Song · The Bends era (1994–96)
How Can You Be Sure?
The song is older than the name Radiohead, and it very nearly made The Bends.
1990
the shindig tape
It is on the four-track tape the band made in the summer of 1990, when they had put the On a Friday name aside and were calling themselves Shindig. That tape went round online in January 2006, and an earlier leak of On a Friday recordings, in August 2002, had the song on it too.
1995
dianne swann
The recording that came out is from the first demo sessions for The Bends, and W.A.S.T.E., the band's mail-order and fan club, wrote in its newsletter that it had very nearly made the album; fan accounts have Colin Greenwood arguing for it and losing. It went instead on the first CD of the “Fake Plastic Trees” single on 15 May 1995, beside “India Rubber”.
It leans towards country, and the New Zealand singer Dianne Swann sings the harmony in the second verse.
Radiohead have played it live once, at Zanaedu in Sapporo on 27 June 1995, second to last in the set before “Stop Whispering”. At the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium in San Francisco on 2 April 1998 they teased it before “Let Down”.
1993
a title meant to change
When it was first heard on the radio, in 1993, Thom Yorke said the title was only provisional and that he hoped to change it. He never did, though the first Japanese pressing of The Bends, with two bonus tracks, calls it “When I'm Like This”.
on stage
Live, Acoustic Version.· Richard Robersonwatch on youtube →
on stage(3)
Live history
| Times played | 1 show |
|---|---|
| Live debut | Tuesday 27 June 1995 · Sapporo |
Nights played include broadcasts; opened and closed count gigs only. A cancelled night has no setlist. All setlist stats →
Tabs (1)
sources6
- The site's own catalogue note, based on Rate Your Music and AudioCulture.
- The 2003 site's lyric page for the song, for the provisional title and the Japanese pressing.
- Treefingers news desk, 1995 (W.A.S.T.E. 9) and June 1995 (the single), for the album that nearly was, the demo sessions and the release.
- Treefingers news desk, 20 August 2002 and 3 January 2006 (from NME and Spin), for the leaked tapes.
- Treefingers news desk, 3 April 1998 (from Rolling Stone), for the San Francisco tease.
- The site's live archive for the Sapporo setlist.