I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor

In this song, our hero is trying to impress a female club-goer with his cheesy pickup lines, including the title (which is reminiscent of a line in the disco movie classic Saturday Night Fever: "Are you as good in bed as you are on the dancefloor?"). The lyrics, "Your name isn't Rio, but I don't care for sand" are a reference to the Duran Duran song "Rio," where Rio "dances in the sand," and another attempt to win her affections that apparently fails.

"I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor" was the Arctic Monkeys' first single. The band had already built a following, so it was no surprise when it shot to the top of the singles chart in their native UK. They started garnering attention in 2004 when their demo tapes circulated on various streaming services. Record companies came calling, but they rejected the big labels, signing instead with the independent Domino Records. By the time "Dancefloor" was released, there was already lots of anticipation for it in the UK, and listeners liked what they heard. So did music journalists, enraptured by these young, idealistic upstarts who were part of a rock revival. When the song was released none of the band members were older than 20.

The lyrics, "Dancing like a robot from 1984" refer to John McClure, a friend of Arctic Monkeys frontman Alex Turner who was known for his questionable dance moves. The robot is a breakdancing move popular in the '80s but ill advised in modern times unless you're really good. Turner and McClure were in a band together called Judan Suki, which formed in 2001. Not long after, Turner formed The Arctic Monkeys. The two later became flatmates and John McClure achieved his own chart success in the UK with his band Reverend And The Makers.