Radiohead are

Radiohead released their first single, "Creep", in 1992. The song was initially unsuccessful, but it became a worldwide hit several months after the release of their debut album, Pablo Honey (1993). Radiohead's popularity rose in the United Kingdom with the release of their second album, The Bends (1995). The band's textured guitar parts and Yorke's falsetto singing were warmly received by critics and fans. In the two subsequent years, support tours with R.E.M. and Alanis Morissette also exposed the band to a wider audience in North America. Radiohead's third album, OK Computer (1997), propelled them to greater international fame. Featuring an expansive sound and themes of modern alienation, OK Computer has often been acclaimed as a landmark record of the 1990s.

Kid A (2000) and Amnesiac (2001) marked an evolution in Radiohead's musical style, as the group incorporated experimental electronic music, Krautrock, post-punk and jazz influences. Although critical opinion was divided, Radiohead remained popular. Hail to the Thief (2003), a mix of guitar-driven rock, electronics and lyrics inspired by headlines, was the band's final album for their major record label, EMI. Radiohead independently released their seventh album, In Rainbows (2007), originally as a digital download for which each customer could set their own price, later in stores, to critical and chart success.

Radiohead's work has appeared in a large number of listener polls and critics' lists. In 2005, Radiohead were ranked number 73 in Rolling Stone's list of "the greatest artists of all time". While the band's later albums brought them a wide audience, their earlier sound on The Bends and OK Computer remained influential on British rock music.

Formation and first years (1985–1991)

The musicians who form Radiohead met while attending Abingdon School, a boys-only public school in Abingdon, Oxfordshire.

Although Yorke, O'Brien, Selway, and Colin Greenwood had left Abingdon by 1987 to attend university, the band continued to rehearse often on weekends and holidays.

Nevertheless, as On a Friday's number of live performances increased, record labels and producers became interested. Chris Hufford, Slowdive's producer and the co-owner of Oxford's Courtyard Studios, attended an early On a Friday concert at the Jericho Tavern. Impressed by the band, he and his partner Bryce Edge produced a demo tape and became On a Friday's managers; they remain the band's managers to this day. Following a chance meeting between Colin Greenwood and EMI representative Keith Wozencroft at the record shop where Greenwood worked, the band signed a six-album recording contract with the label in late 1991. At the request of EMI, the band changed their name to Radiohead, inspired by the title of a song on Talking Heads' True Stories album.