Arctic Monkeys producer still loves iconic Sheffield band's debut album as he celebrates its 20th anniversary
The producer of the Arctic Monkeys' iconic debut album has spoken out on the 20th anniversary of its release - and says it is as much loved now as it was then.
Two decades ago today, January 23, 2006, was the day the Arctic Monkeys transformed from underground heroes to bona fide rockstars.
Four skinny teens from Sheffield had released their raw and energetic album 'Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not' and it took the UK by storm.
It justified the hype, becoming the fastest-selling debut album in one week in British history, flogging 363,735 over-the-counter sales.
And it wasn't long before every lyric of each of the quartet's songs were ingrained into every indiehead's mind for them to scream back at them during live performances.
Its success shocked the band and especially Jim Abbiss, 59, who was tasked with producing it.
Over an intense 15-day period, he and bandmates, Alex Turner (guitar and lead singer), Jamie Cook (lead guitar), Matt Helders (drums), and then bassist, Andy Nicholson, locked themselves into Chapel Studios, in Lincolnshire., to record the 13 iconic tracks.
None of them knew it would go on to win countless awards, including a BRIT for Best Album.
Now several songs including 'Mardy Bum', 'When The Sun Goes Down', and 'I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor' have gone on to become mainstays in the British music landscape.
Jim said: "Alex told me beforehand that half the songs were about a day in his life and different experiences through that, and others were less specific.
"I think his language, through both directness and playfulness really touched people.
"It doesn’t glamourise life, quite the opposite, and has self-deprecating British humour running through it.
"I don’t think it could have been made in any other country."
Jim first met the band in June 2005 at The Grapes pub in Sheffield just before they were about to play a gig.
The producer said: "I hadn’t managed to see them live before we started recording and I was away on holiday beforehand.
"They agreed to do a show so I could see what all the fuss was about.
"They were absolutely awesome live, and the crowd knew every word of every song, in fact Alex turned his mic around so the crowd could sing verses of some songs.
"I’d never seen anything quite like this in a new band."
And just two days after seeing them perform they were in the studio recording the songs.
Jim said: "I drove up for the gig and met the band, I then went home to collect my equipment, and drove up to the studio the following day to start."
Recording took 15 days, according to Jim, one day to set up, a song recorded per day for 13 days, and then one day at the end for "bits and bobs".
Jim said the sound they were looking for was "authentic" and not "over-polished with studio trickery".
He said: "We agreed that capturing the energy and rawness of their live shows but with a sound that worked on repeated listens was a good starting point.
"They knew what they wanted. I suggested an extra organ part on a song in the first few days together, and Jamie heard it and said “I really don’t think we should over-complicate things”.... It never made it to the record.
"I think they were also aware of the history of great Northern guitar bands and wanted to be part of that lineage."
According to Jim, most of the songs were recorded live, but a few would have Alex re-record his vocals afterwards.
Each of the songs were also recorded in just a couple of takes, but the final track 'A Certain Romance' was recorded in just one go.
Jim said: "It was an incredibly short time together and consequently a very intense period.
"The main standout was 'A Certain Romance' which was recorded completely live including vocals all in one take - which was incredible to witness."
At first, Jim recalls the band being "fairly quiet and a bit awkward" when they started recording before growing into their performances.
The producer said he had to "earn their trust through recording" saying "they relaxed and seemed to enjoy it more and more as we recorded more songs and I think they were proud of their performances".
Though he has told how Matt Helders was "pretty hyper but funny", but the "cheekiest" was Andy the (original) bass player.
He said: "Andy revelled in harsh put-downs, everyone got their fair share.”
The legendary producer confessed he "knew it was a good album" but neither he nor the band had any idea how well it was going to perform.
Jim said: "I never know what is going to happen to a record after I hand it over to the label.
"There’s normally a long build-up marketing campaign and so many factors can come into play.
"Fortunately the band already had a huge live following and their debut LP was highly anticipated.
"Also, the first single “Dancefloor” came out very quickly after we’d finished and it was soon evident that it would do well.
"The band and I never talked about it (whether it would perform well in the charts) in the studio, as I’m too superstitious."
Jim says that the album has made a huge impact on the people in the UK.
He said: "I think it reached a much wider audience than anyone involved thought it would.
"The lyrical depth and humour resonated with an older audience, aside from the obvious young live-band crowd.
"Also, the band have grown into a huge global success over the years, and their newer fans have gone back to their back catalogue.
"I think a significant band comes along every few years and refreshes the music landscape, and other bands copy their sound or approach for a while until a new version takes over.
"The Strokes did that for a few years prior to Arctic Monkeys.
"The only bands since that have come close to them, in my taste are Sleaford Mods, mainly because their lyrics are brilliant too."
Jim says he hasn't spoken to the band in a while, but he now has three kids of his own who love the band.
He said: "I have three kids who are all in their 20’s now and they’ve all been Arctic’s fans at some point in their lives.
"They have grown up with music projects being made in the background and have heard artists’ songs at various stages in the process.
"They occasionally like something I’ve worked on."
He says his fondest memory was "the celebratory play-through on the big speakers" at the end of recording the album.
He said: "Just hearing all that we’d done in one go, as an album for the first time, was incredible.
"I loved “Fake Tales of San Francisco” from the first time I heard it, but my favourite is 'A Certain Romance' - it will always hold a special memory for me."