Song · On a Friday / pre-Pablo Honey (1986-92)
Phillipa Chicken
The head of EMI Records UK liked it best of all their songs, and was told the band had dropped it.
1991
the demo tape
It is only on Manic Hedgehog, the cassette the band sold themselves in Oxford record shops before anyone signed them, and no label ever put it out.
1991–92
the signing
The band, still called On a Friday, signed to Parlophone between December 1991 and March 1992 and became Radiohead. On the day they signed, Rupert Perry, the head of EMI Records UK, named this as his favourite of their songs, and was told they had dropped it. Chris Hufford, who went on to co-manage the band, remembers Perry putting his head round the door to tell Jonny Greenwood so. Colin Greenwood, telling NME that May, says he was the one who told Perry they had dropped it, and the room went quiet over the contract.
It was in the set at The Venue in Oxford on 1 March 1992 all the same, and it turned up again at the Duchess of York in Leeds on 27 October.
the video
A recording of a song they never released.· AllRadioheadwatch on youtube →
Live history
| Times played | 3 shows |
|---|---|
| Live debut | 1991 · Oxford |
| Last played | Tuesday 27 October 1992 · Leeds |
Nights played include broadcasts; opened and closed count gigs only. A cancelled night has no setlist. All setlist stats →
sources3
- The 2003 treefingers.com lyric page (
_legacy/lyrics/songs/phillipa_chicken.txt), for the Manic Hedgehog tape. - This site's news archive, “On a Friday sign to Parlophone and become Radiohead” (2 March 1992), for Hufford's account, and “EMI's managing director asked for ‘Philippa Chicken’, says Colin Greenwood” (30 May 1992), for Colin's, from Simon Williams in NME.
- Performance dates from this site's own setlist archive.