The English rock band Radiohead have performed in Europe, North America, Australia, Asia and South America. The band's line-up has been constant since its founding, consisting of Thom Yorke (vocals and guitar), Jonny Greenwood (guitar), Ed O'Brien (guitar), Colin Greenwood (bass guitar), and Phil Selway (drums). The role that each band member plays during performances has changed dramatically throughout the band's history. Drummer and percussionist Clive Deamer has joined Radiohead for performances since the release of their 2011 album The King of Limbs.
Radiohead formed under the name On a Friday in 1986 and performed shows in the Oxford area under this name until 1991. They toured extensively across the United States and Europe in support of their debut album, Pablo Honey and their performances were credited for the success of Pablo Honey and their debut single "Creep". Radiohead toured widely in support of The Bends and its singles.
History
On a Friday (1985–1991) Radiohead's first incarnation was called On a Friday, founded in 1985 while the members were all attending the public boys-only Abingdon School in Abingdon, Oxfordshire. Thom Yorke was on vocals and guitar, Colin Greenwood played bass guitar, Ed O'Brien played rhythm guitar, and Phil Selway played drums. Future guitarist Jonny Greenwood played harmonica as a guest member at these shows,Randall, p. 34 and later keyboards as a permanent member.Randall, p. 43 The band would also feature three saxophone players in their live show until the late 1980s.Randall, p. 30 Colin Greenwood later said that, during the band's earliest live performances, "We wore all black and played very loud, because we thought that's what you had to do."(1998) Interview Picture Disc. Baktabak (4115). The band's early gigs took place at various parties around town, rather than concerts. The band members split up to attend university but reunited during breaks for rehearsals and occasional performances.Randall, p. 37 On a Friday's first concert in a conventional venue was at the Jericho Tavern in Jericho, Oxford, in 1987; the performance had few attendants and was negatively received by participants in the local music scene.Randall, p. 41
On a Friday fully resumed in 1991, and Jonny Greenwood's role in the group changed to third guitarist.Randall, p. 54 Shoegazing bands such as Ride and Swervedriver were a prominent local trend, one which On a Friday did not fit into. The band's first reunited show was at the Hollybush in Osney on 22 July 1991. Although the band played to an audience of only six people, they were well received. According to Radiohead biographer Mac Randall, "Yorke's dramatic singing style and frighteningly intense onstage demeanor—one moment tightly focused, the next seemingly ready to burst open—was already coming to the fore", and the band played in a garage rock style. O'Brien spread the band's three-song demo Dungeon Demo around the community, which earned the band a number of gigs, mostly at the Jericho Tavern. Members of the band would also occasionally busk.Randall, pp. 57–59 Producer Chris Hufford attended an On a Friday show at the Jericho Tavern on 8 August 1991, and later described the band as "a lot rougher, a lot punkier, quite frenetic and [playing at] a faster tempo [than they would play at later]".St. Michael, p. 9 Hufford was so impressed that he had the band record a new demo, Manic Hedgehog, at his Courtyard Studios. Shortly afterward, the band signed to EMI and changed their name to Radiohead, the change being inspired by a Talking Heads song of the same name (see Radiohead). By the time of the signing, the band had dropped some of their older songs off of concert set lists.St. Michael, p. 24 Radiohead played fewer than ten shows in 1991.
Pablo Honey (1992–1993) The band's first tour began in April 1992, supporting Catherine Wheel. Because of a two-week delay of their debut extended play, Drill, Radiohead had no music on sale to promote. Despite challenges the band faced adapting to regular touring, their performances were generally well received by audiences.Randall, pp. 79–80 After the recording sessions for Radiohead's debut studio album Pablo Honey, the band toured in support of The Frank and Walters until mid-October 1992. The band then toured with Kingmaker, opening for a juggler before the main band came on. During this tour, Yorke would randomly cut off clumps of his hair, and frequently became heavily intoxicated on alcohol, often to the point where the band would have to cancel shows. Yorke would later attribute this behavior his frustrations with the band's perceived directionless in defining themselves.St. Michael, p. 25 In 1992, the band played over 100 shows across most of the United Kingdom. The year ended with a highly negative review of Radiohead's live show in the NME, in which writer Keith Cameron wrote "Radiohead are a pitiful, lily-livered excuse for a rock 'n' roll group."Hale, p. 50
Radiohead played a few dates in the UK in January 1993.Randall, p. 92 On the strength of the band's new single "Creep" in Israel, the band played three shows in Tel Aviv in March 1993, where they found wide recognition for the first time.Randall, p. 108–109 After returning from Tel Aviv they played a number of dates in the UK, and also played at the Bevrijdingspop Festival in Haarlem, the band's first concert in the Netherlands.Randall, p. 111 Around this time, Radiohead became known for their violent performances; the guitarists regularly cut open their fingers with the instruments, and Yorke once gashed his head on his guitar. Yorke said "there's always loads of blood on the guitars at the end of the night. 'Performance' for us means we don't know what we're going to do."(1998) Radiohead: The Interview. Talking Music (SPEEK004). Radiohead's first tour in the United States and Canada, starting on 11 July 1993 at Slim's in San Francisco, took place over the course of a month in clubs in Boston, New York City, Chicago, Detroit, Toronto, Seattle, Los Angeles, and Dallas. This tour was, like the tour in Israel, made possible due to the growing popularity of "Creep". Radiohead performed live on television for the first time, on The Arsenio Hall Show followed by an appearance on the MTV show Beach Party. The band also played at the Whisky a Go Go in West Hollywood, California, and although the show sold out in 20 minutes the band considered the performance to be a failure.Randall, pp. 113–114 The US tour was considered a success, credited for placing "Creep" at its peak of number 34 on the Billboard Hot 100, placing Pablo Honey at number 32 on the Billboard 200, and for pushing Pablo Honey to a Gold RIAA certification for shipping 500,000 units.Randall, p. 115 Yorke, however, had mixed feelings about the tour, and later said "Our so-called success in America... allowed us to do a lot of things, but it also meant that somehow we owed somebody something."Doyle, Tom. "Party On!". Q. June 1997.
In August, the band played at a festival in Belgium and two in the Netherlands. The band canceled an appearance at the Reading Festival because of Yorke's stress-induced laryngitis.Randall, p. 116 EMI reissued "Creep" in the UK, and it charted at number seven, prompting an appearance by the band on Top of the Pops. Although Capitol Records had wanted Radiohead to tour again in the US with labelmates Duran Duran, Hufford convinced the label otherwise, and Radiohead returned to the US for a month-long tour supporting Belly. On this tour, Radiohead played at the 40 Watt Club in Athens, Georgia.Randall, p. 118 A performance on this tour received a mixed response from Chicago Sun-Times writer Jae-Ha Kim, who criticized Yorke's singing voice but wrote that "Jonny Greenwood's fuzzy guitar playing was authoritative, dictating the mopey melodies and complementing Ed O'Brien's rhythm guitars."Kim, Jae-Ha. "Belly Rocks; Radiohead Rolls Over". Chicago Sun-Times. 18 October 1993. After the Belly tour ended, Radiohead played a frustrating show at the Aladdin Theatre in Las Vegas, Nevada, opening for Tears for Fears. Radiohead finished in the US and toured in Canada, playing in Vancouver, Calgary, Montreal, and Toronto. Yorke told a newspaper reporter while in Canada that "I think so far we've played 350 dates in support of this album in Europe and North America. That's a hell of a lot of miles.""Radiohead is Touring Till it Drops". Toronto Star. 30 October 1993. The band then played a tour backing James, taking place across Germany, France, Switzerland, Spain, Portugal, and the UK. During this final tour, conflict among the band increased. Exhaustion from touring, Yorke's egotism, and frustration from repeatedly playing "Creep" all contributed to the band's in-fighting. The tour was nearly canceled, but during a meeting, the band members decided against it. According to band agent Charlie Myatt, the band "played like demons" during the final segment of the James tour.Irvin, Jim; Hoskyns, Barney. "We Have Lift-Off". Mojo. September 1997. Touring ended on 13 December 1993, and the band members took a break.Randall, p. 119–121 Jonny Greenwood summarized the previous year of touring by saying "We joined this band to write songs and be musicians, but we spend a year being jukeboxes instead."
My Iron Lung (1994) Radiohead returned to touring in May 1994. The touring schedule had dates in Spain, Italy, Switzerland, Germany, the UK, Japan, Hong Kong, Australia, and New Zealand. The tour found the band in the middle of fruitless sessions for their upcoming album, The Bends, so performing live was considered a welcome change. The band introduced many of the new songs from The Bends for the first time, though "Creep" was still a crowd favorite.Randall pp. 130–131 Radiohead performed at Manchester University, and Yorke expressed anxiety about possible negative reception due to the band's cancellation of their appearance at Reading Festival the year prior, saying to the audience "I was scared shitless about tonight."St. Michael, p. 59 During the concert, Yorke damaged his left ankle and suffered a stress fracture, an injury which required a brace but did not delay the tour. A performance by the band at the London Astoria was recorded and frequently broadcast by MTV Europe. The audio from the same show from the song "My Iron Lung" would be used as the recording for The Bends, albeit with a re-recorded vocal.Randall, p. 132 While in the UK, Jonny Greenwood was diagnosed with repetitive strain injury in his right arm from his rapid guitar playing, and was required to wear a brace. Greenwood continued to wear the brace well past the point where it was necessary as a sort of trademark, saying "It's like taping up your fingers before a boxing match. It's a ritual." By the time the band had returned from the tour, they found recording easier, leading producer John Leckie to comment, "I think it helped that they'd been on tour because they had confidence in a lot of the songs again, which I think they'd maybe lost during that lengthy recording period."Doyle, Tom. "Diary of an LP". Melody Maker. 22 April 1995. The band played at some summer festivals, including appearances at Glastonbury Festival, Roskilde in Denmark and the Sopot Marlboro Rock Festival in Poland. The band agreed that their most important performance that summer, and the one they were most nervous about, was Reading Festival. However, reception at the festival was positive, though Hufford felt the band put too much unfamiliar material in their set.Randall, pp. 134–135