Rewind to 2001. The Strokes, a little-known band from New York, toured Australia with You Am I to support debut record Is This it. By the end of the year, the band were everywhere with a string of hits from the now legendary record.

Before 2002 was out, Julian Casablancas (vocals), Nick Valensi (guitar), Albert Hammond Jr (guitar), Nikolai Fraiture (bass) and Fab Moretti (drums) were the darlings of the British music press and found themselves topping festival bills around the globe.

Room On Fire followed in late 2003 and despite being mauled by the critics and selling far worse than the first album, there was still more than enough to keep the band’s fans happy. With hits in the form of 12.51 and Reptilia The Strokes returned to Australia for the 2004 Big Day Out, given the tough task of playing immediately before headliners Metallica.

After a brief hiatus, the New York five-piece returned on January 1, 2006 with album number three. First Impressions of Earth signalled a major change in direction, with some epic stadium rock tracks, thunderous drumming and soaring guitars.