It was following a “vibey” recording session with a local community music project called Sudan Juki that the bolt of history struck Sheffield’s 2fly Studios. The young guitarist popped his head round the door of the tiny control room to thank in-house producer Alan Smyth for a good time. Smyth remembers the moment clearly: “He said, ‘We’ve got another band, me and Matt [Helders, bongos], called the Arctic Monkeys. We’re playing next weekend, do you want to come and see us?’”
The guitarist was a 17-year-old Alex Turner, the gig was Arctic Monkeys’ second ever time onstage, and the demos that Smyth agreed to record over the coming months would spark a genuine rock phenomenon.
