I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor

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"I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor" abc is the first single released by Arctic Monkeys from their debut album Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not. The song debuted at number one on the UK Singles Chart in October 2005, and remains one of the band's most well-known tracks to this day. Due to this popularity, the song has become a staple of the band's live sets throughout their career.

Background[edit | edit source]

Written by frontman Alex Turner, the first instance of the song appeared on the band's Beneath the Boardwalk recording in 2004 as "Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor". The track was subsequently re-recorded and released as a vinyl 7" on 14 October 2005 in the UK, before its CD release on 17 October 2005. The 10" was released in the US a month later on 14 November 2005.

Like much of the content on the band's debut album, "I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor" features references to women and nights out. The line "your name isn't Rio but I don't care for sand" is a reference to fellow British band Duran Duran's 1982 track "Rio", which includes the lyric "Her name is Rio and she dances on the sand". Later in the song, Turner references "Montagues" and "Capulets", rival families from the classic William Shakespeare play Romeo and Juliet.

Track listing[edit | edit source]

All lyrics written by Alex Turner, all music composed by Arctic Monkeys.

CD, 10"
No. Title Length
1. "I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor"   2:54
2. "Bigger Boys and Stolen Sweethearts"   2:59
3. "Chun-Li's Spinning Bird Kick" (instrumental) 4:40
7"
No. Title Length
1. "I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor"   2:54
2. "Bigger Boys and Stolen Sweethearts"   2:59

Lyrics[edit | edit source]

Music video[edit | edit source]

The music video, directed by Huse Monfaradi, is of the band playing a live take of the song in a studio. Multiple shots of each band member in focus are emphasised by the dimly lit feel of the video, imitating a 1970s-style recording right down to the white text displaying the song's title approximately ten seconds in. The video begins with Turner announcing the band's name and the song's title, before quipping "don't believe the hype" – a now famous quote which poked fun at the band's dramatic rise in popularity through the advent of the Internet.

The video was nominated at the 2006 CADS Music Vision Awards in the category of Best Rock Video.

Credits:[1]

Release history[edit | edit source]

Country Date
United Kingdom 14 October 2005 (vinyl)[2]

17 October 2005 (CD)[3]

United States 14 November 2005 [4]
Australia 13 February 2006 [5]

Charts[edit | edit source]

The song garnered its most success in the UK, where it debuted at #1 on the UK Singles Charts on 23 October 2005. The track remained in the top five for four weeks and the top ten for a further two weeks, finally exiting the Top 75 in April 2006 after spending 24 consecutive weeks on the charts. Six years later, in August 2012, the track would re-enter the UK Singles Chart at #54 due to its performance at the London 2012 Olympic Games opening ceremony.

On the Australian ARIA Charts, the track debuted at #18 on 26 February 2006 and remained there for two weeks, exiting the Top 50 in April after eight consecutive weeks in the charts. Australasian neighbours New Zealand favoured the song even further, with the track reaching #14 on the charts for two consecutive weeks in February and March 2006, and exiting the charts in May after ten weeks.

Charts (2005–06)[6] Peak
position
UK Indie Chart 1
UK Singles Chart 1
Australian Singles Chart 18
US Modern Rock Tracks 7
US Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles[7] 17
Irish Singles Chart 12
Danish Singles Chart 15
French Singles Chart 100
Netherlands Singles Chart 99
New Zealand Singles Chart 14

References[edit | edit source]