Radiohead Tickets

About Radiohead

The group first called themselves On a Friday because as some of the members went to university they would still meet on the weekends to practice. The band stayed together while most of the members graduated and recorded the Manic Hedgehog demo tape in 1991. The group garnered interest, but was finally signed after Chris Hufford of Courtyard Studios saw the band perform at Jericho Tavern.

Radiohead signed a six-record deal later that year after Colin Greenwood met Keith Wozencroft from EMI at the record store at which he worked. The group’s first EP, “Drill”, did not fare very well, so a more experienced producer team came in to help with their debut album. The single “Creep” was released in late 1992 and the album, Pablo Honey, was released in February 2003.

Though some criticized the single and the album for being to depressing, the single and the album began to slowly build momentum through college radio. When Radiohead first came to the United States in 2003 “Creep” was in heavy rotation on MTV and force d the group into an extended tour.

The members of Radiohead were burnt out at the end of the two year tour and tried to escape to a new location to start their second album. The group released an EP, My Iron Lung, which swept through the college radio stations and began to develop a fan base for the group.

Eventually the second album, The Bends, was released in May 1995 even though it was completed in late 1994. Where Pablo Honey failed, The Bends succeeded and Radiohead found the success in their home country that had escaped them with the first album. The album was not the commercial success that The Bends was outside of Britain however, despite incredible critical reviews.

The next album, OK Computer, was able to perform commercially around the world and receive critical praise. The album was a change from their almost grunge-like first album, with melodic songs and influences that could be called avant garde. The strongly electronic influences came through on hit singles like “Karma Police”, “Paranoid Android”, and “No Surprises”. The album won the Grammy Award for Best Alternative Music Album and earned a nomination for Album of the Year.

Burned out from touring again, Radiohead took 1998 largely off. The tensions from the pressure of success nearly broke the band and the Yorke struggled with writer’s block. The group eventually came together and agreed on a new musical direction that redefined the sound and the member’s instrumental roles. The next album took 18 months and now featured a minimalist response to OK Computer with more diverse instruments and less guitar riffs.

The sharp change in sound also gave them a great commercial success, as Kid A landed them number one on the British and American charts. The sales were less impressive though; reaching only platinum as opposed the British triple platinum and American double platinum of OK Computer.

Radiohead quickly followed up the album with Amnesiac, which was composed of additional tracks from the Kid A recordings. The record sales dropped significantly as the release only managed to be certified gold in the United States despite reaching number one and number three on the U.K and U.S. charts.

The group uncharacteristically found new material quickly for their next album, Hail to the Thief, completing the album in two weeks in Los Angeles. The album was critically acclaimed and was a comeback for them on the sales side, being certified platinum in the UK and Gold in the U.S.

The poor sales in the U.S. might be the result of a continued insistence by fans that the album was a response to the 2000 election despite Yorke’s repeated comment that it was not. The album featured a mix of Radiohead’s styles throughout the years. Part guitar-laden rock and part electronic-influenced melody, the album was the 2003 Grammy Award for Best Alternative Album.

Following the tour for the album, Radiohead took a break and allowed its members to pursue their own projects after years of pressure to produce as a group. In February 2005, the group began work on its seventh album, In Rainbows. The album was completed in June 2007 and released in October 2007. The release was revolutionary in that it allowed fans to download the songs digitally for as much as they wanted to pay. The album reached number one in the UK and the U.S.