Radiohead

Formation and first years: 1986–1991

Abingdon School, where the band formed.

The members of Radiohead all attended Abingdon School, a boys-only public school in Abingdon, Oxfordshire.^[9] Yorke and Colin Greenwood were in the same year, O'Brien and Selway were one year above and Jonny Greenwood two years below. In 1986, they formed the band "On a Friday", the name referring to the band's usual rehearsal day in the school's music room.^[10] On a Friday played their first gig at Oxford's Jericho Tavern in late 1986.^[11] Jonny Greenwood joined as a keyboard player but soon became the lead guitarist.^[10]

Although Phil Selway, Thom Yorke, Colin Greenwood, and Ed O'Brien had left Abingdon by 1987 to attend university, the band continued to rehearse often on weekends and holidays.^[12] In 1991, when all the members except Jonny had completed their university degrees, On a Friday regrouped, but briefly changed their name to "Shindig." The band recorded demos, including the Manic Hedgehog demo tape, performed live around Oxford and appeared on the cover of a local music magazine Curfew.^[13] Although Oxfordshire and the Thames Valley had an active indie scene in the late 1980s and early 1990s, it centred around shoegazing bands such as Ride and Slowdive. On a Friday were never seen as fitting this trend and later commented that they had missed it by the time they returned from university.^[14]

As On a Friday's number of live performances increased, record labels and producers became interested.^[12] Chris Hufford, the co-owner of Oxford's Courtyard Studios, attended an early On a Friday concert at the Jericho Tavern.^[12] Impressed by the band, he and his partner Bryce Edge produced a demo tape and became On a Friday's managers. As of May 2007, Hufford and Edge remain Radiohead's managers.^[12] The band signed a six-album recording contract with EMI in late 1991, following a chance meeting between Colin Greenwood and label representative Keith Wozencroft at the record shop where Greenwood worked.^[12] At the request of the label, the band changed their name to Radiohead, inspired by the title of a song on Talking Heads' True Stories album.^[12]

Pablo Honey, The Bends and early success: 1992–1995

Drill, Radiohead's debut EP, was produced by Hufford and Edge at Courtyard Studios and released in March 1992. Its chart performance was poor, and consequently the band hired Paul Kolderie and Sean Slade, who had previously worked with the Pixies and Dinosaur Jr., to produce their debut album, Pablo Honey. The album was recorded in three weeks in an Oxford studio late in 1992.^[10]

With the release of the single "Creep" in late 1992, the band began to receive attention from the British music press, not all of it favourable. The NME described them as "a lily livered excuse for a rock band,"^[15] and the song was not played on BBC Radio 1 because it was deemed "too depressing".^[16] Radiohead released another single, "Anyone Can Play Guitar" in February 1993, followed closely by Pablo Honey later that month. Neither did well commercially, especially Pablo Honey, which peaked at #32 in the UK^[17] and is considered by critics and the band to be their weakest album.^[18] A non-album single, "Pop is Dead", and the last single from Pablo Honey, "Stop Whispering" followed later that year; both of which also performed poorly commercially.

However, "Creep" unexpectedly built momentum in the United States, spreading from popularity in Israel^[19] to a San Francisco college radio station.^[12] By the time Radiohead began their first United States tour in early 1993, "Creep" was in heavy rotation on MTV.^[20] The song rose to #2 on the Billboard modern rock charts and to #7 in the UK singles chart when re-released later that year. Radiohead nearly broke up due to the pressure of sudden success as the Pablo Honey supporting tour extended into its second year.^[21] The album continued to rise in popularity internationally, fuelled by "Creep", which remains Radiohead's largest worldwide hit.^[22] The band later said, however, that the tour had been a miserable experience because towards its end they were "still playing the same songs that we'd recorded two years previously...it was almost like being held in a time warp." ^[23]

After the American tour, Radiohead began work on their second album, hiring veteran Abbey Road studios producer John Leckie. Tensions were high, as the band felt smothered both by "Creep"'s success and the mounting expectations for a superior follow-up.^[24] According to Leckie, "It was either going to be 'Sulk', 'The Bends', 'Nice Dream', or 'Just'. We had to give those absolute attention, make them amazing, instant smash hits, number 1 in America. Everyone was pulling their hair and saying, 'It's not good enough!' We were trying too hard".^[25]

The band sought a change of scenery, touring Australasia and the Far East in an attempt to reduce the pressure. However, confronted again by their new popularity, singer Thom Yorke felt discomfort at being "right at the sharp end of the sexy, sassy, MTV eye-candy lifestyle" he felt he was helping to sell.^[4] The 1994 EP My Iron Lung, featuring the single of the same title, was the band's reaction, marking a transition to the greater depth they aimed for on their second album.^[26] The single was promoted through underground radio stations; it sold better than expected, starting a loyal fan base for the band.^[27] Having developed the other new songs on tour, Radiohead completed the album in the UK in late 1994, releasing The Bends in May 1995.

The enigmatic music video for Radiohead's 1995 "Just" contributed to the band's popularity throughout the UK.

While the Britpop scene dominated the media's attention, Radiohead finally earned success in their home country with The Bends.^[14] The album was driven by dense riffs and ethereal atmospheres from the band's three guitarists, as well as greater use of keyboards than their debut.^[10] The singles "Fake Plastic Trees", "Just", and "High and Dry", featuring Yorke's expressive falsetto, achieved some chart success. Looking back in 1998, Jonny Greenwood said, "I think the turning point for us came about nine or 12 months after The Bends was released and it started appearing in people's [best of] polls for the end of the year. That's when it started to feel like we made the right choice about being a band, I think."^[1] Yet major success for the album did not come until the release of the final single "Street Spirit (Fade Out)", which hit #5 in the UK, the band's highest chart position to that point.

In mid-1995, Radiohead toured in support of R.E.M., one of their formative influences and at the time one of the biggest rock bands in the world.^[28] Introducing his opening act, Michael Stipe said, "Radiohead are so good, they scare me".^[29] The buzz generated by such famous fans, along with a series of distinctive music videos such as "Just" and "Street Spirit", helped to expand Radiohead's popularity outside the UK.

Drummer Phil Selway said, "When The Bends came out everyone went on about how uncommercial that was. Twelve months later it was being hailed as a pop classic. The record company were worried there wasn't a single on it- and we ended up with five top 30 hits from it!"^[30] However, while critically acclaimed, the album and its singles failed to match the worldwide commercial success of "Creep".

OK Computer, fame and critical acclaim: 1996–1998

Thom Yorke in concert

Yorke said that The Bends succeeded because Radiohead "had to put ourselves into an environment where we felt free to work. And that's why we [produced] the next [album] ourselves, because the times we most got off on making the last record were when we were just completely communicating with ourselves, and John Leckie wasn't really saying much, and it was just all happening".^[10]

One new song was already recorded: "Lucky", released as a single to promote the War Child charity's The Help Album. Radiohead also contributed two songs to Baz Luhrmann's 1996 adaptation of Romeo and Juliet, "Talk Show Host" and "Exit Music (For a Film)". The former was a remix of one of the B-sides to "Street Spirit (Fade Out)", while the latter was a new song, eventually included on the band's next album.

With the assistance of audio engineer Nigel Godrich, their collaborator on "Lucky" and "Talk Show Host," Radiohead produced their next album themselves, beginning work in early 1996. By July they had recorded four songs with Godrich at their rehearsal studio, Canned Applause, a converted apple shed^[31] in the countryside near Didcot, Oxfordshire. Having learned from The Bends, they decided to perfect the songs live, touring as an opening act for Alanis Morissette, before completing the record. The rest of the album was recorded in actress Jane Seymour's 15th-century mansion, St. Catherine's Court, near Bath.^[32] The recording sessions were relaxed, with the band playing at all hours of the day, recording songs in different rooms, and listening to The Beatles, DJ Shadow, Ennio Morricone and Miles Davis for inspiration.^[1][10] The album was finished by the end of 1996, and by March 1997, it was mixed and mastered.

Radiohead released OK Computer in 1997 to widespread critical acclaim.^[10] Largely composed of melodic rock songs, the new record also found Radiohead introducing more uncommon musical elements, experimenting with song structures, ambient noise and electronics.^[33] The band released "Paranoid Android", "Karma Police" and "No Surprises" as singles, while planned single "Let Down" had its release cancelled. OK Computer was the band's first #1 UK chart debut, eventually propelling Radiohead to commercial success in many markets around the world. In the U.S., the album received the band's first Grammy recognition, an award for Best Alternative Album and a nomination for Album of the Year.

Yorke admitted that he was "actually amazed it [OK Computer] got the reaction it did. None of us fucking knew any more whether it was good or bad. What really blew my head off was the fact that people got all the things, all the textures and the sounds and the atmospheres we were trying to create."^[34]

The release of OK Computer was followed by the "Against Demons" world tour. Grant Gee, the director of the "No Surprises" video, accompanied and filmed the band on their tour. The results were released as the 1998 "fly on the wall" documentary Meeting People Is Easy. The film portrays the band's disaffection with the music industry and press that feted them, showing their burnout as they progressed from their first concert dates in mid-1997 to mid-1998, nearly a year later.^[10] During this time the band released 7 Television Commercials, a compilation of music videos, and two EPs which compiled B-sides from OK Computer.

Kid A, Amnesiac and a change in sound: 1999–2001

Exhausted by fame and on the verge of burning out following their 1997–1998 world tour, Radiohead were largely inactive during the rest of 1998. The band's only public performance was at an Amnesty International concert in Paris,^[35] while in 1999 only Yorke and Jonny made an appearance at the Tibetan Freedom Concert in Amsterdam. Yorke later admitted that during that period the band came close to splitting up, and that he had developed severe depression: "New Year's Eve [1998] was one of the lowest points of my life... I felt like I was going fucking crazy. Every time I picked up a guitar I just got the horrors. I would start writing a song, stop after 16 bars, hide it away in a drawer, look at it again, tear it up, destroy it."^[5]

In early 1999, Radiohead began work on a follow-up to OK Computer. Although there was no longer any pressure or even a deadline from their record label, tension during this period was high. The members all had different visions for the band's future, and Yorke was still experiencing writer's block,^[36] influencing him toward a more abstract, fragmented form of songwriting.^[5] Eventually, all the members agreed on a new musical direction, redefining their instrumental roles in the band.^[37] For the first time the band recorded without considering live performance, secluding themselves with producer Nigel Godrich in a series of different studios from Paris to Copenhagen to Gloucester, to their newly completed studio in Oxford. In the process, they pared 40 newly recorded songs to the 30 which were ultimately released on their subsequent two albums and accompanying B-sides.^[38]

Rather than create a stylistic sequel to OK Computer, Radiohead's new tracks featured a minimalist and textured style with less overt guitar parts. The tracks also featured more diverse instrumentation, going beyond the traditional rock setup of guitar, bass, drums, and keyboards by including the ondes martenot, programmed electronic beats, strings and jazz horns. "The trick is to try and carry on doing things that interest you, but not turn into some art-rock nonsense just for its own sake", Colin Greenwood said of the recording sessions,^[5] which were completed in April 2000, after nearly 18 months.

Music sample:

"Everything In Its Right Place"

from Kid A - The opening track from Radiohead's fourth album, this song emphasizes the band's increasing use of electronic music and distortions of Thom Yorke's vocals.

Problems listening to the file? See media help.

Kid A, released on October 2, 2000, was the first of two albums created from these recording sessions. Synthesised, cryptic and claustrophobic, the album stunned the music industry and much of Radiohead's fan base with its departures from their past work and from pop conventions. Although the band did not release any singles from Kid A, promos of "Optimistic" and "Idioteque" received some radio play.^[39] Instead of singles, a series of "blips" or "antivideos" were created by directors Chris Bran and Shynola, together with the band's longtime artistic collaborator Stanley Donwood, and distributed free over the Internet.^[40] Yet Kid A achieved Radiohead's highest worldwide chart placement to date, debuting at number 1 in many countries, including the United States. Its debut atop the Billboard chart, where OK Computer had peaked at #21, marked a first for the band, identifying them as one of the few modern British pop acts to penetrate the American market,^[41] though the album fell off the chart soon after. Radiohead's sudden commercial success has been variously attributed to hype; to the availability of the entire album on the Internet file-sharing network Napster a few months before its release;^[42] and to anticipation after OK Computer.^[43]

Jonny Greenwood on Saturday Night Live in 2000, using a modular synthesizer, an instrument that featured heavily in the recording of Kid A and Amnesiac.

In early 2001, Kid A received a Grammy Award for Best Alternative Album and a nomination for Album of the Year. Many critics branded Radiohead one of the world's most "important" bands, and the record gained the band plaudits for courage and innovation.^[44] However, Kid A did not inspire universal praise. Jonny Greenwood said, "I think a lot of writers [critics] expected us to come back with a combination of OK Computer and The Bends. The fact that we didn't do that means people who got their guitars out have had to put them back into the wardrobe."^[45] Others criticised Radiohead for appropriating underground styles of music and unfairly receiving credit. The band's fans were similarly divided; along with those who were appalled or mystified, there were many who saw Kid A as the band's best work.^[46]

On previous tours, Radiohead had performed in large, corporate-sponsored venues, but had expressed their distaste for them.^[47] However, while promoting Kid A, the band was inspired by Naomi Klein's anti-globalization book No Logo to mount a tour of Europe in a custom-built tent free of advertising; the band also performed a mere three concerts in North America, their first performances there in over two years, selling out smaller theatres.^[48] Along with songs from Kid A, the band used the tour to perform unreleased songs that had been recorded at the same time as Kid A. ^[49] Having rejected the possibility of a double album before Kid A, Radiohead settled on the release of another album to contain the remaining material.

Music sample:

"Life in a Glasshouse"

from Amnesiac - This song from Radiohead's fifth album demonstrates their direct incorporation of jazz, featuring Yorke and the backing band of trumpeter Humphrey Lyttelton.

Problems listening to the file? See media help.

Amnesiac, released in June 2001, comprised those additional tracks. Conceived by the band as a complement to Kid A but also a distinct sequence of songs, Amnesiac saw Radiohead's sound coalesce into a similar hybrid of electronic music and art rock, though in contrast to Kid A it featured more direct jazz influence. The piano ballad "Pyramid Song" was released as Radiohead's first single since 1997, hitting the UK top 5, and the guitar single "Knives Out" followed. Although criticised for a lack of cohesion and for being self-indulgent, Amnesiac was critically acclaimed and a commercial success.^[50]

After Amnesiac's release, the band embarked on a world tour, visiting North America, Europe and Japan. They staged a summer mini-festival in Oxford's South Park—their first hometown concert in years—featuring Beck, Sigur Rós, Supergrass, and Humphrey Lyttelton, who played trumpet on the last track of Amnesiac, "Life in a Glasshouse". "I Might Be Wrong," initially planned as a third single, expanded into the band's first and thus far only live record. Released in late 2001, I Might Be Wrong: Live Recordings featured performances of Kid A and Amnesiac songs from various international concerts, and an acoustic performance of the previously unreleased "True Love Waits".

Hail to the Thief and a hiatus: 2002–2004

Several months after the Amnesiac tour, Radiohead toured Portugal and Spain during July and August 2002, using this opportunity to play new songs before an audience of their fans. The band then completed the album in two weeks in a Los Angeles studio with Nigel Godrich, with a few additional recordings done later in Oxford. Band members described the recording process as relaxed, in contrast to the tense Kid A/Amnesiac sessions.^[9]

An unmastered version of the album was leaked onto the Internet several months before it was officially released. Although producer Nigel Godrich posted a message on the official Radiohead message board expressing disappointment over the leak because he felt the band's work was being heard in an incomplete form, Jonny Greenwood said: "Shame it's not a package with the artwork and all, but there you go. I feel bemused, though, not annoyed. I'm glad people like it, most of all. It's a little earlier than we'd expected, but there it is".^[51]

Radiohead released their sixth album, Hail to the Thief, in June 2003. Upon its release, Hail to the Thief was noted for having a mix of influences from throughout Radiohead's career, combining guitar rock with an electronic sound and topical lyrics.^[6] Although the album received many positive reviews, some critics felt that the band was treading water creatively rather than continuing the "genre-redefining" trend that OK Computer had begun.^[52] Regardless, Hail to the Thief sold more copies in its first week than its predecessors, Kid A and Amnesiac, though its overall sales to date have not matched those of Kid A.^[53]

Hail to the Thief had more moderate commercial success in the U.S., debuting at #3 on the Billboard chart with the band's highest first week sales to date, but falling off soon after. The album's lead single, "There There", peaked at #4 in the British charts, while subsequent singles "Go to Sleep" and "2+2=5" charted at #12 and #15 respectively. "There There", however, was a #1 hit in Canada, and returned the band to U.S. modern rock radio favour, after several years without a song on playlists. At the Grammy Awards, the album was nominated for Best Alternative Album, Radiohead's fifth straight nomination in that category. Producer Godrich received the Grammy Award for Best Engineered Album.

Music sample:

"There There"

from Hail to the Thief - The lead single from Radiohead's sixth album, "There There" demonstrates Radiohead's combination of their layered electronic sound with drums, bass and guitar.

Problems listening to the file? See media help.

Although Hail to the Thief's title was assumed to be a comment on the controversial 2000 American presidential election, Yorke has denied this, explaining that he first heard the phrase during a Radio 4 discussion of John Quincy Adams, "who stole the election and who was known as 'The Thief' throughout his presidency".^[9] Yorke explained that the album was influenced by world events of late 2001 and early 2002, but he also said, "It struck me as the most amazing, powerful phrase...[but] I feel really strongly that we didn't write an [exclusively] protest record, we didn't write a political record."^[9] (Note: Adams did not participate in any wrong-doing in the 1824 election.)

After the release of Hail to the Thief, Radiohead embarked on an international tour, which began with a June 2003 headlining performance at the Glastonbury Festival, and finished in mid-2004 with a performance at the Coachella Festival. In 2004, the band released their latest EP COM LAG (2plus2isfive) which compiled most of the b-sides from Hail to the Thief, fulfilling their contractual obligations to EMI. Following the tour, the band began writing and rehearsing in their Oxford studio, but soon went on hiatus, as both O'Brien and Colin Greenwood were expecting sons, and needed some time with their respective families.^[54] Free of any contractual obligations, Radiohead spent the remainder of 2004 resting and working on solo projects.^[54] The band released a DVD version of their webcast television show The Most Gigantic Lying Mouth of All Time in December 2004.

In Rainbows: 2005-present

Radiohead began work on their seventh album in February 2005.^[54] In mid-2006, they toured Europe and North America, and debuted 13 songs they had been working on. The band began recording with mixer Mark "Spike" Stent, but since late 2006 they recorded with producer Nigel Godrich in several rural locations in England. The album was completed in June 2007 and was mastered the following month. Radiohead had stated that they will not tour until their new album is completed, according to Yorke "We are going off for the rest of the year basically, until it's done — we're not let out 'til it's done."^[55]

The band are currently without a record contract, having fulfilled their six-album contract with EMI in 2004. In interviews in 2006, they admitted that "for the first time, we have no contract or release deadline to fulfill — it's both liberating and terrifying".^[56] Radiohead's new music has been characterised by the band as "almost embarrassingly minimal," "sparse with lots of bass," and, more recently, "lush", according to Stanley Donwood, who is working closely with them on the artwork of the new album. Yorke described the lyrical concept of the album as, "It's about that anonymous fear thing, sitting in traffic, thinking, 'I'm sure I'm supposed to be doing something else'... it's similar to OK Computer in a way. It's much more terrifying. But OK Computer was terrifying too — some of the lyrics were."^[57]

The album, titled In Rainbows, was released on October 10, 2007 as a digital download in MP3 format. On September 30, the band's website was updated to take orders ^[58] for the album, which will be released in two forms. One will be a digital download for which the customer will be able to name the price (from £0.00 - £100), and the other is a "discbox" which includes the In Rainbows CD, a bonus CD from the recording sessions, a vinyl edition of In Rainbows contained in two vinyl records, and a hardcover book. This discbox will be available for purchase from the "In Rainbows" website for £40 (roughly US$82 or AU$92). ^[59]

Some sources have stated that Parlophone, Radiohead's former British label, will release a CD version of the album to stores on December 3, 2007.^[60] Radiohead's managers Chris Hufford and Bryce Edge have said the band is in talks with several labels and that they plan to sign a deal within a week for the release of In Rainbows. However, according to Hufford, no traditional label release is planned until early 2008.^[61]

Purchasing the discbox includes access to the digital download.

Musical influences

Among Radiohead members' earliest influences were Queen and Elvis Costello; post-punk acts such as Joy Division^[12] and Magazine;^[10] and 1980s bands such as R.E.M., Pixies, Nirvana, The Smiths,^[12] and Sonic Youth.^[4] 1980s dance act Soul II Soul was another early inspiration, with several early demos, such as that for High and Dry, layered with dance beats. However, by the mid-1990s, Radiohead began mentioning an interest in electronic music, such as that of trip-hop act Massive Attack and the instrumental hip hop of DJ Shadow, which they claimed as major influences on the sound of OK Computer.^[62] Other influences on the album were Miles Davis (especially Bitches Brew) and Ennio Morricone, along with 1960s pop groups such as The Beatles and The Beach Boys.^[1][10] Jonny Greenwood also cited composer Krzysztof Penderecki as an inspiration on the sound of OK Computer.^[1] During this era, critics noted musical similarities between OK Computer and progressive rock bands such as Pink Floyd.^[63] However, the band have denied that their musical style is directly influenced by progressive rock.^[64]

The more electronic sound of Radiohead's next two albums, Kid A and Amnesiac, was the result of Yorke's admiration for the glitch, ambient techno and IDM styles exemplified by the Warp Records label and acts such as Autechre, Aphex Twin, Boards of Canada^[37] and Squarepusher. Jazz, such as that of Charles Mingus and Alice Coltrane, and 1970s Krautrock bands such as Can and Neu!, were other major influences on the band during this period.^[65] Greenwood's interest in 20th century classical music continued to play a role, as the influence of Penderecki and especially Olivier Messiaen was increasingly apparent; for several tracks on Kid A and subsequent albums, Greenwood has played the Ondes Martenot, an early electronic instrument popularised by the composer.^[12]

With Hail to the Thief, Radiohead continued their electronic influences of their previous two albums, although with renewed emphasis on guitar rock.^[6] Accordingly, the band said they had tried to achieve the same "swagger" in their live performances as The Rolling Stones.^[66] Though The Beatles and Neil Young were sources of musical inspiration during this period, the band also continued to cite their influence by classical musicians and Can.^[67][68]

Since 2005, while working on In Rainbows, the band have continued to mention experimental rock, electronic, and hip hop musicians as influences; such as Liars, glitch act Modeselektor, and Spank Rock.^[69] Band members have also emphasized their interest in reggae and dub music,^[70] as shown by the 2007 Trojan Records release Jonny Greenwood Is the Controller, a compilation of songs Greenwood selected by his favourite dub artists.

[edit] Changing roles

Radiohead's evolving musical style has been seen as a consequence of band members' varied tastes and accomplishments. Lead guitarist Jonny Greenwood is the only classically-trained member of the band and served as the BBC's Composer in Residence.^[71] Greenwood is a multi-instrumentalist; aside from guitar and keyboard, he plays the Ondes Martenot, banjo, viola and harmonica. He also in recent years has done electronic and digital manipulation. However, not all of these instruments have appeared on record. Greenwood has also arranged string orchestrations for Radiohead songs, including "Climbing Up the Walls", "How to Disappear Completely" and "Pyramid Song". Yorke plays guitar and piano and, at Exeter University, was once a DJ and part of a techno group, "Flickernoise".^[37] In recent years he has focused on the digital manipulation of sound, claiming in 2003 that if forced to choose, he would rather make music only on computer than only on guitar.^[72]

Since their formation, Radiohead have, lyrically and musically, been dominated by Yorke. In a 2000 interview, referring to the working of the band, Yorke said, "We operate like the UN, and I'm America."^[37] An exception to this dynamic is songwriting. Although Yorke is responsible for writing nearly all the lyrics, songwriting is actually a collaborative effort, as interviews have revealed that all members have had an integral songwriting role.^[5] As a result, all the band's songs are officially credited to "Radiohead".

The Kid A/Amnesiac sessions brought about a change in Radiohead's musical style, and an even more radical change in the band's working method.^[5] Ed O'Brien described the situation in 2000: "If you're going to make a different-sounding record, you have to change the methodology... everyone feels insecure. I'm a guitarist and suddenly it's like, well, there are no guitars on t