Radiohead (Part I)

Radiohead are a rock band from Oxfordshire, England. They have often been praised as among the most creative musical groups of their era, noted for multilayered songs, experimentation with different genres and marked evolution from album to album.^[1] They are also seen by some to have maintained a spirit of musical and political independence ^[2] despite recording for EMI, a major label. Although the band are currently unsigned, they are working on their next album.

Formed by school friends in 1986, Radiohead did not release their first single until 1992. The cathartic "Creep", from their debut album Pablo Honey (1993), became a worldwide hit as grunge music dominated radio airwaves. Radiohead were initially branded as a one-hit wonder abroad, but caught on at home in the UK with their second album, The Bends (1995), earning fans with their dense guitar atmospheres and frontman Thom Yorke's expressive singing. The band's third album, OK Computer (1997), propelled them to greater attention. Popular both for its expansive sound and themes of modern alienation, it has been acclaimed by critics as a landmark record of the 1990s.

Radiohead's original influences were alternative rock and post-punk bands like The Smiths, Pixies, R.E.M., Magazine and Joy Division. With their albums Kid A (2000) and Amnesiac (2001), the band reached their peak global popularity even as their music became less conventional, turning toward influences in electronic music, experimental jazz and avant garde classical, ranging from Autechre and Can to Charles Mingus and Olivier Messiaen. Although the band's recent albums have polarised listeners and failed to spin off major radio hits, Radiohead continue to be seen as figureheads in the music industry, ^[3] drawing adoring crowds to their live concerts, influencing artists in many genres and enjoying surprising commercial success for a band of "outsiders".

Band members and collaborators

The band are:

• Thom Yorke (lead vocals, rhythm guitar, piano, electronic programming)
• Jonny Greenwood (lead guitar, keyboard, ondes martenot, electronic programming, string arrangements)
• Ed O'Brien (guitar, backing vocals, special effects, percussion)
• Colin Greenwood (bass, keyboards)
• Phil Selway (drums, percussion)

Radiohead's style, notable for its variety and versatility, can be largely explained by the eclectic musical tastes and accomplishments of its members. Lead guitarist Jonny Greenwood is currently the BBC's Composer in Residence, a multi-instrumentalist, and the only classically trained member of the band, playing (aside from the guitar) such instruments as the Ondes Martenot, banjo, viola and harmonica. Lead singer Thom Yorke, as well as writing lyrics, plays several different instruments, and has also focused on the digital manipulation of sound in recent years. He and Jonny are both credited with playing "laptop" on the band's most recent album.

Though Yorke and Greenwood are sometimes seem as the main creative influences within the band, songwriting is a collaborative effort, and all members are cited equally by the band in their album credits. Interviews have revealed other members of the band to have had integral roles, such as Colin Greenwood with "Dollars & Cents", Ed O'Brien with "Karma Police" and "Treefingers" and Phil Selway with "Everything in Its Right Place". Since the recording sessions for Kid A (2000) and Amnesiac (2001) which were primarily inspired by non-rock music, Radiohead members have felt less constrained to stick to only "their" instrument, switching off depending on what the song requires. However, band roles usually remain more consistent live.

This spirit of creative collaboration is also shown in the band's close relationship with their producers, in particular Nigel Godrich, who worked with the band as coproducer on 1997's OK Computer and the following three albums, after serving as an engineer (assisting producer John Leckie) on 1995's The Bends. Godrich has often been dubbed the "sixth member" of Radiohead in an allusion to George Martin's work with the Beatles. This association was temporarily broken following the band's decision to work with Mark "Spike" Stent during current recording sessions, but the band now plans additional work with Godrich.

Graphic artist Stanley Donwood is another associate of the group, having produced together with Yorke all of Radiohead's visual artwork, except videos, since their 1994 My Iron Lung EP (Yorke himself is often credited under variants of the pseudonym "Tchock" or "The White Chocolate Farm"). For Radiohead, Donwood has produced art ranging from oil paintings to computer generated imagery to collages and antique style posters, and prefers to work in the same place the band is recording so as to find a visual equivalent for their sound. Donwood thus projects significant influence over the public image of the band, and the issues addressed in his artwork have been seen to act as a catalyst to themes within Yorke's lyrics. Together with Yorke, he won a Grammy in 2002 for a special edition of Amnesiac packaged as a library book.

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History

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(1986-1991) Formation and first years

Radiohead were formed in the mid-Eighties at Abingdon School, a public (in American English: private) boys-only school located just outside the city of Oxford, which drummer Phil Selway, guitarist Ed O'Brien, guitarist/vocalist Thom Yorke, bassist Colin Greenwood and Colin's multi-instrumentalist brother Jonny all attended. They began practicing in the school's music room, which led to the formation of their first band On a Friday, so named because of their customary rehearsal date. The band played their first gig in September 1986, at Oxford's Jericho Tavern. Jonny was the youngest member, and played harmonica until he could persuade the others to allow him on guitar. Ironically, he soon developed into the band's lead player.

When the five band members left Oxford to attend university they temporarily put aside On a Friday, but continued to practice on holiday breaks, always planning to return to the band. After four years of inactivity, On a Friday began releasing demos (such as the Manic Hedgehog Demo) and performing live again in Oxford in 1991, becoming popular in the region to the extent of appearing on the cover of a local music magazine Curfew. Though Oxfordshire and the Thames Valley had an active independent music scene in the late 80s and early 90s, it centred around shoegazing bands like Ride and Slowdive. Radiohead was not seen to fit into this trend, and commented that they had missed it when they returned from university.

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(1992-1995) Pablo Honey and The Bends

As On a Friday's live bookings increased, various record labels began to show interest in them. Eventually the group signed a six-album recording contract with EMI. The band also changed their name to Radiohead at the behest of the label, the title of a song on Talking Heads' True Stories album. The band's debut EP was produced by their managers Chris Hufford and Bryce Edge, who both remain Radiohead's managers to this day. However, shortly after releasing Drill in March 1992, the band hired Paul Kolderie and Sean Slade, known for their work with the Pixies and Dinosaur Jr., to produce their first full-length studio album. Radiohead's first album was finished in three weeks in an Oxford studio.

Jonny Greenwood

With the releease of "Creep" in 1992, the band began to receive interest from the British music press, not all of it favourable. One journalist called them "a lily livered excuse for a rock band," and the single was blacklisted from BBC Radio 1 for being too depressing. The band subsequently released its debut album Pablo Honey in 1993. They began touring America, issued the irreverent stand-alone single "Pop Is Dead" and nearly broke up over the pressure of sudden success when "Creep" unexpectedly became a smash hit. Although representing a style from which the band would later move, songs like "Anyone Can Play Guitar," "Stop Whispering," "Thinking About You," and "You" also gained considerable popularity for their heart-on-sleeve lyrics, causing Radiohead to be seen as a "British Nirvana." The Pablo Honey supporting tour moved into its second year as the album continued to break internationally, fuelled by "Creep," which remains the band's largest worldwide hit.

Radiohead set to work on their second album. The hiring of veteran producer John Leckie contributed to the sound of the album. "The best part about working with John Leckie," Jonny recalls, "was that he didn't dictate anything to us. He allowed us to figure out what we wanted to do ourselves." Nevertheless, tensions were high as the band felt smothered by "Creep's" success and the pressures of creating a superior follow-up mounted. Recalling these sessions, Leckie recounted: "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!" The band responded by seeking a change of scenery, touring Australasia and the Far East in an attempt to relax the atmosphere.

The EP My Iron Lung (1994), featuring the single of the same title, was released while the band were touring and marked a transitional stage between the pop-rock of Pablo Honey and the musical depth of their second album. Having developed the remainder of the songs on the road, they returned to Britain and completed the album in a fortnight in late 1994, mixing and releasing The Bends in May (1995). The band finally earned British success and won new fans with their dense guitar atmospheres and Yorke's expressive, falsetto, singing in the singles "Fake Plastic Trees," "Just," and "High and Dry". Yet major success for the album did not come until the release of final single "Street Spirit (Fade Out)", which hit the Top 5 in the UK.

In summer 1995, Radiohead toured with R.E.M.- one of their strongest influences and then one of the biggest rock bands in the world. Introducing his opening act, Michael Stipe said, "Radiohead are so good, they're scary". The buzz generated by such famous fans, along with a series of distinctive music videos such as "Just," helped to expand Radiohead's name outside the UK.

According to Phil Selway, "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!" However, while critically acclaimed, in the rest of the world the album failed to match the commercial success of "Creep."