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50 free Arctic Monkeys trivia questions with answers — music quiz, new questions added Aug 2026.
Arctic Monkeys went from giving away demo CDs at Sheffield gigs to the fastest-selling debut album in British chart history in about three years, and then kept going: seven albums, seven Brit Awards, five Mercury nominations and a second career-defining moment with AM in 2013. These 50 questions track the whole run. The early years: the first gig, the fan-made MySpace page, the Domino deal, the cover that annoyed NHS Scotland and the bassist who left. The middle: Brianstorm, clown costumes on Jonathan Ross, Old Trafford, Josh Homme in the desert and the single whose stock burned in the London riots. Then AM, the Olympics cover, the piano album inspired by French crime films, the Royal Albert Hall show for War Child, and the album Taylor Swift kept off No. 1. The hard tier asks about Death Ramps, the Bang Bang label, Knee Socks and Jean-Pierre Melville. Every answer is cited to a page we checked, with a short explanation so you learn something either way. Play it solo or print it for an indie pub quiz.
30 of 50 questions with answers and explanations. Play the quiz
Q 01Arctic Monkeys formed in which English city?
Sheffield
Turner's rapid-fire lyrics are sung in a distinctive local accent the band became famous for.
Q 02Who is the band's lead singer and guitarist?
Alex Turner
He was initially reluctant to sing, but took the role because he had 'a thing for words'.
Q 03Who is the band's drummer?
Matt Helders
He and Turner were neighbours and close friends growing up.
Q 04In which year did the band form?
2002
They played their first gig the following June.
Q 05Which co-founder left the band in 2006, shortly after the debut album?
Andy Nicholson
He said he couldn't deal with the band's fame and success over the previous six months.
Q 06Who replaced the original bassist in 2006?
Nick O'Malley
He was drafted in from the Dodgems as a temporary bassist for a North American tour and stayed.
Q 07What is the title of the band's debut album?
Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not
It became the fastest-selling debut album in UK chart history at the time.
Q 08What was the band's debut single, a UK No. 1 in October 2005?
I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor
It was recorded at Chapel Studios in Lincolnshire.
Q 09Which second single was previously titled 'Scummy'?
When the Sun Goes Down
It also went straight to No. 1, in January 2006.
Q 10To which independent label did the band sign in June 2005?
Domino
They liked the DIY ethic of its owner, who only signed bands he personally liked.
Q 11Who owned the label the band signed to, running it from his flat?
Laurence Bell
His label later streamed Suck It and See on SoundCloud a week before release.
Q 12Who produced the band's debut album?
Jim Abbiss
Recording finished at Chapel Studios in January 2006.
Q 13Chapel Studios, where the debut was recorded, is in which county?
Lincolnshire
The debut single was recorded there too.
Q 14How many copies did the debut album sell in its first week in the UK?
Q 21Which single preceded the second album by a week?
Brianstorm
The band played a secret gig at the Leadmill to debut seven new songs.
Q 22Which song did the band debut live on The Jonathan Ross Show dressed as clowns?
Fluorescent Adolescent
It charted at No. 5, and was their last UK Top 10 single until 2013.
Q 23Which 2007 single, peaking at No. 20, was the band's lowest-charting single at that time?
Teddy Picker
It remained only one week in the top 40.
Under what pseudonym did the band release 250 vinyls of B-sides in 2007?
363,735
It sold more on its first day alone than the rest of the Top 20 albums combined.
Q 15The debut's cover was criticised by NHS Scotland for appearing to endorse what?
Smoking
It shows the band's friend Chris McClure with a cigarette; the CD itself shows a full ashtray.
Q 16What name did fans give the band's early batch of 18 demos?
Beneath the Boardwalk
The first sender named them after the venue where he received them; many wrongly think it was an early album.
Q 17At which hometown venue did the band play its first gig in June 2003?
The Grapes
They had been rehearsing at Yellow Arch Studios in Neepsend.
Q 18Which website, which boosted the band early on, had been set up by fans rather than the band?
MySpace
The band said they were unaware of what it was.
Q 19Turner said the arrival of which band changed the music he listened to and the shoes he wore?
The Strokes
He grew his hair out and borrowed his mum's blazer.
Q 20What is the title of the band's second album?
Favourite Worst Nightmare
Released in April 2007, all 12 of its tracks charted in the UK singles Top 200.
Death Ramps
The vinyls carried two B-sides from the 'Teddy Picker' single.
Q 25At Glastonbury 2007 the band covered a song originally sung by whom?
Shirley Bassey
They performed 'Diamonds Are Forever' alongside guests Dizzee Rascal and Simian Mobile Disco.
Q 26Where did the band play two 55,000-capacity shows in July 2007?
Old Trafford Cricket Ground
NME called them 'the gigs of a generation' and compared them to Oasis at Knebworth.
Q 27What is the name of Turner's side project with Miles Kane?
The Last Shadow Puppets
Their second album, Everything You've Come to Expect, arrived during the band's 2014 hiatus.
Q 28What is the title of the band's third album, released in 2009?
Humbug
Turner said the band listened to Nick Cave, Jimi Hendrix and Cream while writing it.
Q 29Josh Homme, who produced half of the third album, fronts which band?
Queens of the Stone Age
Homme said the band asked him to 'take us to the weird and the strange'.
Q 30What was the lead single from the third album?
Crying Lightning
It debuted at No. 12 in the UK singles chart in July 2009.