Radiohead is a unique 5-piece band who formed at Abington School in Oxford, England in 1985 with Thom Yorke (vocals guitar, piano, beats), Jonny Greenwood (lead guitar, keyboard, other instruments), Ed O'Brien (guitar, backing vocals), Colin Greenwood (bass guitar) and Phil Selway (drums, percussion).
Radiohead released their first single,
Creep, in 1992. Initially unsuccessful, it became a worldwide hit several months after the release of their debut album,
Pablo Honey (1993). Radiohead's popularity rose in the United Kingdom with the release of their second album,
The Bends (1995). The songs have a greater depth as a set of music, with textured guitar parts and Yorke's falsetto singing, it was received favourably by both critics and fans. Radiohead's third album,
OK Computer (1997), catapulted them to greater international fame. Featuring an ambitious, expansive sound and themes of modern alienation,
OK Computer has been acclaimed as a landmark record of the 1990s and voted by some as the best album of all time.
Kid A (2000) and
Amnesiac (2001) saw a marked change in the band's musical style. Experimental electronic music, post-punk, Krautrock and jazz influences were incorporated into their songs, dividing fans and critics, but they remained popular, acknowledged for their artistic endeavor.
Hail to the Thief (2003), a mix of guitar-driven rock, electronics and lyrics inspired by headlines, was the band's final album for their major record label, EMI. Radiohead independently released their seventh album,
In Rainbows (2007) to critical and chart success, originally as a digital download for which each customer could set their own price.
As of 2008, Radiohead have sold approximately 30 million albums, proving their commercial popularity even with the radical artistic developments and their uncompromised integrity. They continually display their prodigious pedigree with an unprecedented degree of artistic experimentation and influences from almost every musical genre. Greenwood’s eclectic Guitar and electronics, a solid rhythm section and the haunting, emotive voice of Thom Yorke, are all beautifully arranged and layered together to make truly astonishing music.
Close