Claim: OK Computer was released by EMI's subsidiaries.

OK Computer is the third studio album by English alternative rock band Radiohead , released in 1997 on EMI subsidiaries Parlophone and Capitol Records . The members of Radiohead self-produced the album with Nigel Godrich , an arrangement that the band has used on all of their subsequent albums to date . Other than `` Lucky '' , which was recorded in 1995 , Radiohead recorded the album in Oxfordshire and Bath between 1996 and early 1997 , mostly in the historic mansion St. Catherine 's Court . The band made a deliberate attempt to distance themselves from the guitar-oriented , lyrically introspective style of their previous album , The Bends . OK Computers abstract lyrics , densely layered sound and eclectic range of influences laid the groundwork for Radiohead 's later , more experimental work .   Upon the album 's delivery to EMI and its global subsidiary distributors , label representatives generally lowered their sales estimates , deeming the record 's sound uncommercial and difficult to market . Nevertheless , OK Computer reached number one on the UK Albums Chart and became the band 's highest album entry on the American charts at the time , debuting at number 21 on the Billboard 200 . Four songs from the album -- `` Paranoid Android '' , `` Karma Police '' , `` Lucky '' , and `` No Surprises '' -- were released as promotional singles . The album expanded Radiohead 's international popularity and has sold more than 4.5 million copies worldwide . A remastered reissue with additional tracks , OKNOTOK , is scheduled for release in June 2017 , commemorating the album 's twentieth anniversary .   OK Computer received widespread critical acclaim and in subsequent years has been cited by listeners , critics and musicians as one of the greatest albums of all time . The album initiated a stylistic shift in British rock away from the then-ubiquitous genre of Britpop toward melancholic , atmospheric styles of alternative and indie rock that became more prevalent in the next decade . Critics and fans have noted that the album 's lyrics and music depict a world fraught with rampant consumerism , social alienation , emotional isolation and political malaise ; in this capacity , OK Computer is often interpreted as having prescient insight into the mood of 21st-century life .