The credible alternative!
English alternative rockers Radiohead formed in 1985 in Oxfordshire as the boys attended the same private boarding school, Abingdon.
Initially, they took the name On A Friday, after the day they would rehearse using the school’s facilities. After honing their craft for 6 years, they signed with EMI in 1991.
The debut, Pablo Honey arrived in 1993 and with it, one of the band’s biggest hits, Creep, launched the band to the world by becoming popular first in Israel, then on American college radio alongside artists/bands such as R.E.M, Nirvana, and Beck.
After this international approval, Radiohead became the cool band to like in the U.K., ahead of Oasis and Blur which were (much) more mainstream.
The follow-up album The Bends (1995) proved that Creep was no fluke as they now gave us classics High and Dry, as well as Fake Plastic Trees.
The third album, which by many is considered their best, and some even the best of the 90s by any band, OK Computer dropped in 1997. Here we find Paranoid Android, Karma Police, and No Surprises.
OK Computer was an international success and made Radiohead if not the biggest, at least one of the most credible bands in the world.
To follow up on the enormous success, they deviated from the format and released Kid A in 2000. This album was more experimental and lacked the super hits we’d gotten used to.
Being much more experimental, tunes such as Everything In Its Right Place, The National Anthem, and How To Disappear Completely, we’re not as radio-friendly.
Subsequent albums arrived in 01, 03, 07, 11, and 2016. None of them had the tunes from their peak years.
They have however maintained their credibility, largely through doing gigs in massive venues, not caring about being a band that plays their hits. In fact, a lot of what they do live is improvised, shoegaze stuff.
For example, they didn’t play Creep for years even though it has remained their biggest tune to date.
Radiohead Tunes | Related Pages
Creep
You can learn how to play Creep by Radiohead using chords, lyrics, chord analysis, TAB, and the original recording.
| G5 | G | B5 | B |
When you were here before, couldn’t look you in the eye…
High and Dry
You can learn how to play High and Dry by Radiohead using chords, lyrics, chord analysis, TAB, and the original recording.
| F#m11 | Asus2 | E | E |
Two jumps in a week, I bet you think that’s pretty clever, don’t you, boy…
Radiohead on the web
Artists & Bands
Behind every single tune you learn, there’s an artist or band with an entire catalogue of music, waiting to be discovered.
Find out more about these great Artists & Bands, and let their tunes guide you to success.
About me | Dan Lundholm
This was an article about Radiohead tunes, by Dan Lundholm. Discover more about him and learn guitar with Spytunes.
Most importantly, find out why you should learn guitar through playing tunes, not practising scales, and studying theory in isolation.
