We Refuse To Believe These Glorious Indie Moments All Happened 10 Years Ago (Even Though They Definitely Did)

First things first: We’re not stupid. The mechanics of time are fairly simple and we understand it’s easy to grasp the concept of years, months and days.

And still we’re asking: How is it possible that all of these things happened 10 years ago? 

It feels like only yesterday that we were en route to the “Carling Reading Weekend”, as it was known then, with CSS on repeat and plenty of neon face-paint in the car.

‘Hot Fuzz’ was a brilliant new film back then, Kym from Hear’Say had only just joined ‘Corrie’ and Britney, Nicole and Paris were dominating the tabloid headlines. 

Alas, the calendars don’t lie and the events that follow actually are a decade old.

Trust us, we’ve checked... 

Kate Nash’s Myspace breakthrough led to a number one album

While the rest of us were busy choosing our top 8 friends, learning how to take selfies in the bathroom (long before the word ‘selfie’ was even a thing) and picking emo tunes to play when people visited our pages, Kate Nash was one of the few people to put Myspace to good use.

After being left bed-ridden with a broken foot in 2005, Kate began recording music and uploading it to her page, where it was spotted by someone who would later become her manager.

Cut to February 2007, and her debut single, ‘Caroline’s A Victim’, with B-side ‘Birds’ was released. Just over five months later, ‘Made Of Bricks’ debuted at number one. Nicely done.

Alex Turner and Alexa Chung started dating

The golden age of indie gifted us a number of iconic couples - Keira Knightley and Jamie from Klaxons, the aforementioned Kath Nash and Ryan Jarman - but none were as great as Alex and Alexa.

Their names may have been basically matching, but in most respects they seemed like an odd couple: the Sheffield lad singing about trying to run off without paying for a taxi and the superstar model. It was perfect, we loved it, their break-up left us feeling like we’d been sawed in two.

Sidenote: The photograph above was taken outside an Amy Winehouse concert in Brixton, putting it at least in the Top 10 most 2007 pictures in existence. 

Kate Moss and Pete Doherty got engaged

Yeah, actually engaged.

Pete suddenly found himself being treated as tabloid fodder when his ill-fated relationship with the supermodel moved on to the next level in the April.

The unlikely pair had been together for two years when Pete announced their engagement at a gig in Hackney, but despite their intentions to marry that summer, it was all over by July.

Yamaha keyboards were given a whole new purpose 

Once just another fixture of the school music rooms, the Yamaha keyboard was elevated to Legend status when the Klaxons revealed the full scale of its potential… aka teaching everyone that smashing the DJ button like your life depended on it would bring untold amounts of joy (and bangers).

And yes, we know ‘Atlantis To Interzone’ was technically released in 2006, but ‘Myths Of The Near Future’ soundtracked a strong portion of everyone’s lives, so we’re including this anyway.

Joe Lean And The Jing Jang Jong were absolutely everywhere (and then nowhere to be seen)

Joe Lean And The Jing Jang Jong became NME darlings when their debut single ‘Lucio Starts Fires’ hit shelves (because CDs literally were still on shelves back then) in October 2007. They were the new Razorlight! They supported Babyshambles! They gave the above - incredibly enthusiastic!! - video interview!

But alas, their success was short-lived.

Despite getting an 8/10 from the music magazine, their debut album was shelved the week before its release and, much to the disappointment of certified indie lads up and down the country, never materialised. So where did they disappear to?

In 2014, Joe spoke to Noisey about a new music project, but a quick perusal of his social media accounts reveals he is now working as the creative director of content agency Residency.

Preston walked out on ‘Never Mind The Buzzcocks’ 

We don’t need to explain this one, do we? It’s iconic. In every sense of the word.

Our only question is this: What is the guy who stepped in for the Ordinary Boys frontman doing now? If anyone knows, please send us the answer in a Bebo message.

Can we talk about the Mercury Prize nominations?

Arctic Monkeys: ‘Favourite Worst Nightmare’. Amy Winehouse: ‘Back To Black’. Jamie T: ‘Panic Prevention’. (Winners) Klaxons. Bat For Lashes. New Young Pony Club. The View.

This was probably the last time the Mercury Prize Awards were a party that people actually wanted to be at.

Arctic Monkeys headlined Glastonbury with two albums

It takes most acts years to reach the top of the Glastonbury line-up poster but with just two records - ‘Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not’ and ‘Favourite Worst Nightmare’ - under their belts, the Sheffield band exhibited their usual swagger as they sauntered on stage and Alex even still had his old accent. Obviously, they got their own special pies for the big day too. 

Speaking of festivals, look at this ‘O2 Wireless Festival’ line-up

Find us a person who claims they wouldn’t pay £100 to have been there, and we’ll show you a liar.

Amy Winehouse won her first Brit Award

It was a case of third nomination lucky for Amy, who was named Best British Female at the Earls Court ceremony. The ‘Tears Dry On Their Own’ singer also performed at the event, with ‘Back To Black’ eventually becoming the best-selling album in the UK of the year.

Tragically, 2007 was also a year when Amy’s personal troubles were as well-documented as her professional successes, and May marked the start of her marriage to Blake Fielder-Civil, with the pair’s drug use charted in the press.

‘Popworld’ was *the* show to watch on Sunday mornings

Part of the T4 offering, Popworld included quizzes, music videos and live performances, but most importantly, it also gifted us with more cringe-worthy interviews than you could shake a glowstick at.

Original hosts Simon Amstell and Miquita Oliver stepped down in 2007 and, admittedly, when Alex Zane and Alexa Chung took over things weren’t quite the same.

Thankfully, they had no problems maintaining incredibly high levels of awkwardness during interviews. Exhibit A: Alex Zane chatting to Avril Lavigne, (see above).