Backstage photos, old guitars and a Brit Award went on display in Sheffield, courtesy of a former band member from one of Sheffield’s biggest musical names.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Arctic Monkey’s founding bassist launched a new book as a celebration of the 20th anniversary of the band’s first album, at a Sheffield exhibition last weekend.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Andy Nicholson has released the coffee table book, I Bet This Looks Good On Your Coffee Table, in honour of the Arctic Monkeys’ debut album Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The book features photos from 2005 to 2007 as they dealt with rising fame and their first international tours.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“There was a long time where I didn’t want to look at the photos or think about it but now it’s started to be a real celebration of what we achieved on that first album,” Mr Nicholson told Sheffield Wire.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The idea for the book started 10 years ago when he discovered a hard drive full of thousands of photos from the early years of the Arctic Monkeys. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
“I just started digging,” he said. “There ended up being thousands of photos that I’d taken along my time with the Arctic Monkeys when we were on tour, and dressing rooms, and sitting around.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The photos from the hard drive were then paired with cuttings from a scrap book and boxes of magazines and other memorabilia that Mr Nicholson’s mum kept in the early years of the band.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Picking the idea for the book up eight years later he chose to honour the anniversary of the band’s first album, calling it “a beautiful time to do it”. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The book was launched with a Yorkshire Artspace exhibition in Sheffield, featuring images from the book alongside old guitars and amplifiers, awards, old magazines featuring the band, and the cameras that made the whole thing possible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When asked about the launch exhibition, he said wanted to give fans a more three dimensional experience to complement the pictures from the book. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mr Nicholson left the band in 2007 being replaced by Nick O’Malley.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
While Mr Nicholson made the book without input from the other members of the band, they all received a copy once it was finished.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“They all really enjoyed it,” he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n