26 January 2006
ARCTIC MONKEYS' DEBUT TOPS THE BEATLES
By Allison Martin
ARCTIC Monkeys have beaten The Beatles in a list of the all-time greatest British albums.
Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not came fifth
despite only being released on Monday. Revolver by The Beatles came ninth.
Top of the NME poll was The Stone Roses debut album released in 1989. Second was The Queen Is Dead by The Smiths and third was Oasis with Definitely Maybe.
Arctic Monkeys are set to have the fastest-selling debut album of all time with nearly 120,000 copies sold on its first day in the shops.
Music mag NME said the band deserved to be in such exalted company in the poll.
It added: "Consider some of the great British debuts. Lumping Whatever People Say I Am... in with these records might seem premature, but what made them all great was attitude and innovation and sheer balls - something the Monkeys possess in abundance.
"Passion, belief and style are timeless, and so will this be."
The top 20 albums are:
1 The Stone Roses - The Stone Roses
2 The Smiths - The Queen Is Dead
3 Oasis - Definitely Maybe
4 Sex Pistols - Never Mind The Bollocks
5 Arctic Monkeys - Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not
6 Blur - Modern Life Is Rubbish
7 Pulp - Different Class
8 The Clash - London Calling
9 The Beatles - Revolver
10 The Libertines - Up The Bracket
11 Radiohead - The Bends
12 The Specials - Specials
13 The Verve - A Northern Soul
14 David Bowie - Hunky Dory
15 Primal Scream - Screamadelica
16 Dexy's Midnight Runners - Searching For The Young Soul Rebels
17 The Streets - Original Pirate Material
18 Franz Ferdinand - Franz Ferdinand
19 The Smiths - Strangeways, Here We Come
20 The Beatles - Rubber Soul
mirror.co.uk
