The five Radiohead members initially made their acquaintance at the all-boys public school in Abingdon, a small picturesque town on the outskirts of Oxford. Thom Yorke (born on 7 October, 1968, in Wellingborough, UK; vocals, guitar) received his first musical instrument, a Spanish guitar, from his mother at the age of eight. Two years later he founded his group, and then joined a school punk band, TNT. When he first started singing, he realized that he has to be more demanding towards other members of the band. That’s why Thom invited to the band his school friends, Ed O’Brien (born on 15 April 1968 in Oxford, UK; guitar) and Colin Greenwood (born on 26 June 1969 in Oxford, UK; bass) who shared his interest in the music of Joy Division and Smiths. The drummer Phil Selway (born on 23 May 1967 in Huntingdon, UK) was the last addition to the group which was named On A Friday. Some time later, Jonny Greenwood (born on 5 November 1971 in Oxford, UK; guitar, keyboards) joined the band, who has been hammering away on his elder brother and his friends with his requests to be admitted to the group.
In the summer of 1991 the musicians got together again, this time without the brass section. They recorded a couple of demos and landed a contract with EMI Records. The restored band was named Radiohead (after one of the songs of Talking Heads). The first recognition came to the band when their composition Prove Yourself from Drill EP was named the “best track of the week” by BBC radio. Their song Creep made in an “alternative” style also had some success. Public interest in Radiohead started growing, and they left on a tour together with Kingmaker and James. Their single Creep was reissued and made to the British Top Ten, and well as to the Top 40 in the US. After that their debut album followed named Pablo Honey. The disc immediately made it to the UK Top 30. Unlike other popular British indie projects, such as Suede, Radiohead hit the taste of audiences in many countries as far away as US and Egypt.
Two years later, OK Computer album was released, which gathered many press reviews, and in 1998 the band won a Grammy award in Best Alternative Rock Performance nomination. Various polls indicated that Radiohead’s popularity was approaching that of the Beatles. However, Kid A album that appeared after a long break, shocked the audience. Practically nothing was left of the style of the previous two albums. Instead, Radiohead offered to its audiences electronic music, almost guitar-free, close to the “space era” of progressive rock performed by the likes of Pink Floyd, Kraftwerk and Tangerine Dream. The reviews at first were mixed, but it’s impossible to ignore the fact that the album took the first place both in UK and in Billboard charts.
Eight months later, Amnesiac album was released, recorded in the style of its predecessor.
