The Radiohead Story (1992-1995)

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. Their 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 the Drill (EP) 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 album. Radiohead’s first album was finished in three weeks in an Oxford studio.

With the release 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 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 mounting expectations for a superior follow-up. 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, the album failed to match the commercial success of “Creep.”