''Drill'' is the debut EP by the English rock band Radiohead, released in May 1992. It was Radiohead's first commercial release, and debuted on the

UK Album Chart The Official Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales and (from March 2015) audio streaming in the United Kingdom. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the Official Charts ...

at number 101. Radiohead later rerecorded three of its songs for their debut album, ''

Pablo Honey ''Pablo Honey'' is the debut studio album by the English rock band Radiohead, released on 22 February 1993 in the UK by Parlophone and on 20 April in the US by Capitol Records. It was produced by Sean Slade, Paul Q. Kolderie and Radiohead's co-m ...

'' (1993).

Background

The members of Radiohead met while attending Abingdon School, an independent school for boys in

Abingdon, England Abingdon-on-Thames ( ), commonly known as Abingdon, is a historic market town and civil parish in the ceremonial county of Oxfordshire, England, on the River Thames. Historically the county town of Berkshire, since 1974 Abingdon has been ad ...

. In 1985, they formed , the name referring to their usual rehearsal day in the school's music room. They recorded demos including the ''Manic Hedgehog'' tape. In late 1991, Radiohead signed a six-album recording contract with

EMI EMI Group Limited (originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records Ltd. or simply EMI) was a British Transnational corporation, transnational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate founded in March 1 ...

and changed their name at EMI's request; "Radiohead" was taken from the song "Radio Head" on the

Talking Heads Talking Heads were an American rock band formed in 1975 in New York City and active until 1991.Talki ...

album '' True Stories'' (1986).

Recording

Radiohead recorded ''Drill'' at Courtyard Studios in Oxon, England. It was produced by Radiohead's manager, Chris Hufford. Hufford said this was a mistake, as it created a conflict of interest and generated friction in the studio. ''Drill'' featured two new recordings, "Prove Yourself" and "Stupid Car"; the other songs were taken from Radiohead's ''Manic Hedgehog'' demo.

Release

"Prove Yourself" was played on

BBC Radio 1 BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including electronica, dance, ...

by Gary Davies, Radiohead's first national radio exposure in the UK. ''Drill'' was released on 5 May, 1992. It reached number 101 on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

; the '' Guardian'' described this as an "inauspicious start" that was "largely ignored". The music journalist Mac Randall wrote later: "Even as early as 1992, Thom Yorke's graceful, arrestingly plaintive vocal style was well developed, far more so than the band’s songwriting or overall sound." Radiohead rerecorded "You", "Prove Yourself" and "Thinking About You" for their debut album, ''

'' (1993). Radiohead added ''Drill'' to streaming services in January 2020.

Track listing

Personnel

Thom Yorke Thomas Edward Yorke (born 7 October 1968) is an English musician and the main vocalist and songwriter of the rock band Radiohead. A multi-instrumentalist, he mainly plays guitar and keyboards and is noted for his falsetto. He has been descri ...

– vocals, guitar * Jonny Greenwood – guitar * Ed O'Brien – guitar, backing vocals *

Colin Greenwood Colin Charles Greenwood (born 26 June 1969) is an English musician and the bassist for the rock band Radiohead. Along with bass guitar, Greenwood plays upright bass and electronic instruments. With his younger brother, the Radiohead guitari ...

– bass guitar *

Philip Selway Philip James Selway (born 23 May 1967) is an English musician and the drummer of the English rock band Radiohead. Along with the other members of Radiohead, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2019. Selway released his deb ...

– drums

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Drill (Ep) 1992 debut EPs Radiohead EPs Parlophone EPs