Fame, fortune and musicianship all came relatively quickly for English indie-rock band Arctic Monkeys.
The band is set to revisit New Zealand's shores when it plays its first Big Day Out festival in January.
Drummer Matt Helders says Big Day Out is "something that we've talked about for a while and now we finally get to do it".
"'Coz everyone's told us how good it was. We could never do it in other years, so when it came up this time, it was a no-brainer."
Arctic Monkeys have visited New Zealand once before, in 2006, and Helders says they loved "the sheep and the skydiving".
The Sheffield rockers, whose first single, I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor, propelled them to worldwide fame in late 2005, only formed in 2002, with then-bassist Andy Nicholson the only member who knew how to play an instrument.
Frontman Alex Turner and guitarist Jamie Cook both received guitars one Christmas, and roped in Helders on drums, before current bassist Nick O'Malley replaced Nicholson in 2006.
Helders says the foursome has not struggled much, despite the lack of musical experience.
"It's probably made us learn quicker, if anything. Thrown in at the deep end and all that ... But it probably helps that we all learnt together."
Band members gave up their college study - and Turner gave up his fledgling career as a stuntman - when they began to find fame in Britain.
And although the band was No 1 on charts worldwide only four years after forming, Helders says it has remained with its feet firmly on the ground.
"I don't think I've really felt the fame."
Theories have swirled around the origins of the band's name, and although band members used to make up stories to tell the media, Helders is now quick to tell the truth.
"It was just something that was made up back in the school days. No big story behind that, I'm afraid."
But they do know there are no monkeys in the Arctic?
"That's it, that's the problem that we later discovered."
The band has spent much of this year working on its third album, set for release next year, with Queens of the Stone Age frontman Josh Homme.
The album has big footsteps to follow - both its predecessors went straight to No 1 around the world - something Helders says is always in the back of their minds.
And their audience in Wellington will be the first to hear the music off the new album, according to British newspaper The Sun.
A source told The Sun that the new songs would be road-tested in front of a comparatively small audience at the Wellington Town Hall, "well away from the prying ears of London critics".
Helders says the band has not really played a gig in about a year, but is now revving up before the Big Day Out.
And it is promising an energetic show, which Helders would like to define as "death metal", joking that that's the direction the band will head in the future.
The phone interview from England ends, with Helders giving away little about the band's plans for the future, or its Big Day Out strategy.
He's given some assistance by someone - most likely another Arctic Monkey - in the background.
"We're gonna rock you! We're gonna ... rock you, man!" they yell.
Which band member was that? I ask, hoping they might yell a little something to spice up our short interview.
"That's just background noise. I don't know who that is," Helders says, giggling before hanging up.
