Lights’, a collection of B-sides and BBC sessions, was released in England. A new single, ‘Fighting Fit’ was shortly released as a teaser from their new album, and entered into the top ten. However, the album that followed ‘Drawn to the Deep End’ did not follow in the single’s success.

By 2000, the band was without a label. They founded, and issued the live set ‘Rising for Sunset: Live at the Troubadour’, but this went almost unnoticed among the indie scene. However, in mid-summer 2002, Gene emerged with ‘Libertine’, their strongest material since Olympian. A tour followed, but the band went their separate ways in 2003.

Carly Page

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