The Radiohead Story (1996-1998)

Thom Yorke said that The Bends succeeded because “we had to put ourselves into an environment where we felt free to work. And that’s why we want to produce the next one ourselves, because the times we most got off on making the last record were when we were just completely communicating with ourselves, and John Leckie wasn’t really saying much, and it was just all happening”.

One new song was already recorded for the album: “Lucky”, which was recorded in September 1995 for the War Child charity’s The Help Album. Radiohead also contributed two songs to Baz Luhrmann’s 1996 adaptation of Romeo and Juliet, “Talk Show Host” and “Exit Music (For a Film).” The former was a remix of one of the b-sides to “Street Spirit (Fade Out),” a single from The Bends. The latter was a new song, to be included eventually on the band’s next album.

With the assistance of their engineer Nigel Godrich, Radiohead produced their next album themselves, beginning work in early 1996. By July they had recorded four songs with producer Godrich at their rehearsal studio, Canned Applause, a converted shed, near Didcot, Oxfordshire. They had hoped to stay away from traditional recording studios, fearing the bad vibes they’d previously set off in the band. Having learnt from The Bends, they decided to perfect the songs live, touring as an opening act for Alanis Morissette, before completing the record. The rest was recorded in actress Jane Seymour’s 15th century mansion in St. Catherine’s Court near Bath. The recording sessions were relaxed, with the band playing at all hours of the day, recording songs in different rooms, and blasting DJ Shadow, Ennio Morricone and the Beatles’ “I Am the Walrus” through the house for inspiration. By the end of 1996 the album was finished and by February and March it was mixed and mastered.

Radiohead released OK Computer in the summer of 1997, to great critical acclaim. A melodic rock album, OK Computer found Radiohead introducing uncommon musical elements, experimenting with ambience and noise to create a set of songs that many consider a high point of twentieth-century rock music. It included the singles “Paranoid Android,” “Karma Police,” and “No Surprises” (as well as “Let Down,” a fan favourite whose planned single release was cancelled). In 1998, OK Computer received a Grammy for Best Alternative Album, and a nomination for Album of the Year.

OK Computer was followed by a world tour, nicknamed “Against Demons,” the band’s biggest yet. Grant Gee, the director of the “No Surprises” video, accompanied the band on their tour and filmed it, which resulted in the “fly on the wall” documentary Meeting People Is Easy (released in 1999). Rather than stereotypical rock n’ roll behaviour, the film depicted the band’s disaffection from the music industry and showed their burnout as they progressed from their first concert dates in mid-1997 to mid-1998, nearly a year later. The band also released a compilation of their music videos (7 Television Commercials), and two EPs No Surprises/Running From Demons (1997) and Airbag/How Am I Driving? (1998) during this time. The latter EP, however, has songs that bridge the progressive alternative rock of OK Computer and their subsequent atmospheric, electronic work.