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Radiohead are an English rock band formed in Abingdon-on-Thames, Abingdon, Oxfordshire, in 1985. The band consists of Thom Yorke (vocals, guitar, piano, keyboards); brothers Jonny Greenwood (lead guitar, keyboards, other instruments) and Colin Greenwood (bass); Ed O'Brien (guitar, backing vocals); and Philip Selway (drums, percussion). They have worked with the producer Nigel Godrich and the cover artist Stanley Donwood since 1994. Radiohead's Experimental music, experimental approach is credited with advancing the sound of alternative rock.
Radiohead signed to EMI in 1991 and released their debut album, ''Pablo Honey,'' in 1993; their debut single, "Creep (Radiohead song), Creep", became a worldwide hit. Radiohead's popularity and critical standing rose with the release of ''The Bends (album), The Bends'' in 1995. Radiohead's third album, ''OK Computer'' (1997), brought them international fame; noted for its complex production and themes of social alienation, modern alienation, it is acclaimed as a landmark record and one of the best albums in popular music.
Radiohead's fourth album, ''Kid A'' (2000), marked a dramatic change in style, incorporating influences from electronic music, jazz, classical music and krautrock. Though ''Kid A'' divided listeners, it later attracted wide acclaim. It was followed by ''Amnesiac (album), Amnesiac'' (2001), recorded in the same sessions. ''Hail to the Thief'' (2003), with lyrics addressing the War on Terror, was Radiohead's final album for EMI.
Radiohead self-released their seventh album, ''In Rainbows'' (2007), as a music download, download for which customers could Pay what you want, set their own price, to critical and chart success. Their eighth album, ''The King of Limbs'' (2011), an exploration of rhythm, was developed using extensive Loop (music), looping and Sampling (music), sampling. ''A Moon Shaped Pool'' (2016) prominently featured Jonny Greenwood's orchestral arrangements. Yorke, Jonny Greenwood, Selway, and O'Brien have released solo albums; in 2021, Yorke and Jonny Greenwood debuted a new band, The Smile (band), the Smile.
By 2011, Radiohead had sold more than 30 million albums worldwide. List of awards and nominations received by Radiohead, Their awards include six Grammy Awards and four Ivor Novello Awards, and they hold five Mercury Prize nominations, the most of any act. Seven Radiohead singles have reached the top 10 on the UK Singles Chart: "Creep" (1992), "Street Spirit (Fade Out)" (1996), "Paranoid Android" (1997), "Karma Police" (1997), "No Surprises" (1998), "Pyramid Song" (2001), and "There There" (2003). "Creep" and "Nude (song), Nude" (2008) reached the top 40 on the US Billboard Hot 100, ''Billboard'' Hot 100. ''Rolling Stone'' named Radiohead one of the Rolling Stone's 100 Greatest Artists of All Time, 100 greatest artists of all time, and ''Rolling Stone'' readers voted them the second-best artist of the 2000s. Five Radiohead albums have been included in Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time, ''Rolling Stone''s 500 Greatest Albums of All Time lists. Radiohead were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2019.
The members of Radiohead met while attending Abingdon School, an independent school for boys in Abingdon-on-Thames, Abingdon, Oxfordshire. The guitarist and singer Thom Yorke and the bassist Colin Greenwood were in the same year; the guitarist Ed O'Brien and the drummer Philip Selway the year above; and Colin's brother, the multi-instrumentalist Jonny Greenwood, two years below. In 1985, they formed On a Friday, the name referring to their usual rehearsal day in the school's music room. Jonny was the last to join, first on harmonica and then keyboards, but soon became lead guitarist; he had previously been in another band, Illiterate Hands, with musician Nigel Powell and Yorke's brother Andy Yorke. According to Colin, the band members picked their instruments because they wanted to play together, rather than through any particular interest: "It was more of a collective angle, and if you could contribute by having someone else play your instrument, then that was really cool." At one point, On a Friday featured a saxophone section.
The band disliked the school's strict atmosphere—the headmaster once charged them for using a rehearsal room on a Sunday—and found solace in the music department. They credited their music teacher for introducing them to jazz, film scores, postwar avant-garde music, and 20th-century classical music. Oxfordshire and the Thames Valley had an active independent music scene in the late 1980s, but it centred on shoegazing bands such as Ride (band), Ride and Slowdive. On the strength of an early demo, On a Friday were offered a record deal by Island Records, but they decided they were not ready and wanted to go to university first.
On a Friday played their first gig in 1987, at Oxford's Jericho Tavern. Although all but Jonny had left Abingdon by 1987 to attend university, On a Friday continued to rehearse on weekends and holidays, but did not perform for four years. At the University of Exeter, Yorke played with the band Headless Chickens, performing songs including future Radiohead material. He also met Stanley Donwood, who later became Radiohead's cover artist.
In 1991, On a Friday regrouped in Oxford, sharing a house on the corner of Magdalen Road and Ridgefield Road. They recorded another demo, which attracted the attention of Chris Hufford, Slowdive's producer and the co-owner of Oxford's Courtyard Studios. He and his business partner Bryce Edge attended a concert at the Jericho Tavern; impressed, they became On a Friday's managers. In late 1991, Colin met EMI A&R representative Keith Wozencroft at Our Price, the record shop where Colin worked, and handed him a copy of their latest demo, the ''Manic Hedgehog'' EP. Wozencroft was impressed and attended a performance.
That November, On a Friday performed at the Jericho Tavern to an audience that included several A&R representatives. It was only their eighth gig, but they had attracted interest from several record companies. On 21 December, On a Friday signed a six-album recording contract with EMI. At EMI's request, the band changed their name; "Radiohead" was taken from the song "Radio Head" on the Talking Heads album ''True Stories (Talking Heads album), True Stories'' (1986). Yorke said the name "sums up all these things about receiving stuff ... It's about the way you take information in, the way you respond to the environment you're put in."
including ''Rolling Stone, Rolling Stone's'' 2012 edition of the Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time, "500 Greatest Albums of All Time" at No. 111. In 1995, Radiohead again toured North America and Europe, this time in support of R.E.M., one of their formative influences and at the time one of the biggest rock bands in the world. Attention from famous fans such as the R.E.M. singer Michael Stipe, along with distinctive music videos for "Just" and "Street Spirit", helped sustain Radiohead's popularity outside the UK. The night before a performance in Denver, Colorado, Radiohead's tour van was stolen, and with it their musical equipment. Yorke and Jonny Greenwood performed a stripped-down acoustic set with rented instruments and several shows were cancelled. Their first live video, ''Live at the Astoria'', was released in 1995.
By late 1995, Radiohead had already recorded one song that would appear on their next record. "Lucky (Radiohead song), Lucky", released as a single to promote the War Child (charity), War Child charity's ''The Help Album'', was recorded in a brief session with Nigel Godrich, the young audio engineer who had assisted on ''The Bends'' and produced a 1996 B-side, "Street Spirit (Fade Out), Talk Show Host", the song being featured in Baz Luhrmann, Baz Luhrmann's 1996 ''Romeo + Juliet''. Radiohead decided to self-produce their next album with Godrich, and began work in early 1996. By July they had recorded four songs at their rehearsal studio, Canned Applause, a converted apple shed in the countryside near Didcot, Oxfordshire. In August 1996, Radiohead toured as the opening act for Alanis Morissette. They resumed recording not at a studio but at St. Catherine's Court, a 15th-century mansion near Bath, Somerset, Bath. The sessions were relaxed, with the band playing at all hours of the day, recording in different rooms, and listening to the Beatles, DJ Shadow, Ennio Morricone and Miles Davis for inspiration.
Radiohead released their third album, ''OK Computer'', in May 1997. It found the band experimenting with song structures and incorporating ambient music, ambient, avant-garde and electronic music, electronic influences, prompting ''Rolling Stone'' to call the album a "stunning art-rock tour de force". Radiohead denied being part of the progressive rock genre, but critics began to compare their work to Pink Floyd, whose early 1970s work influenced Jonny Greenwood's guitar parts at the time. Some compared ''OK Computer'' thematically to Floyd's bestseller ''The Dark Side of the Moon'' (1973), although Yorke said the album's lyrics were inspired by observing the "speed" of the world in the 1990s. Yorke's lyrics, embodying different characters, had expressed what one magazine called "end-of-the-millennium blues" in contrast to the more personal songs of ''The Bends''. According to the journalist Alex Ross (music critic), Alex Ross, Radiohead had become "the poster boys for a certain kind of knowing alienation—as the Talking Heads and R.E.M. had been before". ''OK Computer'' received critical acclaim. Yorke said he was "amazed it 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."
''OK Computer'' was Radiohead's first number-one UK chart debut, and brought them commercial success around the world. Despite peaking at number 21 in the Billboard 200, US charts, the album eventually met with mainstream recognition there, earning Radiohead their first Grammy Awards recognition, winning Grammy Award for Best Alternative Music Album, Best Alternative Album and a nomination for Grammy Award for Album of the Year, Album of the Year. "Paranoid Android", "Karma Police" and "No Surprises" were released as singles, of which "Karma Police" was most successful internationally. ''OK Computer'' went on to become a staple of "best-of" British album lists. In the same year, Radiohead became one of the first bands in the world to have a website, and developed a devoted online following; within a few years, there were dozens of fansites devoted to them.
''OK Computer'' was followed by the year-long Against Demons world tour, including Radiohead's first headline Glastonbury Festival performance in 1997. Despite technical problems that almost caused Yorke to abandon the stage, the performance was acclaimed and cemented Radiohead as a major live act. Grant Gee, the director of the "No Surprises" video, filmed the band on tour for the 1999 documentary ''Meeting People Is Easy''. The film portrays the band's disaffection with the music industry and press, showing their Occupational burnout, burnout over the course of the tour. Since its release, ''OK Computer'' is often acclaimed as a landmark record of the 1990s and the Generation X era, and one of the greatest albums in recording history.
In 1998, Radiohead performed at a Paris Amnesty International concert and the Tibetan Freedom Concert. In March, they and Godrich entered Abbey Road Studios to record a song for the 1998 film ''The Avengers (1998 film), The Avengers'', "Man of War (song), Man of War", but were unsatisfied with the results and the song went unreleased. Yorke described the period as a "real low point"; he and O'Brien developed depression, and the band came close to splitting up.
In early 1999, Radiohead began work on their next album. Although the success of ''OK Computer'' meant there was no longer pressure from their record label, tensions were high. Band members had different visions for Radiohead's future, and Yorke suffered from writer's block, influencing him toward more abstract, fragmented songwriting. Radiohead secluded themselves with Godrich in studios in Paris, Copenhagen, and Gloucester, and in their new studio in Oxford. O'Brien kept an online diary, reporting their progress. After nearly 18 months, Radiohead's recording sessions were completed in April 2000.
Radiohead's fourth album, ''Kid A'', was released in October 2000. A departure from ''OK Computer'', ''Kid A'' featured a minimalism, minimalist and textured style with more diverse instrumentation, including the ondes Martenot, programmed electronic music, electronic beats, string orchestra, strings, and jazz horns. It debuted at number one in many countries, including the US, where it became the first Radiohead album to debut atop the ''Billboard 200, Billboard'' chart and the first US number-one album by any UK act since the Spice Girls in 1996. This success was attributed variously to marketing, to the album's leak on the file-sharing network Napster a few months before its release, and to advance anticipation based, in part, on the success of ''OK Computer''. Although Radiohead released no singles from ''Kid A'', Promotional recording, promos of "Optimistic" and "Idioteque" received radio play, and a series of "blips", short videos set to portions of tracks, were played on music channels and released free online. Inspired by Naomi Klein's anti-globalisation book ''No Logo'', Radiohead continued a 2000 tour of Europe in a custom-built tent free of advertising; they also promoted ''Kid A'' with three sold-out North American theatre concerts.
''Kid A'' received a Grammy Award for Grammy Award for Best Alternative Music Album, Best Alternative Album and a nomination for Grammy Award for Album of the Year, Album of the Year in early 2001. It won both praise and criticism in independent music circles for appropriating underground music, underground styles of music; some British critics saw ''Kid A'' as a "commercial suicide note" and "intentionally difficult", and longed for a return to Radiohead's earlier style. Fans were similarly divided; along with those who were appalled or mystified, many saw it as the band's best work. Yorke denied that Radiohead had set out to eschew expectations, saying: "We're not trying to be difficult ... We're actually trying to communicate but somewhere along the line, we just seemed to piss off a lot of people ... What we're doing isn't that radical." The album was ranked one of the best of all time by publications including Time (magazine), ''Time'' and ''Rolling Stone;'' ''Rolling Stone'', ''Pitchfork (website), Pitchfork'' and the ''The Times, Times'' named it the best album of the decade.
Radiohead's fifth album, ''Amnesiac (album), Amnesiac'', was released in May 2001. It comprised additional tracks from the ''Kid A'' sessions, including "Life in a Glasshouse", featuring the The Humphrey Lyttelton Band, Humphrey Lyttelton Band. Radiohead stressed that they saw ''Amnesiac'' not as a collection of B-sides or outtakes from ''Kid A'' but an album in its own right. It topped the UK Albums Chart and reached number two in the US, and was nominated for a Grammy Award and the Mercury Music Prize. Radiohead embarked on a world tour, visiting North America, Europe and Japan. "Pyramid Song" and "Knives Out (song), Knives Out", Radiohead's first singles since 1998, were modestly successful. ''I Might Be Wrong: Live Recordings'', released in November 2001, features performances of seven songs from ''Kid A'' and ''Amnesiac,'' plus a performance of the unreleased track "True Love Waits (song), True Love Waits".
''Hail to the Thief'' was Radiohead's final album with EMI; in 2006, ''The New York Times'' described Radiohead as "by far the world's most popular unsigned band". Following the ''Hail to the Thief'' tour, Radiohead went on hiatus to spend time with their families and work on solo projects. Yorke and Jonny Greenwood contributed to the Band Aid 20 charity single "Do They Know It's Christmas?", produced by Godrich. Greenwood composed soundtracks for the films ''Bodysong (album), Bodysong'' (2004) and ''There Will Be Blood (album), There Will Be Blood'' (2007); the latter was the first of several collaborations with the director Paul Thomas Anderson. In July 2006, Yorke released his debut solo album, ''The Eraser'', comprising mainly electronic music. He stressed it was made with the band's blessing, and that Radiohead were not breaking up. Jonny Greenwood said: "He had to get this stuff out, and everyone was happy [for Yorke to make it] ... He'd go mad if every time he wrote a song it had to go through the Radiohead consensus."
Set Yourself Free
", Index on Censorship. Retrieved 31 October 2010 A special "discbox" edition of ''In Rainbows'', containing the record on vinyl, a book of artwork, and a CD of extra songs, was also sold from Radiohead's website. The retail version of ''In Rainbows'' was released in the UK in late December 2007 on XL Recordings and in North America in January 2008 on TBD Records, reaching number one in the UK and in the US. The success was Radiohead's highest chart placement in the US since ''Kid A''. It became their fifth UK number-one album and sold more than three million copies in one year. The album received acclaim for its more accessible sound and personal lyrics. It was nominated for the Mercury Music Prize and won the 2009 Grammy Awards, 2009 Grammy awards for Grammy Award for Best Alternative Music Album, Best Alternative Music Album and Best Boxed or Special Limited Edition Package. It was nominated for five other Grammy awards, including Radiohead's third nomination for Grammy Award for Album of the Year, Album of the Year. Yorke and Jonny Greenwood performed "15 Step" with the Spirit of Troy, University of Southern California Marching Band at the televised award show.
The first single from ''In Rainbows'', "Jigsaw Falling into Place", was released in January 2008, followed by "Nude (song), Nude" in March, which debuted at number 37 in the Billboard Hot 100, ''Billboard'' Hot 100; it was Radiohead's first song to enter the chart since "High and Dry" (1995) and their first US top 40 since "Creep". In July, Radiohead released a digitally shot video for "House of Cards (Radiohead song), House of Cards". Radiohead held remix competitions for "Nude" and "Reckoner", releasing the separated Stem (audio), stems for fans to remix. In April 2008, Radiohead launched W.A.S.T.E. Central, a social networking service for Radiohead fans. In May, VH1 broadcast ''In Rainbows – From the Basement'', a special episode of the music television show ''From the Basement'' in which Radiohead performed songs from ''In Rainbows''. It was released on iTunes in June. From mid-2008 to early 2009, Radiohead toured North America, Europe, Japan and South America to promote ''In Rainbows'', and headlined the Reading and Leeds Festivals in August 2009.
Days after Radiohead signed to XL, EMI announced a Radiohead Box Set, box set of Radiohead material recorded before ''In Rainbows'', released in the same week as the ''In Rainbows'' special edition. Commentators including the ''Guardian'' saw the move as retaliation for the band choosing not to re-sign with EMI. In June 2008, EMI released a greatest hits album, ''Radiohead: The Best Of''. It was made without Radiohead's involvement and contains only songs recorded under their contract with EMI. Yorke was critical of the release, calling it a "wasted opportunity". In 2009, EMI reissued Radiohead's back catalogue in expanded editions.
Radiohead released their eighth album, ''The King of Limbs'', on 18 February 2011 as a download from their website. Following the protracted recording and more conventional rock instrumentation of ''In Rainbows'', Radiohead developed ''The King of Limbs'' by Sample (music), sampling and Music loop, looping their recordings with Turntablism, turntables. It was followed by a retail release in March through XL, and a special "newspaper album" edition in May. ''The King of Limbs'' sold an estimated 300,000 to 400,000 copies through Radiohead's website;' the retail edition debuted at number six on the US Billboard 200, ''Billboard'' 200 and number seven on the UK Albums Chart. It was nominated for five categories in the 54th Grammy Awards. Two tracks not included on ''The King of Limbs'', "Supercollider / The Butcher, Supercollider" and "The Butcher", were released as a double A-side single for Record Store Day in April. A compilation of ''King of Limbs'' remixes by various artists, ''TKOL RMX 1234567'', was released in September.
To perform the rhythmically complex ''King of Limbs'' material live, Radiohead enlisted a second drummer, Clive Deamer, who had worked with Portishead (band), Portishead and Get the Blessing. Deamer has joined Radiohead on subsequent tours. In June, Radiohead played a surprise performance on the Park stage at the 2011 Glastonbury Festival, performing songs from ''The King of Limbs'' for the first time. With Deamer, Radiohead recorded ''The King of Limbs: Live from the Basement'', released online in August 2011. It was also broadcast by international BBC channels and released on DVD and Blu-ray in January 2012. The performance included two new songs, "The Daily Mail / Staircase, The Daily Mail" and "Staircase", released as a double A-side download single in December 2011. In February 2012, Radiohead began their first extended North American tour in four years, including dates in the United States, Canada and Mexico. On tour, they recorded material at Jack White's studio Third Man Records, but discarded the recordings.
On 16 June 2012, an hour before gates were due to open at Toronto's Downsview Park for the final concert of Radiohead's North American tour, the Radiohead stage collapse, roof of the venue's temporary stage collapsed, killing the drum technician Scott Johnson and injuring three other members of Radiohead's road crew. After rescheduling the tour, Radiohead paid tribute to Johnson at their next concert, in Nîmes, France, in July. In June 2013, Live Nation Canada Inc, two other organisations and an engineer were charged with 13 charges under Ontario health and safety laws. In September 2017, after several delays, the case was dropped under the R v Jordan (2016), Jordan ruling, which sets strict time limits on trials. Radiohead released a statement condemning the decision. A 2019 inquest returned a verdict of accidental death.
After the ''King of Limbs ''tour, the band members worked on further side projects. In February 2013, Yorke and Godrich's band Atoms for Peace released a studio album, ''Amok (Atoms for Peace album), Amok''. The pair made headlines that year for their criticism of the free streaming media, music streaming service Spotify; Yorke accused Spotify of only benefiting major labels with large back catalogues, and encouraged artists to build their own "direct connections" with audiences instead.
In February 2014, Radiohead released the ''Polyfauna'' app for smartphones, a collaboration with the British digital arts studio Universal Everything using music and imagery from ''The King of Limbs''. In May, Yorke contributed a soundtrack, ''Subterranea'', to ''The'' ''Panic Office'', an installation of Radiohead artwork in Sydney, Australia. Yorke and Selway released their solo albums ''Tomorrow's Modern Boxes'' and ''Weatherhouse (album), Weatherhouse'' in late 2014. Jonny Greenwood scored his third Anderson film, ''Inherent Vice (film), Inherent Vice''; it features a new version of an unreleased Radiohead song, "Spooks", performed by Greenwood and members of Supergrass. ''Junun (album), Junun'', a collaboration between Greenwood, Godrich, Israeli composer Shye Ben Tzur and Indian musicians, was released in November 2015, accompanied by a Junun (film), documentary directed by Anderson.
In April 2016, Radiohead's back catalogue was acquired by XL Recordings, which had released the retail editions of ''In Rainbows'' and ''The King of Limbs'' and most of Yorke's solo work. XL reissued Radiohead's back catalogue on vinyl in May 2016.
In 2016, 2017, and 2018, Radiohead toured Europe, Japan, and North and South America, including headline shows at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, Coachella and Glastonbury Festival, Glastonbury festivals. The tours included a performance in Tel Aviv in July 2017, disregarding the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions campaign for an international cultural Boycotts of Israel, boycott of Israel. The performance was criticised by artists including Roger Waters and Ken Loach, and a petition urging Radiohead to cancel it was signed by more than 50 prominent figures. Yorke responded in a statement: "Playing in a country isn't the same as endorsing the government. Music, art and academia is about crossing borders not building them, about open minds not closed ones, about shared humanity, dialogue and freedom of expression."
Radiohead abandoned plans to tour in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In November, they released ''Kid A Mnesia,'' an anniversary reissue compiling ''Kid A,'' ''Amnesiac'' and previously unreleased material from the sessions. It was promoted with download singles and videos for the previously unreleased tracks "If You Say the Word" and "Follow Me Around". Plans for an art installation based on the albums were cancelled due to logistical problems and the pandemic; instead, Radiohead created a free digital experience, ''Kid A Mnesia Exhibition'', for PlayStation 5, macOS and Windows.
In a livestream event held by Glastonbury Festival in May 2021, Yorke and Jonny Greenwood debuted a new band, The Smile (band), the Smile, a collaboration with Godrich and the drummer Tom Skinner (drummer), Tom Skinner. Greenwood said the project was a way for him and Yorke to work together during the COVID-19 lockdowns. The ''The Guardian, Guardian'' critic Alexis Petridis described the Smile as a "more skeletal and knottier version of Radiohead", with unusual time signatures, complex riffs and "hard-driving" motorik Psychedelic music, psychedelia. In May 2022, the Smile released their debut album, ''A Light for Attracting Attention'', to acclaim. The ''Pitchfork'' critic Ryan Dombal wrote that it was "instantly, unmistakably the best album yet by a Radiohead side project". The Smile began an international tour in May. Selway will release his third solo album, ''Strange Dance'', in 2023.
Bob Dylan, Pink Floyd and Elvis Costello, post-punk acts such as Joy Division, Siouxsie and the Banshees and Magazine (band), Magazine, and significantly 1980s alternative rock bands such as R.E.M., U2, the Pixies (band), Pixies, the Smiths and Sonic Youth. Jonny Greenwood named the Magazine guitarist John McGeoch his biggest guitar influence. By the mid-1990s, Radiohead were adopting recording methods from hip hop music, hip hop, inspired by the sample (music), sampling work of DJ Shadow, and became interested in using computers to generate sounds. Other influences include the soundtracks of Ennio Morricone, 1960s rock groups such as the Beatles and the Beach Boys, and Phil Spector's "Wall of Sound, wall of sound" production. Radiohead have cited 60s and 70s jazz artists such as Miles Davis, Charles Mingus and Alice Coltrane as influences. According to Jonny Greenwood, "We bring in our favourite jazz albums, and say: we want to do this. And we enjoy the sound of our failing!" He likened their jazz influence to 1950s English bands imitating American blues records. The drummer Clive Deamer, who has recorded and performed with Radiohead since 2011, said Radiohead do not see themselves as a rock band and that their methodology is closer to jazz: "They deliberately try to avoid cliché and standard forms for the sake of the song ... Rock bands don't do that. It's far more like a jazz mentality." The electronic music of ''Kid A'' and ''Amnesiac'' was inspired by Yorke's admiration for Warp Records artists such as Aphex Twin; in 2013, Yorke named Aphex Twin as his biggest influence. ''Kid A'' also samples early computer music. 1970s krautrock bands such as Can (band), Can and Neu! were other major influences during this period. Jonny Greenwood's interest in 20th-century classical music also had a role, as the influence of composers Krzysztof Penderecki and Olivier Messiaen was apparent. Since the recording of ''Kid A'', Greenwood has played the ondes Martenot, an early electronic instrument popularised by Messiaen. Recording ''In Rainbows'', Radiohead mentioned rock, electronic, hip hop and experimental musicians as influences, including Björk, M.I.A. (artist), M.I.A, Liars (band), Liars, Modeselektor and Spank Rock. In 2011, Yorke denied that Radiohead had set out to make "experimental music", saying they were "constantly absorbing music" and that a variety of musicians are always influencing them.
"BBC Worldwide takes exclusive Radiohead performance to the world"
(press release). BBC. 3 May 2011. Retrieved 15 June 2011. Their work places highly in both listener polls and critics' lists of the best music of the 1990s and 2000s. In 2005, ''Rolling Stone'' named them the 73rd greatest artist of all time; Jonny Greenwood and O'Brien were both included in ''Rolling Stone''s list of the best guitarists, and Yorke in their list of the best singers. They are the most nominated act for the Mercury Prize, with five nominated albums. They have been listed among the greatest bands of all time by Spin (magazine), ''Spin'' (15th) and among the greatest artists by VH1 (29th). They were also ranked as the third-best British band in history by Harry Fletcher of the ''Evening Standard''. Radiohead were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2019. In 2009, ''Rolling Stone'' readers voted Radiohead the second-best artist of the 2000s, behind Green Day. In 2021, ''Pitchfork'' readers voted three Radiohead albums among the ten greatest albums of the previous 25 years, including ''Kid A'' at number one. Radiohead are cited as one of the foremost rock bands of the 21st century. Their 90s albums ''The Bends'' and ''OK ComputerSpecifically, critics have cited ''OK Computer''
BBC Interview with Stanley Donwood and Thom Yorke about artistic collaboration for Radiohead
{{Authority control Radiohead, 1985 establishments in the United Kingdom Musical groups established in 1985 ATO Records artists English electronic music groups English electronic rock musical groups Capitol Records artists English alternative rock groups English art rock groups English experimental rock groups Grammy Award winners Ivor Novello Award winners Musical groups from Oxford Musical quintets NME Awards winners Parlophone artists XL Recordings artists Musical groups from Oxfordshire BT Digital Music Awards winners
History
1985–1992: Formation and first years
The members of Radiohead met while attending Abingdon School, an independent school for boys in Abingdon-on-Thames, Abingdon, Oxfordshire. The guitarist and singer Thom Yorke and the bassist Colin Greenwood were in the same year; the guitarist Ed O'Brien and the drummer Philip Selway the year above; and Colin's brother, the multi-instrumentalist Jonny Greenwood, two years below. In 1985, they formed On a Friday, the name referring to their usual rehearsal day in the school's music room. Jonny was the last to join, first on harmonica and then keyboards, but soon became lead guitarist; he had previously been in another band, Illiterate Hands, with musician Nigel Powell and Yorke's brother Andy Yorke. According to Colin, the band members picked their instruments because they wanted to play together, rather than through any particular interest: "It was more of a collective angle, and if you could contribute by having someone else play your instrument, then that was really cool." At one point, On a Friday featured a saxophone section.
The band disliked the school's strict atmosphere—the headmaster once charged them for using a rehearsal room on a Sunday—and found solace in the music department. They credited their music teacher for introducing them to jazz, film scores, postwar avant-garde music, and 20th-century classical music. Oxfordshire and the Thames Valley had an active independent music scene in the late 1980s, but it centred on shoegazing bands such as Ride (band), Ride and Slowdive. On the strength of an early demo, On a Friday were offered a record deal by Island Records, but they decided they were not ready and wanted to go to university first.
On a Friday played their first gig in 1987, at Oxford's Jericho Tavern. Although all but Jonny had left Abingdon by 1987 to attend university, On a Friday continued to rehearse on weekends and holidays, but did not perform for four years. At the University of Exeter, Yorke played with the band Headless Chickens, performing songs including future Radiohead material. He also met Stanley Donwood, who later became Radiohead's cover artist.
In 1991, On a Friday regrouped in Oxford, sharing a house on the corner of Magdalen Road and Ridgefield Road. They recorded another demo, which attracted the attention of Chris Hufford, Slowdive's producer and the co-owner of Oxford's Courtyard Studios. He and his business partner Bryce Edge attended a concert at the Jericho Tavern; impressed, they became On a Friday's managers. In late 1991, Colin met EMI A&R representative Keith Wozencroft at Our Price, the record shop where Colin worked, and handed him a copy of their latest demo, the ''Manic Hedgehog'' EP. Wozencroft was impressed and attended a performance.
That November, On a Friday performed at the Jericho Tavern to an audience that included several A&R representatives. It was only their eighth gig, but they had attracted interest from several record companies. On 21 December, On a Friday signed a six-album recording contract with EMI. At EMI's request, the band changed their name; "Radiohead" was taken from the song "Radio Head" on the Talking Heads album ''True Stories (Talking Heads album), True Stories'' (1986). Yorke said the name "sums up all these things about receiving stuff ... It's about the way you take information in, the way you respond to the environment you're put in."
1992–1994: "Creep", ''Pablo Honey'' and early success
Radiohead recorded their debut EP, ''Drill (EP), Drill'', with Hufford and Edge at Courtyard Studios. Released in May 1992, its chart performance was poor. As it was difficult for major labels such as EMI to promote bands in the UK, where Independent record label, independent labels dominated the indie charts, Radiohead's managers planned to have Radiohead use American producers and tour aggressively in America, then return to build a following in the UK. Paul Q. Kolderie, Paul Kolderie and Sean Slade, who had worked with US indie bands Pixies (band), Pixies and Dinosaur Jr., were enlisted to produce Radiohead's debut album, recorded quickly in Oxford in 1992. With the release of their debut single, "Creep (Radiohead song), Creep", that September, Radiohead began to receive attention in the British music press, not all of it favourable; ''NME'' described them as "a lily-livered excuse for a rock band", and "Creep" was blacklisted by BBC Radio 1 as "too depressing". Radiohead released their debut album, ''Pablo Honey'', in February 1993. It reached number 22 in the UK charts, as "Creep" and its follow-up singles "Anyone Can Play Guitar" and "Stop Whispering" failed to become hits. "Pop Is Dead", a non-album single, also sold poorly; O'Brien later called it "a hideous mistake". Some critics compared Radiohead to the wave of grunge music popular in the early 1990s, dubbing them "Nirvana (band), Nirvana-lite", and ''Pablo Honey'' failed to make a critical or a commercial impact upon its initial release. In early 1993, Radiohead began to attract listeners elsewhere. "Creep" had been played frequently on Israeli radio by influential DJ Yoav Kutner, and in March, after the song became a hit there, Radiohead were invited to Tel Aviv for their first show overseas. Around the same time, "Creep" began receiving airplay on US radio stations and rose to number two on the US Modern Rock Tracks, modern rock chart. By the time Radiohead began their first North American tour in June 1993, the music video for "Creep" was in heavy rotation on MTV. It reached number 34 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart, and reached number seven on the UK Singles Chart when EMI rereleased it in September. To build on the success, Radiohead embarked on a US tour supporting Belly (band), Belly and PJ Harvey, followed by a European tour supporting James (band), James.1994–1995: ''The Bends'', critical recognition and growing fanbase
Radiohead began work on their second album in 1994 with the veteran Abbey Road Studios producer John Leckie. Tensions were high, with mounting expectations to match the success of "Creep". Recording felt unnatural in the studio, with the band having over-rehearsed the material. Seeking a change of scenery, they toured the Far East, Australasia and Mexico and found greater confidence performing their new music live. However, troubled by his new fame, Yorke became disillusioned with being "at the sharp end of the sexy, sassy, MTV eye-candy lifestyle" he felt he was helping to sell to the world. The ''My Iron Lung (EP), My Iron Lung'' EP and single, released in 1994, was Radiohead's reaction, marking a transition towards the greater depth they aimed for on their second album. It was Radiohead's first collaboration with their future producer Nigel Godrich, then working under Leckie as an audio engineer, and artist Stanley Donwood, who has produced all of Radiohead's artwork since. Promoted through alternative radio stations, sales of ''My Iron Lung'' were better than expected, and suggested that the band had built a fanbase and were not one-hit wonders. Having introduced more new songs on tour, Radiohead finished recording their second album by the end of 1994, and released ''The Bends (album), The Bends'' in March 1995. The album was driven by dense riffs and ethereal atmospheres from the three guitarists, with greater use of keyboards than their debut. It received stronger reviews for its songwriting and performances. While Radiohead were seen as outsiders to the Britpop scene that dominated music media at the time, they were finally successful in their home country with ''The Bends'', as singles "Fake Plastic Trees", "High and Dry", "Just (song), Just", and "Street Spirit (Fade Out)" made their way to chart success. "High and Dry" became a modest hit, but Radiohead's growing fanbase was insufficient to repeat the worldwide success of "Creep". ''The Bends'' peaked at No. 88 on the US album charts, which remains Radiohead's lowest showing there. Jonny Greenwood said ''The Bends'' had been a "turning point" for Radiohead: "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." In later years, ''The Bends'' appeared in many publications' lists of the best albums of all time,including ''Rolling Stone, Rolling Stone's'' 2012 edition of the Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time, "500 Greatest Albums of All Time" at No. 111. In 1995, Radiohead again toured North America and Europe, this time in support of R.E.M., one of their formative influences and at the time one of the biggest rock bands in the world. Attention from famous fans such as the R.E.M. singer Michael Stipe, along with distinctive music videos for "Just" and "Street Spirit", helped sustain Radiohead's popularity outside the UK. The night before a performance in Denver, Colorado, Radiohead's tour van was stolen, and with it their musical equipment. Yorke and Jonny Greenwood performed a stripped-down acoustic set with rented instruments and several shows were cancelled. Their first live video, ''Live at the Astoria'', was released in 1995.
1995–1998: ''OK Computer'' and critical acclaim
By late 1995, Radiohead had already recorded one song that would appear on their next record. "Lucky (Radiohead song), Lucky", released as a single to promote the War Child (charity), War Child charity's ''The Help Album'', was recorded in a brief session with Nigel Godrich, the young audio engineer who had assisted on ''The Bends'' and produced a 1996 B-side, "Street Spirit (Fade Out), Talk Show Host", the song being featured in Baz Luhrmann, Baz Luhrmann's 1996 ''Romeo + Juliet''. Radiohead decided to self-produce their next album with Godrich, and began work in early 1996. By July they had recorded four songs at their rehearsal studio, Canned Applause, a converted apple shed in the countryside near Didcot, Oxfordshire. In August 1996, Radiohead toured as the opening act for Alanis Morissette. They resumed recording not at a studio but at St. Catherine's Court, a 15th-century mansion near Bath, Somerset, Bath. The sessions were relaxed, with the band playing at all hours of the day, recording in different rooms, and listening to the Beatles, DJ Shadow, Ennio Morricone and Miles Davis for inspiration.
Radiohead released their third album, ''OK Computer'', in May 1997. It found the band experimenting with song structures and incorporating ambient music, ambient, avant-garde and electronic music, electronic influences, prompting ''Rolling Stone'' to call the album a "stunning art-rock tour de force". Radiohead denied being part of the progressive rock genre, but critics began to compare their work to Pink Floyd, whose early 1970s work influenced Jonny Greenwood's guitar parts at the time. Some compared ''OK Computer'' thematically to Floyd's bestseller ''The Dark Side of the Moon'' (1973), although Yorke said the album's lyrics were inspired by observing the "speed" of the world in the 1990s. Yorke's lyrics, embodying different characters, had expressed what one magazine called "end-of-the-millennium blues" in contrast to the more personal songs of ''The Bends''. According to the journalist Alex Ross (music critic), Alex Ross, Radiohead had become "the poster boys for a certain kind of knowing alienation—as the Talking Heads and R.E.M. had been before". ''OK Computer'' received critical acclaim. Yorke said he was "amazed it 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."
''OK Computer'' was Radiohead's first number-one UK chart debut, and brought them commercial success around the world. Despite peaking at number 21 in the Billboard 200, US charts, the album eventually met with mainstream recognition there, earning Radiohead their first Grammy Awards recognition, winning Grammy Award for Best Alternative Music Album, Best Alternative Album and a nomination for Grammy Award for Album of the Year, Album of the Year. "Paranoid Android", "Karma Police" and "No Surprises" were released as singles, of which "Karma Police" was most successful internationally. ''OK Computer'' went on to become a staple of "best-of" British album lists. In the same year, Radiohead became one of the first bands in the world to have a website, and developed a devoted online following; within a few years, there were dozens of fansites devoted to them.
''OK Computer'' was followed by the year-long Against Demons world tour, including Radiohead's first headline Glastonbury Festival performance in 1997. Despite technical problems that almost caused Yorke to abandon the stage, the performance was acclaimed and cemented Radiohead as a major live act. Grant Gee, the director of the "No Surprises" video, filmed the band on tour for the 1999 documentary ''Meeting People Is Easy''. The film portrays the band's disaffection with the music industry and press, showing their Occupational burnout, burnout over the course of the tour. Since its release, ''OK Computer'' is often acclaimed as a landmark record of the 1990s and the Generation X era, and one of the greatest albums in recording history.
In 1998, Radiohead performed at a Paris Amnesty International concert and the Tibetan Freedom Concert. In March, they and Godrich entered Abbey Road Studios to record a song for the 1998 film ''The Avengers (1998 film), The Avengers'', "Man of War (song), Man of War", but were unsatisfied with the results and the song went unreleased. Yorke described the period as a "real low point"; he and O'Brien developed depression, and the band came close to splitting up.
1998–2001: ''Kid A'', ''Amnesiac'' and change in sound
In early 1999, Radiohead began work on their next album. Although the success of ''OK Computer'' meant there was no longer pressure from their record label, tensions were high. Band members had different visions for Radiohead's future, and Yorke suffered from writer's block, influencing him toward more abstract, fragmented songwriting. Radiohead secluded themselves with Godrich in studios in Paris, Copenhagen, and Gloucester, and in their new studio in Oxford. O'Brien kept an online diary, reporting their progress. After nearly 18 months, Radiohead's recording sessions were completed in April 2000.
Radiohead's fourth album, ''Kid A'', was released in October 2000. A departure from ''OK Computer'', ''Kid A'' featured a minimalism, minimalist and textured style with more diverse instrumentation, including the ondes Martenot, programmed electronic music, electronic beats, string orchestra, strings, and jazz horns. It debuted at number one in many countries, including the US, where it became the first Radiohead album to debut atop the ''Billboard 200, Billboard'' chart and the first US number-one album by any UK act since the Spice Girls in 1996. This success was attributed variously to marketing, to the album's leak on the file-sharing network Napster a few months before its release, and to advance anticipation based, in part, on the success of ''OK Computer''. Although Radiohead released no singles from ''Kid A'', Promotional recording, promos of "Optimistic" and "Idioteque" received radio play, and a series of "blips", short videos set to portions of tracks, were played on music channels and released free online. Inspired by Naomi Klein's anti-globalisation book ''No Logo'', Radiohead continued a 2000 tour of Europe in a custom-built tent free of advertising; they also promoted ''Kid A'' with three sold-out North American theatre concerts.
''Kid A'' received a Grammy Award for Grammy Award for Best Alternative Music Album, Best Alternative Album and a nomination for Grammy Award for Album of the Year, Album of the Year in early 2001. It won both praise and criticism in independent music circles for appropriating underground music, underground styles of music; some British critics saw ''Kid A'' as a "commercial suicide note" and "intentionally difficult", and longed for a return to Radiohead's earlier style. Fans were similarly divided; along with those who were appalled or mystified, many saw it as the band's best work. Yorke denied that Radiohead had set out to eschew expectations, saying: "We're not trying to be difficult ... We're actually trying to communicate but somewhere along the line, we just seemed to piss off a lot of people ... What we're doing isn't that radical." The album was ranked one of the best of all time by publications including Time (magazine), ''Time'' and ''Rolling Stone;'' ''Rolling Stone'', ''Pitchfork (website), Pitchfork'' and the ''The Times, Times'' named it the best album of the decade.
Radiohead's fifth album, ''Amnesiac (album), Amnesiac'', was released in May 2001. It comprised additional tracks from the ''Kid A'' sessions, including "Life in a Glasshouse", featuring the The Humphrey Lyttelton Band, Humphrey Lyttelton Band. Radiohead stressed that they saw ''Amnesiac'' not as a collection of B-sides or outtakes from ''Kid A'' but an album in its own right. It topped the UK Albums Chart and reached number two in the US, and was nominated for a Grammy Award and the Mercury Music Prize. Radiohead embarked on a world tour, visiting North America, Europe and Japan. "Pyramid Song" and "Knives Out (song), Knives Out", Radiohead's first singles since 1998, were modestly successful. ''I Might Be Wrong: Live Recordings'', released in November 2001, features performances of seven songs from ''Kid A'' and ''Amnesiac,'' plus a performance of the unreleased track "True Love Waits (song), True Love Waits".
2002–2006: ''Hail to the Thief'' and solo work
In July and August 2002, Radiohead toured Portugal and Spain, playing a number of new songs. For their next album, they sought to explore the tension between human and machine-generated music and capture a more immediate, live sound. Promotional interview CD sent to British music press. They and Godrich recorded most of the material in two weeks at Ocean Way Recording in Los Angeles. The band described the recording process as relaxed, in contrast to the tense sessions for ''Kid A'' and ''Amnesiac''. Radiohead also composed music for "Split Sides", a dance piece by the Merce Cunningham Dance Company, which debuted in October 2003 at the Brooklyn Academy of Music. Radiohead's sixth album, ''Hail to the Thief'', was released in June 2003. Its lyrics were influenced by what Yorke called "the general sense of ignorance and intolerance and panic and stupidity" following the 2000 election of US President George W. Bush. The album was promoted with a website, radiohead.tv, where short films, music videos, and studio webcasts were streamed. ''Hail to the Thief'' debuted at number one in the UK and number three on the ''Billboard'' chart, and was eventually certified British Phonographic Industry#Certifications, platinum in the UK and RIAA certification, gold in the US. The singles "There There", "Go to Sleep" and "2 + 2 = 5 (song), 2 + 2 = 5" achieved heavy circulation on modern rock radio. At the 2004 Grammy Awards, Radiohead were again nominated for Grammy Award for Best Alternative Music Album, Best Alternative Album, and Godrich and the engineer Darrell Thorp received the Grammy Award for Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical, Grammy Award for Best Engineered Album. In May 2003, Radiohead embarked on a world tour and headlined Glastonbury Festival#2003, Glastonbury Festival for the second time. The tour finished in May 2004 with a performance at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival#2004, Coachella Festival in California. A compilation of ''Hail to the Thief'' B-sides, remixes and live performances, ''Com Lag (2plus2isfive)'', was released in April 2004.
''Hail to the Thief'' was Radiohead's final album with EMI; in 2006, ''The New York Times'' described Radiohead as "by far the world's most popular unsigned band". Following the ''Hail to the Thief'' tour, Radiohead went on hiatus to spend time with their families and work on solo projects. Yorke and Jonny Greenwood contributed to the Band Aid 20 charity single "Do They Know It's Christmas?", produced by Godrich. Greenwood composed soundtracks for the films ''Bodysong (album), Bodysong'' (2004) and ''There Will Be Blood (album), There Will Be Blood'' (2007); the latter was the first of several collaborations with the director Paul Thomas Anderson. In July 2006, Yorke released his debut solo album, ''The Eraser'', comprising mainly electronic music. He stressed it was made with the band's blessing, and that Radiohead were not breaking up. Jonny Greenwood said: "He had to get this stuff out, and everyone was happy [for Yorke to make it] ... He'd go mad if every time he wrote a song it had to go through the Radiohead consensus."
2006–2009: Departure from EMI, ''In Rainbows'', and "pay what you want"
Radiohead began work on their seventh album in February 2005. Instead of involving Godrich, Radiohead hired the producer Spike Stent, but the collaboration was unsuccessful. In September 2005, Radiohead contributed "I Want None of This", a piano dirge, for the War Child (charity), War Child charity album ''Help!: A Day in the Life, Help: A Day in the Life''. The album was sold online, with "I Want None of This" the most downloaded track, though it was not released as a single. In late 2006, after touring Europe and North America with new material, Radiohead re-enlisted Godrich and resumed work in London, Oxford and rural Somerset, England. Recording ended in June 2007 and the recordings were mastered the following month. In 2007, EMI was acquired by the private equity firm Terra Firma Capital Partners, Terra Firma. Radiohead were critical of the new management, and no new deal was agreed. The The Independent, ''Independent'' reported that EMI had offered Radiohead a £3 million advance, but had refused to relinquish rights to the band's back catalogue. An EMI spokesman stated that Radiohead had demanded "an extraordinary amount of money". Radiohead's management and Yorke released statements denying that they had asked for a large advance, but had instead wanted control over their back catalogue. Radiohead self-released their seventh album, ''In Rainbows'', on their website on 10 October 2007 as a Music download, download for any amount users wanted, including £0. The landmark pay-what-you-want release, the first for a major act, made headlines worldwide and created debate about the implications for the music industry. Media reaction was positive, and Radiohead were praised for finding new ways to connect with fans. However, it drew criticism from musicians such as Lily Allen and Kim Gordon, who felt it undercut less successful acts. ''In Rainbows'' was downloaded an estimated 1.2 million times on the day of release. Colin Greenwood explained the internet release as a way of avoiding the "regulated playlists" and "straitened formats" of radio and TV, ensuring fans around the world could experience the music at the same time, and preventing leaks in advance of a physical release.Greenwood, Colin (13 September 2010),Set Yourself Free
", Index on Censorship. Retrieved 31 October 2010 A special "discbox" edition of ''In Rainbows'', containing the record on vinyl, a book of artwork, and a CD of extra songs, was also sold from Radiohead's website. The retail version of ''In Rainbows'' was released in the UK in late December 2007 on XL Recordings and in North America in January 2008 on TBD Records, reaching number one in the UK and in the US. The success was Radiohead's highest chart placement in the US since ''Kid A''. It became their fifth UK number-one album and sold more than three million copies in one year. The album received acclaim for its more accessible sound and personal lyrics. It was nominated for the Mercury Music Prize and won the 2009 Grammy Awards, 2009 Grammy awards for Grammy Award for Best Alternative Music Album, Best Alternative Music Album and Best Boxed or Special Limited Edition Package. It was nominated for five other Grammy awards, including Radiohead's third nomination for Grammy Award for Album of the Year, Album of the Year. Yorke and Jonny Greenwood performed "15 Step" with the Spirit of Troy, University of Southern California Marching Band at the televised award show.
The first single from ''In Rainbows'', "Jigsaw Falling into Place", was released in January 2008, followed by "Nude (song), Nude" in March, which debuted at number 37 in the Billboard Hot 100, ''Billboard'' Hot 100; it was Radiohead's first song to enter the chart since "High and Dry" (1995) and their first US top 40 since "Creep". In July, Radiohead released a digitally shot video for "House of Cards (Radiohead song), House of Cards". Radiohead held remix competitions for "Nude" and "Reckoner", releasing the separated Stem (audio), stems for fans to remix. In April 2008, Radiohead launched W.A.S.T.E. Central, a social networking service for Radiohead fans. In May, VH1 broadcast ''In Rainbows – From the Basement'', a special episode of the music television show ''From the Basement'' in which Radiohead performed songs from ''In Rainbows''. It was released on iTunes in June. From mid-2008 to early 2009, Radiohead toured North America, Europe, Japan and South America to promote ''In Rainbows'', and headlined the Reading and Leeds Festivals in August 2009.
Days after Radiohead signed to XL, EMI announced a Radiohead Box Set, box set of Radiohead material recorded before ''In Rainbows'', released in the same week as the ''In Rainbows'' special edition. Commentators including the ''Guardian'' saw the move as retaliation for the band choosing not to re-sign with EMI. In June 2008, EMI released a greatest hits album, ''Radiohead: The Best Of''. It was made without Radiohead's involvement and contains only songs recorded under their contract with EMI. Yorke was critical of the release, calling it a "wasted opportunity". In 2009, EMI reissued Radiohead's back catalogue in expanded editions.
2009–2010: Singles and side projects
As social media expanded around the turn of the decade, Radiohead gradually withdrew their public presence, with no promotional interviews or tours to promote new releases. ''Pitchfork'' wrote that around this time Radiohead's "popularity became increasingly untethered from the typical formalities of record promotion, placing them on the same level as Beyoncé and Kanye West". In May 2009, Radiohead began new recording sessions with Godrich. In August, they released "Harry Patch (In Memory Of)", a tribute song to Harry Patch, the last surviving British soldier to have fought in World War I, with proceeds donated to the British Legion. The song has no conventional rock instrumentation, and instead comprises Yorke's vocals and a string arrangement composed by Jonny Greenwood. Later that month, another new song, "These Are My Twisted Words", featuring krautrock-like drumming and guitars, was leaked via torrent file, torrent, possibly by Radiohead. It was released as a free download on the Radiohead website the following week. Commentators saw the releases as part of Radiohead's new unpredictable release strategy, without the need for traditional marketing. In 2009, Yorke formed a new band, Atoms for Peace (band), Atoms for Peace, to perform his solo material, with musicians including Godrich and the Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist Flea (musician), Flea. They played eight North American shows in 2010. In January 2010, Radiohead played their only full concert of the year in the Los Angeles Henry Fonda Theater as a benefit for Oxfam. Tickets were auctioned, raising over half a million US dollars for the NGO's 2010 Haiti earthquake relief. That December, a fan-made video of the performance, ''Radiohead for Haiti'', was released via YouTube and torrent with Radiohead's support and a "pay-what-you-want" link to donate to Oxfam. Radiohead also released the soundboard recording of their 2009 Prague performance for use in a fan-made concert video, ''Live in Praha''. The videos were described as examples of Radiohead's openness to fans and positivity toward non-commercial internet distribution. In June 2010, Yorke and Jonny Greenwood performed a surprise set at Glastonbury Festival, performing ''Eraser'' and Radiohead songs. Selway released his debut solo album, ''Familial (album), Familial'', in August. ''Pitchfork (website), Pitchfork'' described it as a collection of "hushed" folk songs in the tradition of Nick Drake, with Selway on guitar and vocals.2011–2012: ''The King of Limbs''
Radiohead released their eighth album, ''The King of Limbs'', on 18 February 2011 as a download from their website. Following the protracted recording and more conventional rock instrumentation of ''In Rainbows'', Radiohead developed ''The King of Limbs'' by Sample (music), sampling and Music loop, looping their recordings with Turntablism, turntables. It was followed by a retail release in March through XL, and a special "newspaper album" edition in May. ''The King of Limbs'' sold an estimated 300,000 to 400,000 copies through Radiohead's website;' the retail edition debuted at number six on the US Billboard 200, ''Billboard'' 200 and number seven on the UK Albums Chart. It was nominated for five categories in the 54th Grammy Awards. Two tracks not included on ''The King of Limbs'', "Supercollider / The Butcher, Supercollider" and "The Butcher", were released as a double A-side single for Record Store Day in April. A compilation of ''King of Limbs'' remixes by various artists, ''TKOL RMX 1234567'', was released in September.
To perform the rhythmically complex ''King of Limbs'' material live, Radiohead enlisted a second drummer, Clive Deamer, who had worked with Portishead (band), Portishead and Get the Blessing. Deamer has joined Radiohead on subsequent tours. In June, Radiohead played a surprise performance on the Park stage at the 2011 Glastonbury Festival, performing songs from ''The King of Limbs'' for the first time. With Deamer, Radiohead recorded ''The King of Limbs: Live from the Basement'', released online in August 2011. It was also broadcast by international BBC channels and released on DVD and Blu-ray in January 2012. The performance included two new songs, "The Daily Mail / Staircase, The Daily Mail" and "Staircase", released as a double A-side download single in December 2011. In February 2012, Radiohead began their first extended North American tour in four years, including dates in the United States, Canada and Mexico. On tour, they recorded material at Jack White's studio Third Man Records, but discarded the recordings.
On 16 June 2012, an hour before gates were due to open at Toronto's Downsview Park for the final concert of Radiohead's North American tour, the Radiohead stage collapse, roof of the venue's temporary stage collapsed, killing the drum technician Scott Johnson and injuring three other members of Radiohead's road crew. After rescheduling the tour, Radiohead paid tribute to Johnson at their next concert, in Nîmes, France, in July. In June 2013, Live Nation Canada Inc, two other organisations and an engineer were charged with 13 charges under Ontario health and safety laws. In September 2017, after several delays, the case was dropped under the R v Jordan (2016), Jordan ruling, which sets strict time limits on trials. Radiohead released a statement condemning the decision. A 2019 inquest returned a verdict of accidental death.
2013–2014: Side projects and move to XL
After the ''King of Limbs ''tour, the band members worked on further side projects. In February 2013, Yorke and Godrich's band Atoms for Peace released a studio album, ''Amok (Atoms for Peace album), Amok''. The pair made headlines that year for their criticism of the free streaming media, music streaming service Spotify; Yorke accused Spotify of only benefiting major labels with large back catalogues, and encouraged artists to build their own "direct connections" with audiences instead.
In February 2014, Radiohead released the ''Polyfauna'' app for smartphones, a collaboration with the British digital arts studio Universal Everything using music and imagery from ''The King of Limbs''. In May, Yorke contributed a soundtrack, ''Subterranea'', to ''The'' ''Panic Office'', an installation of Radiohead artwork in Sydney, Australia. Yorke and Selway released their solo albums ''Tomorrow's Modern Boxes'' and ''Weatherhouse (album), Weatherhouse'' in late 2014. Jonny Greenwood scored his third Anderson film, ''Inherent Vice (film), Inherent Vice''; it features a new version of an unreleased Radiohead song, "Spooks", performed by Greenwood and members of Supergrass. ''Junun (album), Junun'', a collaboration between Greenwood, Godrich, Israeli composer Shye Ben Tzur and Indian musicians, was released in November 2015, accompanied by a Junun (film), documentary directed by Anderson.
In April 2016, Radiohead's back catalogue was acquired by XL Recordings, which had released the retail editions of ''In Rainbows'' and ''The King of Limbs'' and most of Yorke's solo work. XL reissued Radiohead's back catalogue on vinyl in May 2016.
2015–2016: ''A Moon Shaped Pool''
Radiohead began work on their ninth studio album in September 2014. In 2015, they resumed work in the La Fabrique studio near Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, France. The sessions were marred by the death of Godrich's father and Yorke's separation from his wife, Rachel Owen, who died from cancer in 2016. Work was interrupted when Radiohead were commissioned to write the theme for the 2015 James Bond film ''Spectre (2015 film), Spectre''; after their song, "Spectre (song), Spectre", was rejected, Radiohead released it on the audio streaming site SoundCloud on Christmas Day 2015. Radiohead's ninth studio album, ''A Moon Shaped Pool'', was released in May 2016 on Radiohead's website and online music stores, followed by retail versions in June via XL Recordings. It was promoted with music videos for the singles "Burn the Witch (Radiohead song), Burn the Witch" and "Daydreaming (Radiohead song), Daydreaming", the latter directed by Anderson. The album includes several songs written years earlier, including "True Love Waits (song), True Love Waits", and strings and Choir, choral vocals performed by the London Contemporary Orchestra. It was Radiohead's sixth UK number-one album and reached number three in the US. It was the fifth Radiohead album nominated for the Mercury Prize, making Radiohead the most shortlisted act in the award's history, and was also nominated for Grammy Award for Best Alternative Music Album, Best Alternative Music Album and Grammy Award for Best Rock Song, Best Rock Song (for "Burn the Witch") at the 59th Annual Grammy Awards. It appeared on several publications' lists of the best albums of the year.
In 2016, 2017, and 2018, Radiohead toured Europe, Japan, and North and South America, including headline shows at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, Coachella and Glastonbury Festival, Glastonbury festivals. The tours included a performance in Tel Aviv in July 2017, disregarding the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions campaign for an international cultural Boycotts of Israel, boycott of Israel. The performance was criticised by artists including Roger Waters and Ken Loach, and a petition urging Radiohead to cancel it was signed by more than 50 prominent figures. Yorke responded in a statement: "Playing in a country isn't the same as endorsing the government. Music, art and academia is about crossing borders not building them, about open minds not closed ones, about shared humanity, dialogue and freedom of expression."
2017–2020: Side projects, ''OKNOTOK'' and ''MiniDiscs [Hacked]''
In June 2017, Radiohead released a 20th-anniversary ''OK Computer'' reissue, ''OK Computer OKNOTOK 1997 2017, OKNOTOK 1997 2017'', comprising a remastered version of the album, B-sides, and previously unreleased material. Radiohead promoted the reissue with music videos for the new tracks "I Promise (Radiohead song), I Promise", "Man of War (song), Man of War" and "Lift (Radiohead song), Lift". ''OKNOTOK'' debuted at number two on the UK Albums Chart, UK Album Chart, boosted by Radiohead's televised Glastonbury performance that week, and reached number 23 on the US Billboard 200, ''Billboard'' 200. Yorke and Jonny Greenwood performed a benefit concert in Marche, Le Marche, Italy, in August 2017 following the August 2016 Central Italy earthquake. In September, the nature documentary series ''Blue Planet II'' premiered featuring a new version of the ''King of Limbs'' track "Bloom", created with the composer Hans Zimmer. Radiohead were nominated for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2017, their first year of eligibility. They were nominated again in 2018 and inducted the following March. Though Jonny Greenwood and Yorke expressed a lack of interest in the event, Selway and O'Brien attended and made speeches. The singer David Byrne, one of Radiohead's formative influences, gave a speech praising Radiohead's musical and release innovations, which he said had influenced the whole music industry. In June 2019, several hours of recordings made by Radiohead during the ''OK Computer'' period leaked online. In response, Radiohead made the recordings available to purchase online as ''MiniDiscs (Hacked), MiniDiscs [Hacked]'', with all proceeds to the environmentalist group Extinction Rebellion. In December 2019, Radiohead made their discography available free to stream on YouTube. The following January, they launched the Radiohead Public Library, an online archive of their work, including music videos, live performances, artwork and the 1998 documentary ''Meeting People Is Easy''. Radiohead suspended their online content for Blackout Tuesday on 2 June, protesting racism and police brutality. In 2017, Selway released his third solo work, the soundtrack to the film ''Let Me Go''. Jonny Greenwood was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Score for his fifth collaboration with Anderson, ''Phantom Thread'' (2017), and scored his second film by Lynne Ramsay, ''You Were Never Really Here'' (2018). Yorke released his first feature film soundtrack, ''Suspiria (Thom Yorke album), Suspiria'' (2018), and his third solo album, ''Anima (Thom Yorke album), Anima'' (2019), backed by a short film directed by Anderson. O'Brien released his debut solo album, ''Earth (EOB album), Earth'', under the moniker EOB in 2020. He had been writing songs for years, but felt they had a "distinct energy" that would be lost with Radiohead.2021–present: ''Kid A Mnesia'' and the Smile
Radiohead abandoned plans to tour in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In November, they released ''Kid A Mnesia,'' an anniversary reissue compiling ''Kid A,'' ''Amnesiac'' and previously unreleased material from the sessions. It was promoted with download singles and videos for the previously unreleased tracks "If You Say the Word" and "Follow Me Around". Plans for an art installation based on the albums were cancelled due to logistical problems and the pandemic; instead, Radiohead created a free digital experience, ''Kid A Mnesia Exhibition'', for PlayStation 5, macOS and Windows.
In a livestream event held by Glastonbury Festival in May 2021, Yorke and Jonny Greenwood debuted a new band, The Smile (band), the Smile, a collaboration with Godrich and the drummer Tom Skinner (drummer), Tom Skinner. Greenwood said the project was a way for him and Yorke to work together during the COVID-19 lockdowns. The ''The Guardian, Guardian'' critic Alexis Petridis described the Smile as a "more skeletal and knottier version of Radiohead", with unusual time signatures, complex riffs and "hard-driving" motorik Psychedelic music, psychedelia. In May 2022, the Smile released their debut album, ''A Light for Attracting Attention'', to acclaim. The ''Pitchfork'' critic Ryan Dombal wrote that it was "instantly, unmistakably the best album yet by a Radiohead side project". The Smile began an international tour in May. Selway will release his third solo album, ''Strange Dance'', in 2023.
Style and songwriting
Radiohead's musical style has been described as art rock, alternative rock, electronica, experimental rock, progressive rock, Britpop, grunge, art pop, and electronic rock.Influences
Among Radiohead's earliest influences were Queen (band), Queen,Bob Dylan, Pink Floyd and Elvis Costello, post-punk acts such as Joy Division, Siouxsie and the Banshees and Magazine (band), Magazine, and significantly 1980s alternative rock bands such as R.E.M., U2, the Pixies (band), Pixies, the Smiths and Sonic Youth. Jonny Greenwood named the Magazine guitarist John McGeoch his biggest guitar influence. By the mid-1990s, Radiohead were adopting recording methods from hip hop music, hip hop, inspired by the sample (music), sampling work of DJ Shadow, and became interested in using computers to generate sounds. Other influences include the soundtracks of Ennio Morricone, 1960s rock groups such as the Beatles and the Beach Boys, and Phil Spector's "Wall of Sound, wall of sound" production. Radiohead have cited 60s and 70s jazz artists such as Miles Davis, Charles Mingus and Alice Coltrane as influences. According to Jonny Greenwood, "We bring in our favourite jazz albums, and say: we want to do this. And we enjoy the sound of our failing!" He likened their jazz influence to 1950s English bands imitating American blues records. The drummer Clive Deamer, who has recorded and performed with Radiohead since 2011, said Radiohead do not see themselves as a rock band and that their methodology is closer to jazz: "They deliberately try to avoid cliché and standard forms for the sake of the song ... Rock bands don't do that. It's far more like a jazz mentality." The electronic music of ''Kid A'' and ''Amnesiac'' was inspired by Yorke's admiration for Warp Records artists such as Aphex Twin; in 2013, Yorke named Aphex Twin as his biggest influence. ''Kid A'' also samples early computer music. 1970s krautrock bands such as Can (band), Can and Neu! were other major influences during this period. Jonny Greenwood's interest in 20th-century classical music also had a role, as the influence of composers Krzysztof Penderecki and Olivier Messiaen was apparent. Since the recording of ''Kid A'', Greenwood has played the ondes Martenot, an early electronic instrument popularised by Messiaen. Recording ''In Rainbows'', Radiohead mentioned rock, electronic, hip hop and experimental musicians as influences, including Björk, M.I.A. (artist), M.I.A, Liars (band), Liars, Modeselektor and Spank Rock. In 2011, Yorke denied that Radiohead had set out to make "experimental music", saying they were "constantly absorbing music" and that a variety of musicians are always influencing them.
Arrangement
Radiohead songs usually begin as a sketch by Yorke, which is harmonically developed by Jonny Greenwood before the rest of the band develop their parts. Whereas Yorke has never learnt to read sheet music, Greenwood is trained in music theory; in ''Pitchfork (website), Pitchfork'', Ryan Dombal wrote that "the duo's left brain-right brain dynamic has proven to be one of the most adventurous in rock history". All the band members have a role in arrangement. While Greenwood plays most lead guitar parts, O'Brien often creates ambient effects, making extensive use of effects units. The band often try several approaches to songs, and may develop them over years; for example, Radiohead first performed "True Love Waits (song), True Love Waits" in 1995 before releasing it in a different arrangement on ''A Moon Shaped Pool'' in 2016. Greenwood said he saw Radiohead as "just a kind of an arrangement to form songs using whatever technology suits the song", be it a cello or a laptop. The ''Kid A'' and ''Amnesiac'' sessions brought a change in Radiohead's music and working methods. Since their shift from conventional rock instrumentation toward electronic sound, the members have gained flexibility and often switch instruments. On ''Kid A'' and ''Amnesiac'', Yorke played keyboard and bass, Jonny Greenwood played ondes Martenot, Colin Greenwood worked on sampling, and O'Brien and Selway worked with drum machines and digital manipulation. In 2004, Yorke said that where his power in the band had been "absolutely unbalanced" and that he would "subvert everybody else's power at all costs", later albums had been more democratic.Themes and lyrics
Yorke is Radiohead's lyricist. Though his early lyrics were personal, from ''Kid A'' he experimented with Cut-up technique, cutting up words and phrases and assembling them at random. He deliberately uses Cliché, cliches, idioms and other common expressions, suggesting "a mind consumed by meaningless data". The ''The New Republic, New Republic'' writer Ryan Kearney speculated that Yorke's use of common expressions, which he described as "Radioheadisms", was an attempt "to sap our common tongue of meaning and expose the vapidity of everyday discourse". According to Yorke, many of his lyrics are motivated by anger, expressing his political and environmental concerns and written as "a constant response to doublethink". ''Pitchfork'' wrote that Yorke's lyrics on ''A Moon Shaped Pool'' were less cynical, conveying wonder and amazement. Yorke dismissed accusations that Radiohead make "depressing" music, saying in 2004: "Depressing music to me is just shit music. It's like air freshener – just a nasty little poison in the air."Legacy and influence
Radiohead had sold more than 30 million albums worldwide by 2011.Jonathan, Emma"BBC Worldwide takes exclusive Radiohead performance to the world"
(press release). BBC. 3 May 2011. Retrieved 15 June 2011. Their work places highly in both listener polls and critics' lists of the best music of the 1990s and 2000s. In 2005, ''Rolling Stone'' named them the 73rd greatest artist of all time; Jonny Greenwood and O'Brien were both included in ''Rolling Stone''s list of the best guitarists, and Yorke in their list of the best singers. They are the most nominated act for the Mercury Prize, with five nominated albums. They have been listed among the greatest bands of all time by Spin (magazine), ''Spin'' (15th) and among the greatest artists by VH1 (29th). They were also ranked as the third-best British band in history by Harry Fletcher of the ''Evening Standard''. Radiohead were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2019. In 2009, ''Rolling Stone'' readers voted Radiohead the second-best artist of the 2000s, behind Green Day. In 2021, ''Pitchfork'' readers voted three Radiohead albums among the ten greatest albums of the previous 25 years, including ''Kid A'' at number one. Radiohead are cited as one of the foremost rock bands of the 21st century. Their 90s albums ''The Bends'' and ''OK ComputerSpecifically, critics have cited ''OK Computer''
Collaborators
Nigel Godrich first worked with Radiohead as an audio engineer on their second album, ''The Bends''. He has produced all their studio albums since their third album, ''OK Computer.'' He also plays Chieftain Mews, a long-running character appearing in Radiohead's promotional material. Godrich has been dubbed the band's "sixth member", an allusion to George Martin being called the "Fifth Beatle". In 2016, Godrich said: "I can only ever have one band like Radiohead who I've worked with for this many years. That's a very deep and profound relationship. The Beatles could only have ever had one George Martin; they couldn't have switched producers halfway through their career. All that work, trust, and knowledge of each other would have been thrown out of the window and they'd have to start again." Graphic artist Stanley Donwood met Yorke when they were art students. Together, they have produced all of Radiohead's album covers and visual artwork since 1994. Donwood works in the studio with the band as they record, allowing the music to influence the artwork. He and Yorke won a Grammy Award for Best Recording Package, Grammy in 2002 for the special edition of ''Amnesiac'' packaged as a library book. Dilly Gent has commissioned all Radiohead music videos since ''OK Computer'', working with the band to find directors. Since Radiohead's formation, Andi Watson has been their lighting and stage director, designing the visuals of their live concerts. Backline Chief and Technician Peter "Plank" Clements has worked with Radiohead since before ''The Bends'', overseeing the technical management of studio recordings and live performances. Jim Warren has been Radiohead's live sound engineer since their first tour in 1992, and recorded early tracks including "Planet Telex / High and Dry, High and Dry" and "Pop Is Dead". Drummer Clive Deamer was enlisted in 2011 to help perform the complex rhythms of ''The King of Limbs'', and has performed and recorded with Radiohead since. Paul Thomas Anderson has directed several music videos for Yorke and Radiohead, and has collaborated with Jonny Greenwood on several film scores and the 2015 documentary ''Junun (film), Junun''. Radiohead are managed by Chris Hufford and Bryce Edge of Courtyard Management. Hufford produced their first release, the ''Drill'' EP, and co-produced their first album, ''Pablo Honey.''Song catalogue
Radiohead recorded their first six albums under contract with Parlophone, a subsidiary of EMI. For their seventh album, ''In Rainbows'' (2007), they did not renew the contract, as they did not trust the new management under Guy Hands and EMI would not give them control over their back catalogue. They have self-released their subsequent work, with retail editions released by XL Recordings. In October 2015, Radiohead sued Parlophone for deductions made from downloads of their back catalogue. In September 2012, EMI was bought by Universal Music Group, Universal Music. The European Commission approved the deal on the condition that Universal Music divest Parlophone, which controlled the Radiohead records. In February 2013, Parlophone, along with Radiohead's back catalogue, was bought by Warner Music Group (WMG). As a condition of the purchase, WMG made an agreement with the Merlin Network and the trade group Independent Music Companies Association, Impala to divest 30% of the Parlophone catalogues to Independent record label, independent labels, with artist approval. As a result, in April 2016, WMG transferred Radiohead's back catalogue to XL. ''Radiohead: The Best Of, The Best Of'' and the EMI reissues released in 2008 without Radiohead's approval were removed from streaming services.Band members
* Thom Yorke – vocals, guitar, piano, keyboards * Jonny Greenwood – guitar, keyboards, ondes Martenot, orchestral arrangements * Colin Greenwood – bass guitar * Ed O'Brien – guitar, effects, backing vocals * Philip Selway – drums, percussion Additional live members * Clive Deamer – drums, percussion (2011–present)Discography
Studio albums * ''Pablo Honey'' (1993) * ''The Bends (album), The Bends'' (1995) * ''OK Computer'' (1997) * ''Kid A'' (2000) * ''Amnesiac (album), Amnesiac'' (2001) * ''Hail to the Thief'' (2003) * ''In Rainbows'' (2007) * ''The King of Limbs'' (2011) * ''A Moon Shaped Pool'' (2016)Awards and nominations
Tours
See also
* ''The Music and Art of Radiohead'' (2005 book) * List of Old AbingdoniansNotes
References
Sources
* * Clarke, Martin. ''Radiohead: Hysterical and Useless''. 2000. * * Randall, Mac. ''Exit Music: The Radiohead Story''. 2000. *Further reading
* Doheny, James. ''Radiohead: Back to Save the Universe''. 2002. * Forbes, Brandon W. and Reisch, George A. (eds). ''Radiohead and Philosophy: Fitter Happier More Deductive''. 2009. * Hale, Jonathan. ''Radiohead: From a Great Height''. 1999. * Johnstone, Nick. ''Radiohead: An Illustrated Biography''. 1997. * Letts, Marianne Tatom. ''Radiohead and the Resistant Concept Album''. 2010. * Paytress, Mark. ''Radiohead: The Complete Guide to their Music''. 2005. * Tate, Joseph (ed). ''The Music and Art of Radiohead''. 2005. .External links
* * * *BBC Interview with Stanley Donwood and Thom Yorke about artistic collaboration for Radiohead
{{Authority control Radiohead, 1985 establishments in the United Kingdom Musical groups established in 1985 ATO Records artists English electronic music groups English electronic rock musical groups Capitol Records artists English alternative rock groups English art rock groups English experimental rock groups Grammy Award winners Ivor Novello Award winners Musical groups from Oxford Musical quintets NME Awards winners Parlophone artists XL Recordings artists Musical groups from Oxfordshire BT Digital Music Awards winners