I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor
"I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor" is the first single released by Sheffield band the Arctic Monkeys after being signed on Domino Records.
Chart performance
Released on 17 October 2005, it rode the wave of popularity behind the band after a series of sellout gigs across the country, culminating with a gig in front of 2,000 people at the London Astoria. It debuted at Number One on the UK Singles Chart on 23 October. The release of the song and its rise to number one further increased the ever-growing hype surrounding the band, and it was two weeks before they reached the cover of NME magazine. The single was released during a sell-out UK tour, although the band were playing at significantly smaller venues to those at which they would perform only months later.
The title track also features on the band's debut album, Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not, which was released on 23 January 2006 - one week after their third single - "When the Sun Goes Down".
Awards
On 23 February 2006, the track won Best Track at the 2006 NME Awards - one of three awards won by Arctic Monkeys .
One of the b-sides, "Chun Li's Spinning Bird Kick", was nominated for Best Rock Instrumental Performance in the 2007 Grammy Awards.
The song was also a hit in the United States, hitting #7 on the US Modern Rock Charts.
Covers and other references
The song was covered by the Sugababes as a b-side to their single "Red Dress".
On July 1 2007, Tom Jones and Joe Perry of Aerosmith performed their own version of the song at the Concert for Diana at Wembley Stadium.
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.
In February 2008, Alan Wilder, the former member of Depeche Mode, criticised the song in an open letter on the Side-Line Magazine website. He described its sound as "a bombardment of the most unsubtle, one-dimensional noise."
The line "Your name isn't Rio, but I don't care for sand" is a reference to Duran Duran's song "Rio". This is the first of 2 references to Duran Duran, the second one appearing in the song Teddy Picker. Another song from the same album, "When the Sun Goes Down", also makes a reference to another group's song, but this time to The Police song "Roxanne". Both songs were released as singles.
The song was covered by deep funk band Baby Charles on its debut album in 2008.
Music video
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. The video was shot using television cameras from the 1970's to give it a more aged effect. American band The Strokes had previously made a similar music video for their single Last Nite, Arctic Monkeys are known to be fans of The Strokes.
Translation
The phrase "I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor" occurs as such in the following languages: English, Danish, Spanish, Italian, Dutch, Polish, Portuguese, Swedish.
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