Alex Turner with Judan Suki at Sheffield's 2fly Studios, Turner asked Alan Smyth if he would produce an Arctic Monkeys demo. Smyth obliged and "thought they definitely had something special going on. I told Alex off for singing in an American voice at that first session." An introduction by Smyth led to the band acquiring a management team, Geoff Barradale and Ian McAndrew. They paid for Arctic Monkeys to record numerous three-song demos in 2003 and 2004. Barradale drove the band around venues in Scotland, the Midlands, and the north of England to establish their reputation as a live band. They handed
Alex Turner did not read regularly and was too self-conscious to share his writing with others. Nonetheless, he enjoyed English lessons. His teacher, Simon Baker, later remembered him as a clever pupil who was "quite reserved ... a little bit different." He noted that Turner had an "incredibly laid-back" approach to school work, which worried his mother. Turner then spent two years at Barnsley College (2002–2004), where he studied for A-levels in music technology and media studies, and AS-levels in English, photography and psychology. After watching friends perform in local bands, Turner, Helders, Nicholson and another friend, Jamie Cook, decided to form