First Radiohead World Service has Thom Yorke on Mike Mills and “Creep”

The first issue of Radiohead World Service, a new fanzine edited by Paul and Mike from Trimley St Mary near Ipswich, transcribes Thom Yorke and Jonny Greenwood's visit to Johnnie Walker's afternoon show on Radio 1. In it Yorke admits that one night, very drunk, he moaned about “Creep” to R.E.M.'s Mike Mills, who told him to shut up and go and write some more.

If you have one, two or three of those in your existence, then great. You know that's what all bands really aim for

Thom Yorke¹

The re-release of “Creep” was hardly thought about, Yorke says. A fax reached the band's American tour bus saying the music papers and Radio 1 wanted it, and they agreed. Jonny says there was no argument about whether it was cynical, and Yorke says it set them up as the band with that one song. Their agent rang in tears with news of the R.E.M. dates, the smaller shows such as Berlin, Sicily and Israel, with Radiohead the only support. They had barely met R.E.M., so Yorke took it to mean R.E.M. had heard the album.

The pair played “Black Star”, “Street Spirit (Fade Out)” and a song Yorke introduced as a new one the band only half knew. Jonny read out its chords, D minor, G sharp and D major, and gave its title, a play on Bob Dylan's “Subterranean Homesick Blues”.

it's called Subterranean Homesick Alien, in deference to Sir Bob - Saint Bob.

Jonny Greenwood¹

The session is from May, with Boston and Providence, Yorke says, the next stops, and the site's records have the same three songs, in the same order, at a Radio 1 session on 17 May.

Dates printed in issue 1