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Radiohead's first fan-club booklet takes The Bends track by track
“My Iron Lung” on The Bends is the band playing live at the London Astoria in May 1994, with only the vocals redone afterwards. Ed O'Brien and Jonny Greenwood say so in Answerphone 01, the official fan-club booklet issued through W.A.S.T.E., the band's mail-order and fan club. All five members comment on every track of the new album.
A lot of it came quickly. “Black Star” was cut in an afternoon, after about an hour's rehearsal, while the producer John Leckie was away at a wedding. Phil Selway rushed the title track so he could go and look at a house to rent, and the first take stands. “Planet Telex” came out of a drunken evening, with Thom Yorke singing it in one take crouched in a corner. Its drum loop is cut up from an early version of “Killer Cars”.
The history goes back to Abingdon School, where the five met in their early teens and spent hours in the music school playing New Order and Joy Division covers. Their first name was On a Friday, after their rehearsal day. Phil's first greeting from the others, at his first rehearsal, was a demand to play faster. Eight years on, he says, little has changed.
We still argue about tempo and, finally, are in a gang of our own - thankfully without any bizarre initiation rites.
Phil Selway1
The Bends, as the booklet tells it
| # | Track | Notes from the booklet |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Planet Telex | Drum loop from a cut-up early “Killer Cars” (Phil); one-take vocal (Ed) |
| 2 | The Bends | First take (Phil); long played live before recording (Ed) |
| 3 | High And Dry | Unarranged before the session (Ed); an old song, proof demos are often the best versions (Phil) |
| 4 | Fake Plastic Trees | Hard to beat Thom alone with an acoustic guitar (Ed) |
| 5 | Bones | First or second take, the same day as “The Bends” (Ed) |
| 6 | (Nice Dream) | Ed first heard it on a tape in his car at the end of 1992; the whale-like sounds at the end are Leckie's (Colin) |
| 7 | Just | – |
| 8 | My Iron Lung | Live at the Astoria, May 1994; only the vocals replaced (Ed, Jonny) |
| 9 | Bullet Proof..I Wish I Was | – |
| 10 | Black Star | An afternoon, after an hour's rehearsal, Leckie at a wedding |
| 11 | Sulk | The last song recorded, at Abbey Road |
| 12 | Street Spirit (Fade Out) | Ed thinks it Jonny's favourite and the only possible closer |
Released 13 March 1995. Recorded at RAK, Abbey Road and The Manor; produced by John Leckie, mixed by Paul Q. Kolderie and Sean Slade.
UK chart peaks, as the booklet prints them
| Release | Date | Peak |
|---|---|---|
| Drill EP | May 1992 | 101 |
| “Creep” | September 1992 | 78 |
| Pablo Honey | February 1993 | 25 |
| “Anyone Can Play Guitar” | March 1993 | 32 |
| “Pop Is Dead” | May 1993 | 42 |
| “Creep” (reissue) | September 1993 | 7 |
| My Iron Lung | 1994 | 24 |
| “High And Dry” / “Planet Telex” | February 1995 | 17 |
from the record
High and Dry · The promo, directed by David Mould.· Radioheadwatch on youtube →