Arctic MonkeysHumbug

album release

• ‘Humbug’ is the third album to be released by Arctic Monkeys• The band announced on their website, that they would release

their as-yet-untitled third album on 24th August 2009.• Like their second release ‘Favourite Worst Nightmare’ Humbug

was released on 19th August 2009 in Japan, followed by Australia, Brazil, Ireland and Germany on 21st August 2009. It was then releases in the UK on 24th August 2009, followed by the US on 25th August, and in Greece on 31st August.

• Humbug went straight to number one, and within the first week of release sold 96,000 copies in the UK, outselling the rest of the top five albums combined!

• Worldwide, the album sold 191,000 copies in its first week of release.

• Label: Domino, records Warner Bros and EMI.

Album art and digipakThe album’s cover was released on the band’s website

on 22nd June 2009. The cover photo was taken at Joshua Tree, California, which is where the cover photo

for U2’s ‘The Joshua Tree’ was taken. It is rumoured that the camera used to take the photo was purchased

for one dollar.

Recording of Humbug• Arctic Monkeys started writing songs for the album towards the end of summer

2008, with lead singer Alex Turner suggesting that the inspiration for the first few guitar rifs came while the band were attending Lattitude Festival in Suffolk.

• The band continued writing songs through to the end of 2008, the recording then took place around the band’s touring schedule in winter 2008 and spring 2009.

• The album was recorded wholly in the Unites States in; New York City, Los Angeles, Rancho De La Luna in El Cajon and California.

• The album was co-produced by Josh Homme of Queens of the Stone Age and Josh Ford.

• Humbug appeared for pre-order on the iTunes store with an eleventh track ‘sketchead’

• Alex Turner announced at their San Diego concert on September 14th 2009 that Cornerstone would be their second single release form Humbug.

• A report on current.com said that a week before the official release date Humbug in its entirety with the album cover and all were leaked onto a few torrent sites.

Festival performancesThe release of Humbug preceded

the band’s headline performances at reading and

Leeds Festival at the end of the week.

A link for highlights from Arctic Monkeys headline performance at Reading 2009:http://www.bbc.co.uk/readingandleeds/2009/artists/arcticmonkeys/video3.shtml#emp

The Arctic Monkeys set a music industry first byreleasing their first single ‘Crying Lightning’ fromHumbug through Oxfam shops. Crying Lightningwent on sale in every one of Oxfam’s 700 high

street shops on August 17th 2009. 15 signed singledwere released for the online Oxfam shop, these

were allocated randomly to the lucky 15 fans. All ofthe proceeds from the single went towards Oxfam’s

work to fight poverty.

Live web transmissions and radio interviews

• On 30th July, 6 days after the UK release date, Arctic Monkeys performed tracks from Humbug in a live streaming web transmission, directed and produced by Pulse Films. The web transmission was streamed through Arctic Monkeys official website www.arctic monkeys.com as well as www.guardian.co.uk/music, www.nme.com and www.drownedinsound.com

• On 18th August 2009 Arctic Monkeys announced details of a one-off fan show to mark the release of Humbug. They played Brixton Academy on 26th August, 2 days after the album hit the shelves in the UK.

• A link to an interview with Arctic Monkeys in New York... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ibWpk_8pgL0&feature=PlayList&p=6048228ACD4512A6&playnext=1&playnext_from=PL&index=42

TV and Radio Interviews

Arctic Monkeys appeared on The Culture Show on Wednesday 5th August on BBC2 at 7pm. The band were interviewed and tracks from their live web transmission were

broadcast....

On 20th August 2009, 4 days before Humbug was released in the UK, Arctic

Monkeys appeared on Zane Lowe’s ‘Hottest Record In The World’

on BBC Radio 1 . The band talked to Zane about their forthcoming album and performed

some intimate sessions including brand new material at Maida Vale studios.....

Arctic Monkeys performed the first single Crying Lightning from Humbug on

Late Night with Jimmy Fallon on August 4th, the show was broadcast on NBC at

12:35am EST....

Magazine articles• http://www.nme.com/news/nme/40923• http://i729.photobucket.com/albums/ww297/episteme/page-2.jpg• http://www.nme.com/news/arctic-monkeys/46407• http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/entertainment/music/reviews/arctic-m

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