Arctic Monkeys was formed in 2002 in Sheffield, England. They began rehearsing at Yellow Arch Studios in Neepsend, and played their first gig on 13 June 2003 at The Grapes in Sheffield city-centre. After a few performances, they began to record demos and burn them onto CDs to give away at gigs. In May 2005, Arctic Monkeys released their first EP, Five Minutes with Arctic Monkeys, featuring the songs "Fake Tales of San Francisco" and "From the Ritz to the Rubble". This release was limited to 500 CDs and 1000 7" records, but was also available to download from the iTunes Music Store. Soon after, the band played at the Carling Stage of the Reading and Leeds Festivals, reserved for less known or unsigned bands. Eventually, they signed to Domino in June 2005. In 2006, the Artic Monkeys released their debut album, Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not. The album became the fastest selling debut album in the UK ever. The album sold over 360,000 copies in its first week. In April of 2007 they released their sophomore album, Favourite Worst Nightmare. In the USA, the album debuted at number seven, selling around 44,000 copies in its first week. The album has since gone 2x platinum in the UK and the album was nominated for the 2007 Mercury Prize. At the 2008 BRIT Awards it won Best British Album.
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