When was radioheads first album out

Even a band that comes to be renowned for detachment, it turns out, is subject to the same candor and haziness that tends to typify first albums. There are tendencies — abetted by the lack of irony — toward popular rock: a Billboard review at the time of release likened certain songs to U2. A BBC review in detected elements of prog rock. Time and again, the emphasis falls on the indefinite and uncertain: The point is that anyone can play guitar, not on who is actually playing or what the guitar actually sounds like.

Already a subscriber? A few days later came the release of Paranoid Android as the record's lead single — which achieved the band's highest chart position to date when it reached No3 — and then in August Karma Police , which as one of its B-sides contained Meeting In The Aisle , Radiohead's first-ever instrumental offering.

This was also the period during which Yorke's voice was beginning to be heard on other artists' material — firstly on a collaboration with Sparklehorse for EMI's Come Again compilation that celebrated the label's biggest releases. Yorke was in fact also approached to write the score for David Fincher's adaptation of the Chuck Palahniuk novel Fight Club , but declined to recover from promoting and touring OK Computer.

The madness and wonder of that period is well encapsulated in the documentary film Meeting People Is Easy — released on 30 November , losing out to Jimi Hendrix for the Best Music Film Grammy — a toll it would take more than a year to pay. The new millennium began with Radiohead having been dormant for more than a year, and when they did return it was with the resolve to do pretty much the opposite of what happened with OK Computer.

A potentially alienating array of experimentation and heavy use of electronics, with no promotional singles or music videos, it inevitably shot straight to No1 in both the UK and the States and scooped a second Best Alternative Album award at the Grammys. It wasn't that Radiohead tried to release this record under the radar, though; they were simply using means that at the time were extremely forward-thinking.

Namely, the internet. The album was available to stream online, along with some short animated films including the album's music and artwork, while bootlegs of early performances were up on file-sharing websites and the record was also leaked early. Eight months is all we had to wait for Radiohead's next record, Amnesiac.

Often regarded as a kind of sister album to Kid A , it continued challenging listeners with its experimental arrangements but without forgoing deep hooks and often hauntingly beautiful melodies. The only other official release from the album was Knives Out in August, but the band released their first live album — a collection of performances of songs from Kid A and Amnesiac — in November. Though there would be no further Radiohead releases for another two years, Ed O'Brien and Philip Selway featured in Neil Finn's 7 Worlds Collide project, a collective that released a self-titled live album in November — and who would enter the studio a few years later.

Those disappointed by Amnesiac , having hoped for a return to Radiohead's more guitar-led roots, are likely to have been delighted when There, There became the lead single from the band's sixth album, Hail To The Thief.

The single reached No4 in the UK — the last time to date Radiohead have broken the top ten — but was not wholly telling of the record that was to follow. Rather than a regression to a previous style, Hail To The Thief married live band recordings — as opposed to overdubs — with the synthesized sounds that had dictated their previous two albums. Brought out on DVD on 1 December , this collection of 24 short films directed by Chris Bran was designed initially for a four-episode run on regular TV.

Instead, Radiohead launched their own online TV channel on 26 May , with the episodes beginning on the hour — those who turned up late would be faced with a test card and s-style intermission music.

Charting at No3 in the UK and No2 in the US, its connection to Radiohead is strengthened by Nigel Godrich's production and artwork by Stanley Donwood, but there is an intimacy that distinguishes this electronics-led record from the band's catalogue. Yorke also featured on Modeselektor's Happy Birthday! Without a label, having left EMI-owned Parlophone Records, Radiohead were free to release In Rainbows whenever they wanted — 10 October , as it happens — and fans were free to pay whatever they wanted for it.

Initially self-released online on a pay-what-you-like basis, lore is that In Rainbows was actually more financially successful than major-released Hail To The Thief — even before it was afforded a physical form by XL Recordings the following year.

Despite no singles having been released at this point, the songs on In Rainbows were far from alien to fans, with Radiohead having performed most of them on a tour leading up to the album's release, and the record duly topped the charts on both sides of the Atlantic. It was largely a year of promotion in , with the band now backed by XL, with Jigsaw Falling Into Place and Nude put out as singles. For the latter, the band made stems available online so fans could remix the track at home — something they would do again later in the year for the release of Reckoner.

Also that month came the debut studio record from the 7 Worlds Collide collective. The torch passed once again to Yorke in September, who gave us the singles Feeling Pulled Apart By Horses — a track of which an early version became Reckoner — and Hearing Damage , written for the Twilight soundtrack. In May he teamed up for the first time with Flying Lotus, co-writing the track Having released probably their most mainstream-friendly album since 's OK Computer when they brought out In Rainbows , Radiohead again turned their back on the popular vote with probably their least accessible record to date.

Debuting on 18 February , The King Of Limbs is far from being bereft of melody or traditional structure, but its sprawling rhythms and off-kilter arrangements are not exceedingly radio friendly.

There were no singles as such, and it became the first Radiohead album since 's The Bends not to top the UK charts. It was also the first to do better in the USA than on home soil, ranking four places higher at No3 on the Billboard list. Radiohead secluded themselves with producer Nigel Godrich in studios in Paris, Copenhagen , and Gloucester , and in their newly completed studio in Oxford. Eventually, all the members agreed on a new musical direction, redefining their instrumental roles in the band.

After nearly 18 months, Radiohead's recording sessions were completed in April In October Radiohead released their fourth album, Kid A , the first of two albums from these recording sessions. Rather than being a stylistic sequel to OK Computer , Kid A featured a minimalist and textured style with more diverse instrumentation including the ondes Martenot , programmed electronic beats, strings , and jazz horns. It debuted at number one in many countries, including the US, where its debut atop the Billboard chart marked a first for the band, and the first US number one album by any UK musician since the Spice Girls in This success was attributed variously to marketing, to the album's leak on the file-sharing network Napster a few months before its release, and to advance anticipation based, in part, on the success of OK Computer.

Although Radiohead did not release any singles from Kid A , promos of " Optimistic " and " Idioteque " received radio play, and a series of " blips ", or short videos set to portions of tracks, were played on music channels and released freely on the Internet. The band had read Naomi Klein 's anti-globalisation book No Logo during the recording, and they decided to continue a summer tour of Europe later in the year in a custom-built tent free of advertising; they also promoted Kid A with three sold-out North American theatre concerts.

MENU The opening track from Radiohead's fourth album, this song emphasises the band's increasing use of electronic music and distortions of Thom Yorke's vocals. It won both praise and criticism in independent music circles for appropriating underground styles of music; some mainstream British critics saw Kid A as a "commercial suicide note", labelling it "intentionally difficult" and longing for a return to the band's earlier style.

Radiohead's fans were similarly divided; along with those who were appalled or mystified, there were many who saw the album as the band's best work. Yorke, however, denied that Radiohead had set out to eschew commercial expectations, saying, "I was really, really amazed at how badly [ Kid A ] was being viewed We're not trying to be difficult We're actually trying to communicate but somewhere along the line, we just seemed to piss off a lot of people What we're doing isn't that radical.

Amnesiac , released in June , comprised additional tracks from the Kid A recording sessions. Radiohead's musical style on these songs was similar to that of Kid A in their fusion of electronic music and jazz influences, though more reliant on the use of guitars. After Amnesiac' s release, the band embarked on a world tour, visiting North America, Europe and Japan.

Meanwhile, " Pyramid Song " and " Knives Out ", Radiohead's first issued singles since , were modestly successful, and " I Might Be Wrong ", initially planned as a third single, expanded into Radiohead's thus far only live record.

During July and August , Radiohead toured Portugal and Spain, playing a number of newly written songs. They then recorded the new material in two weeks in a Los Angeles studio with Nigel Godrich , adding several tracks later in Oxford, where the band continued their work into the next year. Radiohead members described the recording process as relaxed, in contrast to the tense sessions for Kid A and Amnesiac. The band's sixth album, Hail to the Thief , was released in June Mixing sounds from throughout their career, the album combined guitar-based rock with electronic influences and topical lyrics by Yorke.

Hail to the Thief enjoyed commercial success, debuting at number one in the UK and number three on the Billboard chart and eventually being certified platinum in the UK and gold in the US. Yorke denied that Hail to the Thief' s title was a comment on the controversial US presidential election , explaining that he first heard the words in a BBC Radio 4 discussion of 19th century American politics.

Yorke said his lyrics had been affected by news reports of war in to and "the feeling that we are entering an age of intolerance and fear where the power to express ourselves in a democracy and have our voices heard is being denied us" but said, "[Radiohead] didn't write a protest record, we didn't write a political record. The tour finished in May with a performance at the Coachella Festival.

Following their tour, the band began writing and rehearsing in their Oxford studio but soon went on hiatus. Free of their label contract, Radiohead spent the remainder of resting with their families and working on solo projects.

Radiohead began work on their seventh album in February The album was sold online, with "I Want None of This" being the most downloaded track, although it was not released as a single. Radiohead had already begun recording their next album on their own and then with producer Mark Stent.

However, in late , after touring Europe and North America and debuting 13 new songs there, the band resumed work with Nigel Godrich in London, Oxford and several rural locations in Somerset , England. Work was finished in June and the recordings were mastered the following month.

Radiohead's seventh album, In Rainbows , was released through the band's own website in October as a digital download for which customers could make whatever payment that they deemed appropriate pay what you want , including paying nothing at all; the site only advised, "it's up to you". Following the band's sudden announcement 10 days beforehand, Radiohead's unusual strategy received much notice within the music industry and beyond.

In a appearance on The Colbert Report , Ed O'Brien said of the self-release strategy: "We sell less records, but we make more money. A "discbox", including a second disc from the recording sessions, vinyl and CD editions of the album, and a hardcover book of artwork, was also sold and shipped in late The record's retail success in the US—after having been legally available for months as a free download—marked Radiohead's highest chart success in that country since Kid A , while it was their fifth UK number one album.

In Rainbows sold more than three million copies within one year of release. In Rainbows also received extremely positive reviews, among the best of Radiohead's career; critics praised the album for having a more accessible sound and personal style of lyrics than their past work.

Along with three other nominations for the band, Godrich's production work and the " House of Cards " music video also received nominations.

Radiohead released a number of singles from In Rainbows in support of the album; " Jigsaw Falling into Place ", the first, was released in the UK in January The second single, " Nude ", debuted at number 37 in the Billboard Hot , Radiohead's first song to make that chart since 's "High and Dry" and their first top 40 hit in the US since "Creep".

Radiohead continued to put out tracks from In Rainbows as singles and videos; in July a digitally shot video for "House of Cards" was made available. In September the band announced a fourth single, " Reckoner ", and a remix competition similar to one organised for "Nude". The compilation was made without the input of the band and also did not contain any songs from In Rainbows , as the band had already left their label.

Yorke expressed his disapproval on behalf of Radiohead: "We haven't really had any hits so what exactly is the purpose? It's a wasted opportunity in that if we'd been behind it, and we wanted to do it, then it might have been good. The band headlined the Reading and Leeds Festivals in August In May , the band began new recording sessions with producer Nigel Godrich.

Yorke had suggested Radiohead might move away from the traditional album format, instead releasing singles or EPs, but as work continued into ,an eighth long-play record became the focus.