Radiohead formed in Abingdon, Oxfordshire in 1985 — Thom Yorke, Jonny Greenwood, Colin Greenwood, Ed O'Brien, Philip Selway — and rewired rock more than once. OK Computer (1997) is the '90s landmark, Kid A (2000) the electronic pivot, and In Rainbows (2007) changed how records get released. Dig into Radiohead vinyl, CDs, and reissues at Wax Trax Records.
Radiohead formed in Abingdon, Oxfordshire, England in 1985 as On a Friday at Abingdon School, with the stable lineup of Thom Yorke (born October 7, 1968, Wellingborough, Northamptonshire), Jonny Greenwood (born November 5, 1971, Oxford), Colin Greenwood (born June 26, 1969, Oxford), Ed O'Brien (born April 15, 1968, Oxford), and Philip Selway (born May 23, 1967, Hemingford Grey, Cambridgeshire). They renamed to Radiohead in 1991, taking the name from a Talking Heads song. They signed with Parlophone Records and released their debut Pablo Honey (1993), which featured the international viral hit Creep. Their subsequent catalog established them as one of the most important rock bands in popular music history - particularly through The Bends (1995), OK Computer (1997, widely cited as one of the most important rock albums of the 1990s), Kid A (2000, creative pivot toward electronic and experimental music), and In Rainbows (2007, 'pay what you want' digital release model that reshaped popular music distribution). Their members have parallel work - Thom Yorke's solo work (The Eraser 2006, Tomorrow's Modern Boxes 2014, ANIMA 2019) and his band the Smile (with Jonny Greenwood and Tom Skinner, since 2022); Jonny Greenwood's film score work for Paul Thomas Anderson (There Will Be Blood 2007, The Master 2012, Phantom Thread 2017, Licorice Pizza 2021) and Jonathan Glazer (Under the Skin 2013, The Zone of Interest 2023). They have been inactive since 2016 with members pursuing solo and parallel work. Their foundational influence on alternative rock, electronic rock, and broader contemporary rock is widely cited as one of the most important contributions to the form.
Radiohead's sound combines alternative rock, experimental rock, art rock, electronic rock, IDM influences, post-rock, krautrock, and chamber pop with Thom Yorke's distinctive vocal delivery (use of falsetto and intimate phrasing), Jonny Greenwood's virtuosic multi-instrumental work (use of innovative production technologies), varied compositional approaches across their multi-decade career, and lyrical content addressing alienation, technology, capitalism, mortality, and broader existential themes drawing on literary and political reference points.
Original Parlophone Records and XL Recordings pressings of the Radiohead catalog are foundational items in rock collecting.
Listeners new to Radiohead typically start with OK Computer (1997) or In Rainbows (2007).
