recursal/Fanatic-Fandom huggingface dataset:
1996-07-28, The Big Day Out, Galway, Ireland

## Tracklist

1. My Iron Lung
2. Bones
3. Bullet Proof..(I Wish I Was)
4. Planet Telex
5. Black Star
6. High and Dry
7. Lucky
8. (Nice Dream)
9. Creep
10. Anyone Can Play Guitar
11. Street Spirit (Fade Out)
12. Just
13. Let Down
14. The Bends
15. Fake Plastic Trees
16. Thinking About You
17. You
18. Stop Whispering

## Comments

* There are a variety of sources from this show, all coming from the same root soundboard, but they're a total mess, with each set missing a few tracks. 'Electioneering', 'No Surprises', and 'Lift' were all played, but not broadcast on the original FM - which rearranged the order, placing 'The Bends' and 'Fake Plastic Trees' *before* 'Anyone Can Play Guitar'!
* The first source to come out was the CD bootleg *Big Day Out in Galway '96*, which has higher audio quality but omits the encore of *Pablo Honey* songs and has the songs in broadcast order.
* In 2007, another source emerged onto the Radiohub - the audio quality is slightly lower, but the songs are in the real order and it includes the last three.
* In 2019, a soundboard recording of 'Let Down' was leaked as part of the dump that became MiniDiscs (Hacked), suggesting that the full show exists in the archives somewhere.
* 'Stop Whispering' was performed for the last time to date.
1993-06-08, Doornroosje, Nijmegen, Netherlands

## Tracklist

1. You
2. Vegetable
3. The Bends

## Comments

* This is a taping of three songs from the 1993-06-08 Nijmegen performance. The video quality is steady and is mostly quite good, save for some of the venue lights occasionally overpowering our view of the band. There is nothing particularly special about the performances to note.
* I'm sure there are a few people out there that will take particular interest in Ed performing with his shirt unbuttoned.
* "I'm extremely cool."
White Cassette

The **White Cassette** is a cassette tape of bonus content released with the special edition of OKNOTOK 1997 2017, the 2017 OK Computer reissue. It contains audio experiments, session recordings, demos (including demos for previously unheard songs), and early versions of three songs released on later albums: The National Anthem, Motion Picture Soundtrack and Nude.

The White Cassette marked the first time Radiohead ever released a large amount of behind-the-scenes content, and made a lot of nerds very happy. It was nothing, though, compared to the 18 hours of OK Computer material leaked two years later.

In 2020, Radiohead added the White Cassette for streaming on the Radiohead Public Library.
1993-10-15, Riviera Theatre, Chicago, IL, USA

## Tracklist

1. You
2. Prove Yourself
3. The Bends
4. Vegetable
5. Creep
6. Yes I Am
7. Stop Whispering
8. Banana Co.
9. Ripcord
10. Anyone Can Play Guitar
11. Pop Is Dead
12. Thinking About You
13. Blow Out
14. Untogether (Belly cover) (with Tanya Donnelly)

## Comments

* This tape is very hyped in the Radiohead live community, and you won't find much dissent here. It's pretty much a renaissance show: great AUD recording, unique setlist, pretty strong performances. While not the strongest in any of those individual areas per se, if you can only get a handful of '93 shows, you'd do well to make this one of them.
* The end of Creep here is a particular point of interest, and a real eye-opening moment: whether it's put on or not, Thom sounds like he's on the verge of tears during the outro section. It's a really unique touch.
* Yes I Am is given a particularly vicious showing here - a real dominant performance, and there aren't many of them.
* Of course, the main reason why many people are here is the performance of Belly's Untogether with Tanya Donnelly herself at the end of their set, a one-off rendition that is actually really pretty. Thom and Tanya's vocal harmonies are absolutely gorgeous, and the stripped down arrangement works perfectly. This is such a brilliant rarity in the Radiohead canon and I can't say enough good things about it. You need this if you don't have it. DOWNLOAD IT.

## Audio sources

CD > WAV > SHN: Toshiba SD-M1502 > EAC v09 > MKW
1993-08-15, Markt Rock Festival, Leuven, Belgium

## Tracklist

1. The Bends
2. Prove Yourself
3. You
4. Ripcord
5. Vegetable
6. Creep
7. Lurgee
8. Stop Whispering
9. Banana Co.
10. Faithless the Wonder Boy
11. Pop is Dead
12. Inside My Head
13. Anyone Can Play Guitar
14. Blow Out

## Comments

* US tour over, the band travelled to northern Europe for a trio of festival performances. Sound quality is fine but is still rather muddy and unclear.
* You can clearly hear in this recording that the band's audiences are getting bigger and bigger. More obscure songs such as You are starting to get signs of recognition from the crowd, to say nothing of songs like Creep.
* Speaking of which, said song gets quite a nice playing here with some powerful guitar stabs.
* The audience claps along during Stop Whispering. Awwww!
* Thom dedicates Faithless the Wonder Boy to a man wearing a Radiohead t-shirt, to which that man (presumably) responds with a gleeful shout. Classic.
* One notable thing about this gig is that The Bends has been moved to set opener - a strange position, especially as it's still unreleased.
* An interesting Pop is Dead can be found here, with Thom changing some of the lyrics in the first verse and a very loud guitar part from Ed.
1993-09-XX Top of the Pops broadcast

## Comments

* Radiohead's inaugural TOTP performance of which the filming date is unknown. All circulating clips of this are available on YouTube - unfortunately, about 15 seconds from the beginning and end of the song are cut.
* Hard to tell what's playback here and what's not. Jonny's guitar is evidently live, as is Thom's vocals. I'm inclined to say the drums are live as well, but the bass and Ed's guitar may not be.
* This whole thing drips of 90s aesthetics, particularly the sea of dry ice.
* Literally the only thing of any note about this performance is Jonny missing a stab on the second verse, which leads to an uncanny uncomfortable feeling.
Sing a Song for You (Tim Buckley cover)

## Description

Sing a Song for You is a Tim Buckley classic. Featuring his distinctive voice and guitar playing, this has rightfully become one of his most famous songs - and a strong favourite of Thom's.

## Live history

Sing a Song for You has been covered four times by Radiohead - or, more specifically, by Thom, who generally did this song solo. It popped up once each in 1993, 1994, 1995 and 1997.

### 1993

The first time this song was performed by Thom was in 1993-07-11, Justin Herman Plaza, San Francisco, CA, USA. It's a very nice take that features some admirable changes in style by Thom in order to fit Buckley's inflections. A good one to get if you only want one performance.

### 1994

A performance of Sing a Song for You actually serves as one of the best moments of 1994 for the band. Thom did an a capella version of the song at the very beginning of 1994-08-27, Reading Festival, Reading, UK, and it's absolutely gorgeous - his vocal chops are really on display here. What's even better is how it smoothly transitions into Bones as the set proper begins. An absolutely show-stopping moment.

## List of recordings

See Sing a Song for You (Tim Buckley cover)/Recordings for full list.
Prove Yourself

## Description

Prove Yourself is one of the trademark Pablo Honey-era Radiohead songs. A song that makes heavy use of the loud-quiet dynamic that dominated many songs around this time, Prove Yourself starts off mournful and then explodes into louder sections, with self-pitying lyrics typical of the time.

## Live history

Prove Yourself was played between 1992-1995. It was a live staple during this time, making an appearance at just about every 92-93 show and thereafter appearing in most sets played by the band, up until it was inextricably dropped following The Bends tour. Performances tended to adhere very closely to the studio arrangements, and as such it can be hard to find a single dominant rendition.

### 1992

On Radiohead's first major tour, Prove Yourself was played at every recorded show. It was always played early in the set, typically as the second or third song. Thanks to the several soundboard recordings from this year, fans are spoiled for choice in terms of good-quality recordings. Notable and/or recommended performances include:

* 1992-06-13 BBC Radio 1 'Evening Session' - perfect sound quality and a technically perfect performance.
* 1992-11-11, Huddersfield University, Huddersfield, England - another excellent SBD recording, but this time in front of an audience. Loud and thrashy.

### 1993

1993 brought with it a huge selection of Prove Yourself performances. It always appeared as the second song in the set at just about every show. Regardless, it never really emerged as a live favourite during this time. Notable and/or recommended performances include:

* 1993-05-05, Bevrijdingspop Festival, Haarlem, Netherlands - one of the best takes of this out there, another thrashed-up version with brilliant Thom vocals and awesome sound quality.
* 1993-06-30, The Metro, Chicago, IL, USA - want a video of the band playing this song in 1993? Look no further.
* 1993-11-12, Live Music Hall, Cologne, Germany - GORGEOUS vocals on this one. Can't say enough nice things about this performance; it's very dominant.

### 1994

Another year of 90s Radiohead, another set of Prove Yourself performances, and like 1993, most are decent enough, but rarely a highlight of any given show. The song still remained one of the Pablo Honey staples from the album, and once again was featured early in the set in almost every performance. Notable and/or recommended performances include:

* 1994-02-21, Royal Berks Social Club, Reading, UK - worth putting here because the show itself is great, and the guitar solo here is very unique.
* 1994-05-20, Festival Balélec, Lausanne, Switzerland - an excellent, energetic, guitar-heavy take in brilliant sound quality.
* 1994-08-27, Reading Festival, Reading, UK - a very similar story to 1994-05-20, except this time with great video to back it up!

## List of recordings

See Prove Yourself/Recordings for full list.
1993-09-01, The Garage, London, England

## Tracklist

1. The Bends
2. Prove Yourself
3. You
4. Vegetable
5. Creep
6. Lurgee
7. Yes I Am
8. Banana Co.
9. Faithless the Wonder Boy
10. Ripcord
11. Anyone Can Play Guitar
12. Pop Is Dead
13. Stop Whispering
14. Blow Out

## Comments

* Unless it turns out that at this intimate London show they decided to play all their songs extra fast for some reason, it's clear that the currently circulating tape runs distractingly fast, to the point where Thom sounds like an elf during between-song banter. It's annoying and greatly hinders the sound, which already suffers from typical AUD niggles.
* 'What happened at Reading was, I woke up on Saturday morning and I couldn't speak... I'm really sorry about that.' Thom is of course referring to the band's canceled Reading Festival appearance, which would have been their first English festival date.
* Thom's voice is clearly still suffering from the aftereffects of whatever made them cancel Reading - he struggles on a fair few songs, and even turns the apocalyptic 'FUCK YOU' during Stop Whispering into a quiet utterance.
* The second-ever full band appearance of the 'I resent you Colin' song, and the verse guitar here sounds almost Cure-like.
Killer Cars

## Description

Killer Cars in its studio incarnation is a pretty divisive song among Radiohead fans. A full-band electric guitar thrasher, many fans much prefer the acoustic version, which retains the same lyrics and mournfulness but with a far greater sense of delicacy. It's anyone's call which one is better! Regardless, the song itself is really fun and powerfully emotional.

## Live history

Killer Cars has a long - but sparse - history as a live rarity. It was performed every touring year from 1993 all the way up to 2001, but with decreasing regularity with each passing year. On all but one occasion, this song's performances consisted of just Thom and an acoustic, often as an encore track.

### 1993

Though Killer Cars received the bulk of its performances in 1993, it still wasn't a common live track by any means - it only features on 8 recordings, most of which are from around the middle of the year. When it did appear, it was usually in an acoustic performance or as a part of a two-song Thom solo set late in the show, paired with Thinking About You. Notable and/or recommended performances include:

* 1993-04-02, Roxanne, Tel Aviv, Israel - the live debut, a suitably mournful take dedicated to some fans who passed away after a gig.
* 1993-06-25 Westwood One 'On The Edge' session - for American radio and in perfect sound quality.
* 1993-07-11, Justin Herman Plaza, San Francisco, CA, USA - just Thom and an acoustic guitar in San Francisco. A personal pick for favourite performance of this song.

### 1994

Although Killer Cars only received 3 performances in 1994, two of those are probably the most fascinating renditions of the song, for one reason - they are the only known full band performances! 1994-02-21, Royal Berks Social Club, Reading, UK and 1994-09-30, Sheffield University, Sheffield, England both feature extremely heavy, rocking versions of the song that was normally only given an acoustic treatment live, with Ed's loud backing vocals and Phil's rock-solid drumming taking centre stage. A pair of bizarre listens, but they're definitely worth getting all the same. 1994-06-09, Club Citta, Tokyo, Japan is acoustic and also very strong.

### 2000

Killer Cars made two appearances on the Kid A tour, both performed by Thom during the final encore. The tour debut was at 2000-06-19, Villa Reale, Monza, Italy, but the song was abandoned halfway through after Thom completely forgot the words (despite the audience's urging), instead premiering I Might Be Wrong.

It wasn't performed again until 2000-09-16, Goffertpark, Nijmegen, Netherlands, where Thom thankfully remembered this time and performed the whole song.

### 2001

The last appearance to date of Killer Cars was at 2001-05-30, Arena di Verona, Verona, Italy, performed as a standalone third encore to close the set.

## List of recordings

See Killer Cars/Recordings for full list.
1994-07-02, Roskilde Festival (backstage), Roskilde, Denmark

## Tracklist

1. Black Star
2. Thinking About You
3. Bullet Proof..(I Wish I Was)

## Comments

* This joint interview/Thom and Jonny acoustic performance was recorded for Radio P3, presumably prior to the band's main set. Listening to the full interview is probably worthwhile if only to hear the obnoxious interviewer who not-so-slyly tries to get them to play Creep. Was never going to happen, my man.
* One of the three songs played here is Black Star in a one-off acoustic arrangement. It's not particularly revelatory in its sound, but fans of this song will definitely appreciate hearing this driving, blustery take on it.
* The other two are Thinking About You (a fairly nondescript take, but still a very rare 1994 performance) and Bullet Proof, another rare acoustic take. It clearly hadn't shown up in full band sets because the band didn't really know how arrange it. It's very nice.
Facts, statistics and trivia

## Songs played live before release

A list of songs for which the earliest available live recording is more than one year before their official release. This excludes as-yet unreleased songs; as well as I Promise, Lift, and Man of War, all of which appeared as archival releases as opposed to on a studio album.

## Trivia

### Album openers closing shows

* You
* Planet Telex
* Airbag
* Everything In Its Right Place

### Album closers opening shows

* Street Spirit (Fade Out)
* Videotape

### Songs to have both opened and closed shows

* Airbag
* All I Need
* Anyone Can Play Guitar
* The Bends
* Bodysnatchers
* Bullet Proof..I Wish I Was
* Cinnamon Girl
* Climbing Up the Walls
* Creep
* Electioneering
* Everything In Its Right Place
* Exit Music (for a Film)
* High and Dry
* How Do You?
* I Might Be Wrong
* Just
* Karma Police
* Lucky
* My Iron Lung
* Planet Telex
* Prove Yourself
* Reckoner
* Ripcord
* Street Spirit (Fade Out)
* Subterranean Homesick Alien
* Talk Show Host
* There There
* Thinking About You
* Vegetable
* You
* You and Whose Army?
1994-06-26, Glastonbury Festival, Pilton, England

## Tracklist

1. You
2. Bones
3. Ripcord
4. Creep
5. My Iron Lung
6. Prove Yourself
7. The Bends
8. Pop Is Dead
9. Just
10. Stop Whispering
11. Anyone Can Play Guitar
12. Maquiladora
13. Blow Out

## Comments

* This gig - played on Colin's birthday, as you can hear! - was probably Radiohead's biggest festival appearance up until this point, and their inaugural Glastonbury outing (obviously the first of many.) It was recorded in full for the BBC, and so it obviously has absolutely stunning, crystal-clear audio quality. Hard not to give it five stars because there's really nothing to fault at all. There was also video filmed of the whole concert, but only Anyone Can Play Guitar and Blow Out were broadcast.
* If you haven't been able to tell, 1994 (or at least the first half) is probably one of Radiohead's finest periods for live performances. This, as with most of its predecessors, is just a fantastic show all round and a dark horse contender for Radiohead's best Glastonbury performance. The sound quality definitely helps, but even without it, the band is great here.
* The most famous moment of this show by far is the absolute snuff film that is Anyone Can Play Guitar. This performance should probably be renamed Anyone Can Break A (Probably Extremely Expensive) Guitar, because in the grand tradition of extremely bizarre performances of this song, both Jonny and Thom *annihilate* their instruments in the outro. Jonny waves it wildly around the stage by its lead, and Thom at one point drops it on the ground, grabs the microphone and starts slamming it against the pickup. You know, just same-old-same-old ACPG stuff.
* Also of great interest here is Blow Out. This could genuinely be its best ever performance. You will never find a rendition more menacing or truly *apocalyptic* than this one. Legitimately, the guitar in the final breakdown sounds like being inside a tornado crossed with a nuclear explosion. That, mixed with Jonny's atonal soloing, mixed with the manic drumming, makes this a VERY strong contender for best performance of the song.
* Bones is really strong here. It evidently took the band a few performances to master this song's distinctive brand of swagger, but they truly nail it here; probably its best performance up to this point.
* After a bit of a break from the huge Creep vocal climaxes, Thom makes a grand return to form here with what might actually be his longest scream in the song's history. It's a truly breathtaking, show-stopping moment, and maybe the single highlight of the show.
* Still feels weird that the band keep having to introduce The Bends as a 'new song', even though they'd been playing it longer than Pop Is Dead at that stage.
1993-11-26 Radio 3 session

## Comments

* Very little is known about this one other than the fact it exists. To my knowledge there are no known sources of this circulating outside of Citizen Insane, which is where you can find it today.
* This acoustic Bullet Proof, one of three from 1993, was recorded for Spanish radio. Several months on from the last time it had been played by Thom, this version is a little louder and certainly more driving than previous ones. If that sounds up your alley, check this one out.
1996-04-12, Roseland Ballroom, New York City, NY, USA

1. My Iron Lung
2. Bones
3. Electioneering
4. High and Dry
5. I Promise
6. Street Spirit (Fade Out)
7. Planet Telex
8. Stop Whispering
9. (Nice Dream)
10. Lucky
11. Lift
12. Creep
13. Anyone Can Play Guitar
14. Just
15. Blow Out
16. Fake Plastic Trees
17. Bullet Proof..(I Wish I Was)
18. Lurgee
19. The Bends
20. Nobody Does It Better (Carly Simon cover)

## Comments

* 'I Promise' and the soundcheck surfaced in 2019 as part of the leak that would later become MiniDiscs (Hacked).
1996-03-25, La Luna, Portland, OR, USA

1. The Bends
2. Bones
3. Anyone Can Play Guitar
4. Bullet Proof..(I Wish I Was)
5. Lucky
6. Creep
7. My Iron Lung
8. Lift
9. (Nice Dream)
10. Electioneering
11. Planet Telex
12. High and Dry
13. Just
14. Fake Plastic Trees
15. Thinking About You
16. Street Spirit (Fade Out)
17. You
18. Blow Out

## Comments

* The known setlist for the show includes 'Nobody Does It Better', but it isn't present on the existing source, perhaps due to the limits of CD length.
* The two songs from the soundcheck were leaked in 2019, before officially being released as part of *MiniDiscs (Hacked)*.
Bones

## Description

Bones is unfortunately one of the more overlooked songs on The Bends, which is a real shame - it stands out as one of the most oddly triumphant moments in the Radiohead catalogue. Anchored by rock-solid bass work by Colin, Thom spits out line after line of self-deprecation which culminates in a huge, scenery-chewing chorus full of soaring high notes. This song is a real treat, and it's heartwarming to know that the band still seems to hold it in high esteem.

## Live history

Bones has had a reasonably long live history. It has seen play (to varying degrees) on every tour from 1994 right up until 2006, where it was dropped from the setlist seemingly for good. Between 1994 and 1998 it remained a live staple, and from then on it assumed a more rare position in their live material. Like many Bends songs, Bones seemed made for the stage; there is no shortage of incredible performances out there.

### 1994

Along with the majority of The Bends, Bones was debuted in 1994, and during this time it received several great renditions. It was played at every full-band show that we have access to, typically as the opener - a position that it was born to fill. Although largely similar to the studio version during this time, there are several performances worth getting. Notable and/or recommended performances include:

* 1994-02-21, Royal Berks Social Club, Reading, UK - if only to hear its debut in a slightly early form, with a much slower, more lethargic arrangement and no guitar intro.
* 1994-06-26, Glastonbury Festival, Pilton, England - a real triumph; the rendition on this tape *struts* in a way that the best Bones performances could.
* 1994-08-23, Sopot Rock Festival, Sopot, Poland - gorgeously filmed and the only full song available from this show. The whole band is having a blast here, and it shows, with some amazing animated Thom moments.
* 1994-08-27, Reading Festival, Reading, UK - another pro-shot recording, another excellent recording, another stunning performance.
* 1994-09-14 BBC Radio 1 'Evening Session' - obligatory.
1994-12-17, Deck The Hall Ball, Seattle, WA, USA

## Tracklist

1. My Iron Lung
2. Street Spirit (Fade Out)
3. High and Dry
4. (Nice Dream)
5. Lozenge of Love
6. Creep
7. Fake Plastic Trees
8. You

## Comments

* This is the last recorded performance from 1994! Another promotional Thom-Jonny set for American radio, and another audience recording - this time with a fair bit of crowd noise, unfortunately. It's a fair bit longer than the last one, as well.
* Quite an unusual outing, with a ton of rough moments! It sort of feels like everything that could go wrong with a Radiohead show goes wrong here - failing equipment, unfinished arrangements and a truly awful crowd that, as Thom says at the end, wants to just 'carry on jumping on one another.'
* The first big ticket item is obviously High and Dry, its first recorded performance (well, first since that ill-advised 1990 one-off), and... it's pretty shaky. Not only is it pretty shaky - Jonny's electric guitar accompaniment feels very off - it also comes to a standstill in the middle thanks to what sounds like something being thrown at Thom. Not one of the band's finer moments.
* Strange difficulties with getting through the songs weren't contained to just High and Dry. During Street Spirit, Thom's guitar cuts out at one point and the crowd goes wild. Thom says afterwards that he hopes 'that little prick gets thrown out', which makes me think that it was a stage invader, or someone throwing something at Thom again. Likewise, in (Nice Dream), only Jonny can be heard playing from about the halfway mark, and Thom doesn't play at *all* in Fake Plastic Trees.
* Something tells me that Creep wasn't on the original setlist, but the crowd consistently - and rather annoyingly - requests it, so it seems that at some point they just conceded. There aren't too many non-full band performances of Creep out there, so I suppose this could be worth getting (even though Jonny messes up one of the chords *badly* during Thom's scream. Could have been intentional, actually!)
* The two songs that rise above this bizarre nightmare world of a Radiohead performance are Lozenge of Love, in its first recorded outing since 1993, and My Iron Lung, which has Thom sounding even more insane at the end than on the last available recording. Those are probably the only two you'd want for listening purposes; the rest you probably should only get out of schadenfreude!
1993-07-11, Justin Herman Plaza, San Francisco, CA, USA

## Tracklist

1. Sing a Song for You (Tim Buckley cover)
2. Thinking About You
3. Killer Cars
4. Creep

## Comments

* An excellent AUD recording, no doubt helped by the small, intimate nature of the performance and the open-air venue.
* This is a fantastic early acoustic gig with some truly dominant performances.
* Thom starts with a beautiful cover of Tim Buckley's Sing a Song for You, in which he does a very good job of changing his voice to suit Buckley's inflections and style.
* This performance of Creep, like all other acoustic renditions of it, is stunning.
* The highlight, however, is definitely Killer Cars, with Thom giving an amazing power to his voice that we would never hear on this song before or since.
* "This is the sort of cheery guy I am."
1991, Unknown venue

## Tracklist

1. Swing
2. Phillipa Chicken
3. Thinking About You
4. What's That You See
5. I Can't

## Comments

* This is the earliest available Radiohead show, and it's your only chance to hear any of the On a Friday material live. The sound quality is actually not as bad as you might expect, but the crash cymbal is really boomy and can overpower the other instruments at times. It is presumed that this is only a partial setlist, and this is the most complete version we have.
* Swing is completely unique to this recording - it is not available on any of the On a Friday releases. A very typical early-90s rocker from the band.
* If it was better quality, I'd probably replace the studio version of Phillipa Chicken with this one. It has an aggressive edge that the studio one doesn't.
* Rare performance of I Can't.
(Nice Dream)/Recordings

All live recordings of (Nice Dream).

## Soundboard recordings

* 1993-02-11 Signal Radio session
* 1995-03-28 MuchMusic broadcast

## Audience recordings

* 1993-11-01, RPM Club, Toronto, Canada
* 1993-11-25, Zeleste, Barcelona, Spain
* 1993-11-27, Pavilhão Os Belenenses, Lisbon, Portugal
* 1993-12-09, Brixton Academy, London, England
* 1993-12-11, Guildhall, Portsmouth, England
* 1994-02-21, Royal Berks Social Club, Reading, UK
* 1994-10-06, Exeter University, Exeter, England
* 1994-12-17, Deck The Hall Ball, Seattle, WA, USA
* 1995-02-16, The Eve's Club, London, England
1995-02-27 2 Meter Session

## Tracklist

1. Just
2. Anyone Can Play Guitar
3. Bones
4. My Iron Lung
5. High and Dry
6. Fake Plastic Trees
7. Street Spirit (Fade Out)

## Comments

* This is the second of a pair of radio sessions that Radiohead performed in February of 1995, in promotion for the forthcoming release of The Bends. This one, for the Danish radio program 2 Meter Sessions, is the better-known of the two; in fact, the video recordings from this are some of the most well-known early Radiohead recordings! They're in ace sound and video quality, with excellent camera work all round.
* Simply put, the video component to this session is one of the most stunningly filmed and definitive documents of early Radiohead. The performances are totally rock-solid, but it's more amazing to just marvel at watching this band in action; you feel like you're in the room with them while they're performing. This is simply an essential recording for any fan of this period of Radiohead.
* Hallelujah - this is the first complete full band performance of High and Dry that's available to us, and in a comparatively rare occurrence, Thom actually puts some semblance of effort into it! It's actually one of its best performances, both because of the video available and because, you know, the band are playing it like they actually enjoy it.
* One of the best parts about the video work here is that the cameramen show plenty of extreme close-ups of the band playing their individual parts in each song, which is a real delight; you can see Jonny, for instance, playing his guitar at the start of High and Dry with a coin.
* A well-known series of funny little moments at the beginning of My Iron Lung can be found here - they're all classics. Colin and Ed are smoking, Phil is looking dazed, and (most famously) Thom is struggling to put on the headphones that the studio gave to him, making a face that always cracks me up.
* It's pretty noticeable at this point that Thom - and the rest of the band - is putting significantly less passion into the sole Pablo Honey song here, Anyone Can Play Guitar, compared to the rest of the Bends songs. It's still pretty much a note-perfect rendition, but it lacks a lot of the raw fury that earlier takes have in abundance. Pablo Honey is very much passé for the band at this point!
* Thom after a perfectly serviceable performance of My Iron Lung, in classic Thom fashion: 'Was a bit crap, really.'

## Audio sources

Tested with Anal Freq > Confirmed by GDub > Converted to shn using mkw.

## Video sources

Note: several near-identical encodings of individual tracks from this session exist; for the purposes of simplicity, only the officially released one, from The Bends collector's edition, is listed.
Blow Out/Recordings

All live recordings of Blow Out.

## Soundboard recordings

* 1992, Unknown venue
* 1992-11-11, Huddersfield University, Huddersfield, England
* 1992-11-14, University of Essex, Colchester, England
* 1993-01-28 ITV "The Beat" broadcast
* 1993-02-23 Black Session
* 1993-04-02, Roxanne, Tel Aviv, Israel
* 1993-06-04, Magasinet, Göteborg, Sweden
* 1993-07-12, The Whiskey A Go-Go, Los Angeles, CA, USA
* 1993-11-20, Vernier-sur-Rock, Geneva, Switzerland
* 1994-05-27, The Astoria, London, UK
* 1994-06-26, Glastonbury Festival, Pilton, England
* 1994-07-02, Rosklide Festival, Rosklide, Denmark

## Audience recordings

* 1992-05-13, Islington Powerhouse, London, England
* 1992-11-09, Wulfrun Hall, Wolverhampton, England
* 1993-02-18, Joiner's Arms, Southampton, England
* 1993-05-04, King Tut's Wah Wah Hut, Glasgow, Scotland
* 1993-06-03, Barbue, Copenhagen, Denmark
* 1993-06-15, Cine 3000, Nancy, France
* 1993-06-20, Passage du Nord, Paris, France
* 1993-06-30, The Metro, Chicago, IL, USA
* 1993-07-16, World Beat Center, San Diego, CA, USA
* 1993-08-15, Markt Rock Festival, Leuven, Belgium
* 1993-08-21, Waterpop Festival, Wateringen, Netherlands
* 1993-08-28, The Venue, Oxford, England
* 1993-09-01, The Garage, London, England
* 1993-09-23, Cameo Theatre, Miami, FL, USA
* 1993-10-08, Avalon Ballroom, Boston, MA, USA
* 1993-10-15, Riviera Theatre, Chicago, IL, USA
* 1993-10-22, Palace Theatre, Los Angeles, CA, USA
* 1993-11-01, RPM Club, Toronto, Canada
* 1994-05-22, Rock Am Ring Festival, Nürburgring, Germany
* 1994-06-04, Shibuya Club Quatro, Tokyo, Japan
* 1994-10-06, Exeter University, Exeter, England
* 1994-10-08, Shepherds Bush Empire, London, England
* 1994-12-02, Melkweg, Amsterdam, Netherlands
* 1995-03-14, Hallam University, Sheffield, England
Maquiladora/Recordings

All live recordings of Maquiladora.

## Soundboard recordings

* 1994-05-20, Festival Balélec, Lausanne, Switzerland
* 1994-05-27, The Astoria, London, UK
* 1994-06-26, Glastonbury Festival, Pilton, England
* 1994-07-02, Rosklide Festival, Rosklide, Denmark
* 1994-08-27, Reading Festival, Reading, UK
* 1994-09-14 BBC Radio 1 'Evening Session'

## Audience recordings

* 1994-02-21, Royal Berks Social Club, Reading, UK
* 1994-05-13, Vidia Rock Club, Cesena, Italy
* 1994-06-04, Shibuya Club Quatro, Tokyo, Japan
* 1994-06-09, Club Citta, Tokyo, Japan
* 1994-10-08, Shepherds Bush Empire, London, England
1986 demos

## Tracklist

1. Fragile Friend
2. Girl (In the Purple Dress)
3. Everybody Knows
4. Fat Girl
5. Lemming Trail

## Comments

It's Radiohead. With saxophones. In the mid-80s. What more could you expect?

This is the earliest known recording that we have of the band, back when they were still in their teens and Jonny wasn't even there. And frankly, they sound like the worst Smiths cover band in existence. Thom's vocals are pretty bad at this early point in his career, the guitar is way too shimmery on most tracks and over-programmed 80s drums are included all over the place. And oh lord the saxophones. Their inclusion might be considered a parody were they not presented with such stony-faced seriousness.

The only semi-salvageable song in this mess is perhaps "Girl (In the Purple Dress)", and that's probably because the chord structure is a rip-off of about a hundred U2 songs. Except it has two saxophone solos. Even U2 would be wise enough not to do that.

This is the only Radiohead recording I would consider to be "terrible." If it were a spice, it would be flour. If it were a Steven King movie, it would be Maximum Overdrive. It's hard to imagine that this is pretty much the same band that went on to write How to Disappear Completely and Pyramid Song. Download it, take one listen and then store it away forever.
1993-06-03, Barbue, Copenhagen, Denmark

## Tracklist

1. You
2. Prove Yourself
3. The Bends (cut)
4. How Do You?
5. Stop Whispering
6. Million Dollar Question
7. Anyone Can Play Guitar
8. Pop Is Dead
9. Killer Cars
10. Thinking About You
11. Banana Co.
12. Faithless the Wonder Boy
13. Inside My Head
14. Permanent Daylight
15. Blow Out
16. Rhinestone Cowboy (Glen Campbell cover)

## Comments

* Two different transfers of an AUD recording exist of this one, and they are pretty much identical. The tape recorder apparently malfunctioned during The Bends and only came back on during How Do You?, cutting out a swathe of songs that presumably included Creep and Vegetable. This is a good early AUD, but it loses points for a few tape defects during Stop Whispering and others.
* This performance is particularly notable for being the live debut of Permanent Daylight, the Bends-era b-side which at this point is truncated and completely instrumental. Still, it shows how sophisticated their songwriting was becoming even at this early stage of their career
* Interesting performance of Stop Whispering. Thom sings the second verse twice and some wild guitar effects happen between the chorus and the second run-through of the verse.
* This is the first recorded appearance of some variation on the legendary "fat, ugly, DEEEAAAD" during Anyone Can Play Guitar.
* I'm guessing that a string broke at the beginning of Stop Whispering, causing a nasty sound. Anyone Can Play Guitar is hence introduced as "Anyone Can Break a String".
* The band are apparently in the dressing room drinking while Thom plays Killer Cars and Thinking About You, the latter being a particular highlight.
* Finally, for the Glen Campbell fans, another performance of Rhinestone Cowboy.
Permanent Daylight

## Description

Permanent Daylight is a strong b-side that shows how sophisticated Radiohead's songwriting was even in 1994. A short song and a subtle Sonic Youth homage, Permanent Daylight feels perfectly cold and distant. With Thom's vocals obscured under a sea of effects, the guitarists alternate Smiths-like verses with caustic refrains, and the end result is really enjoyable. A really powerful track.

## Live history

Given its quality, it should not come as a surprise that Permanent Daylight - despite its b-side status - remained a live presence after its release. Played in an early form at a handful of 1993 shows, it was frequently performed between 1994 and 1995 before being dropped for the OK Computer tour. However, this was not to last - Permanent Daylight emerged as a deep cut that was commonly played on the Kid A and Amnesiac tours, between 2000-2001. It has unfortunately never been played since.

### 1993

Surprisingly, an embryonic Permanent Daylight pops up on four recordings in June of 1993. This early version is notable for being completely instrumental, just featuring the absolute essentials of the song - drums, bass and guitar. It was unfortunately dropped for later shows - presumably, the few performances were an attempt to develop the song more in a live context. Notable and/or recommended performances include:

* 1993-06-04, Magasinet, Göteborg, Sweden - its second outing, and the only soundboard recording of it from 1993.
* 1993-06-20, Passage du Nord, Paris, France - a recording which features one of my absolute favourite 1993 moments: the feedback at the end of the (brilliant) Permanent Daylight here leads seamlessly into Anyone Can Play Guitar. A kickass performance.

### 1994

After being finally completed and put to tape for the My Iron Lung EP, Permanent Daylight returned to setlists for the band's 1994 England tour. Newly featuring vocals and some new guitar work, the song sounded great as ever in 1994. Notable and/or recommended performances include:

* 1994-10-08, Shepherds Bush Empire, London, England - an already-great performance made even better by the fact that the vocals and some of the guitars are slathered in a neat tremolo effect, making the whole song sound like an interstellar broadcast. One of the best.
* 1994-12-02, Melkweg, Amsterdam, Netherlands - the version from 1994 in the best sound quality.

## List of recordings

See Permanent Daylight/Recordings for full list.
Permanent Daylight/Recordings

All live recordings of Permanent Daylight.

## Soundboard recordings

* 1993-06-04, Magasinet, Göteborg, Sweden

## Audience recordings

* 1993-06-03, Barbue, Copenhagen, Denmark
* 1993-06-15, Cine 3000, Nancy, France
* 1993-06-20, Passage du Nord, Paris, France
* 1994-09-30, Sheffield University, Sheffield, England
* 1994-10-06, Exeter University, Exeter, England
* 1994-10-08, Shepherds Bush Empire, London, England
* 1994-12-02, Melkweg, Amsterdam, Netherlands
* 1995-03-14, Hallam University, Sheffield, England
1993-11-12, Live Music Hall, Cologne, Germany

## Tracklist

1. The Bends (cuts in)
2. Prove Yourself
3. You
4. Yes I Am
5. Vegetable
6. Creep
7. Ripcord
8. Lurgee
9. Pop Is Dead
10. Anyone Can Play Guitar
11. Stop Whispering

## Comments

* Sound quality here is quite decent. Quite a bit of crowd noise, but the instruments are mostly well defined. The Bends cuts in slightly, but it's very pleasant otherwise.
* This is a very strong show from the James tour and is one that would be a good choice to get to see where Radiohead were at this point in 1993. The setlist is identical to the previous night, but the songs are played with passion and energy.
* Furthering the 'great crowds make the band play better' hypothesis, the crowd is pretty ace here - despite them not even being here for Radiohead. They seem to recognise most of the songs (including Vegetable, which for some reason gets a big reaction), which marks a striking difference to the show the night before. This tape has a great 'live' atmosphere which adds to its appeal.
* One highlight here is Prove Yourself, which is rarely a standout song on '93 shows. Thom's vocals are really gorgeous on this one - it's one of very few performances of this that can actually make me feel something.
* Other assorted highlights include You, Lurgee and Pop Is Dead. Really, it's all a joy to hear.
1993-12-09, Brixton Academy, London, England

## Tracklist

1. The Bends
2. Prove Yourself
3. You
4. (Nice Dream)
5. Vegetable
6. Creep
7. Ripcord
8. Banana Co.
9. Pop Is Dead
10. Faithless the Wonder Boy
11. Anyone Can Play Guitar
12. Stop Whispering

## Comments

* A nice AUD here from the UK leg of the James tour. Well-defined instruments, minimal crowd noise and nice nuance. A bit distant-sounding, but it's not significant.
* This show sounds noticeably mournful, and there's a reason for it. Thom dedicates it at the very beginning to one of their former press officers, Philip Hall, who had passed away from cancer just a couple days before the show. On the whole, the songs - particularly some of the guitar and drum parts - feel a bit less aggressive in comparison to other shows around this time. This is funereal Radiohead.
* Setlist-wise, it's a swap-over of b-sides; Faithless the Wonder Boy is back in for the first time since early September of that year, replacing Yes I Am. Yes I Am won't show up again in any capacity until mid-1994.
* Jonny performs a killer AOR solo on Vegetable. It's a shame that the guitar is a little buried in the mix. He also ends on a very pretty major chord at the end of Ripcord, quite different to the usual discord of the outro.
* Banana Co. is excellent here; Thom gives it his all and Jonny goes particularly ape in the guitar solo.
* This is the first show where The Bends - especially on Thom's part - starts to sound really close to the studio version. He sings the 'where are you now' line in the outro with a melody very similar to the one that would appear on the album, and other little nuances are similar as well.
* Stop Whispering update: the experimentation with the 'doesn't matter anyway' section has been dropped completely, and it's all back to normal now.
* 'This one needs no introduction.' Easy there, Mister Cocky.
1990 live

1990 isn't exactly a well-documented year for Radiohead recordings. In fact, it isn't documented at all. The one show that is available from 1990 that is even tangentially related to Radiohead is from the band Headless Chickens, of which Thom was a member! Even then, there's only one performance of a Radiohead song here, and it's of High and Dry, and it's pretty damn hilarious.

## Recommended recording from 1990

* 1990-11-XX, needless to say, is the recommended show from 1990.

## Headless Chickens

###
Banana Co.

## Description

A loosely political song that alternates between plaintive and rocking, Banana Co. remains a fan favourite and an early deep cut that still gets discussed regularly. Thom's delicate vocals in the quiet first verse contrast nicely with the heavier, Jonny-dominated choruses; elsewhere, light electronic flourishes round out the mix. It's a simple, unassuming track and an enduring favourite.

## Live history

By b-side standards, Banana Co. received a good few performances. Receiving fairly consistent outings in 1993 and 1994, the song was played less commonly in 1995; however, unlike many songs from its era, it endured through the 1996 and 1997 tours as an occasional moment of relative levity, and even received several performances in 1998. All renditions of this song featured Thom doing the first verse acoustic, before the band came in to ride the song out to its finish. It was always a fun, if inessential, inclusion to any set.

### 1993

Banana Co. had its first recorded performances in 1993. It appeared in the vast majority of setlists from that time, usually as a mid-to-end-of-set breather. Notable and/or recommended performances include:

* 1993-02-11 Signal Radio session - for people who have grown accustomed to the acoustic version of this song, this performance needs no introduction; it appeared on the Pop Is Dead single.
* 1993-06-30, The Metro, Chicago, IL, USA - this show appears as a recommended performance for almost every single Pablo Honey-era song, and for good reason (no video for this one, though.)
* 1993-11-23, Casino de Paris, Paris, France - a lot of Banana Co.s from 1993 are pretty homogenous, but this one sticks out as a nice highlight from a great AUD.
* 1993-12-09, Brixton Academy, London, England - another great AUD, with excellent Thom vocals and a wild Jonny solo!

### 1994

Banana Co. was further played in 1994 at a handful of shows, almost all of which were in the second half of the year. Not really much to say about the performances, to be honest; they remained pretty homogenous. Notable and/or recommended performances include:

* 1994-06-04, Shibuya Club Quatro, Tokyo, Japan - a slightly weak AUD actually helps this song sound muscular and abrasive, like many of the best performances of Banana Co. do.
* 1994-10-08, Shepherds Bush Empire, London, England - one of the best performances of this song out there, with Jonny's solo once again being a particular highlight; he shreds here in a way that he very rarely does.
Bones/Recordings

All live recordings of Bones.

## Soundboard recordings

* 1994-05-20, Festival Balélec, Lausanne, Switzerland
* 1994-05-27, The Astoria, London, UK
* 1994-06-26, Glastonbury Festival, Pilton, England
* 1994-07-02, Rosklide Festival, Rosklide, Denmark
* 1994-08-23, Sopot Rock Festival, Sopot, Poland
* 1994-08-27, Reading Festival, Reading, UK
* 1994-09-14 BBC Radio 1 'Evening Session'
* 1995-02-21 Black Session
* 1995-02-27 2 Meter Session
* 1995-03-24, The Forum, London, England

## Audience recordings

* 1994-02-21, Royal Berks Social Club, Reading, UK
* 1994-05-13, Vidia Rock Club, Cesena, Italy
* 1994-05-22, Rock Am Ring Festival, Nürburgring, Germany
* 1994-06-04, Shibuya Club Quatro, Tokyo, Japan
* 1994-09-30, Sheffield University, Sheffield, England
* 1994-10-06, Exeter University, Exeter, England
* 1994-10-08, Shepherds Bush Empire, London, England
* 1994-10-20, La Panza, Ojo de Agua, Mexico
* 1994-12-02, Melkweg, Amsterdam, Netherlands
* 1995-03-14, Hallam University, Sheffield, England
* 1995-04-01, Moe's Mo' Rockin' Cafe, Seattle, WA, USA
Ripcord/Recordings

All live recordings of Ripcord.

## Soundboard recordings

* 1992-11-11, Huddersfield University, Huddersfield, England
* 1992-11-14, University of Essex, Colchester, England
* 1993-02-11 Signal Radio session
* 1993-02-23 Black Session
* 1993-03-14, Town and Country Club, London, England
* 1993-04-02, Roxanne, Tel Aviv, Israel
* 1993-05-05, Bevrijdingspop Festival, Haarlem, Netherlands
* 1993-06-04, Magasinet, Göteborg, Sweden
* 1993-06-30, The Metro, Chicago, IL, USA
* 1993-07-12, The Whiskey A Go-Go, Los Angeles, CA, USA
* 1993-09-03, Barrowlands, Glasgow, Scotland
* 1993-11-20, Vernier-sur-Rock, Geneva, Switzerland
* 1994-05-20, Festival Balélec, Lausanne, Switzerland
* 1994-05-27, The Astoria, London, UK
* 1994-06-26, Glastonbury Festival, Pilton, England
* 1994-07-02, Rosklide Festival, Rosklide, Denmark
* 1994-08-27, Reading Festival, Reading, UK
* 1994-10-20, La Panza, Ojo de Agua, Mexico
* 1995-03-24, The Forum, London, England

## Audience recordings

* 1992-11-09, Wulfrun Hall, Wolverhampton, England
* 1993-02-18, Joiner's Arms, Southampton, England

* 1993-05-04, King Tut's Wah Wah Hut, Glasgow, Scotland
* 1993-06-05, Bergslagsrocken Festival, Gothenburg, Sweden
* 1993-06-12, Beeckestijnpop Festival, Amsterdam, Netherlands
* 1993-06-15, Cine 3000, Nancy, France
* 1993-06-20, Passage du Nord, Paris, France
* 1993-07-13, The Palladium, Los Angeles, CA, USA
* 1993-07-16, World Beat Center, San Diego, CA, USA
* 1993-08-15, Markt Rock Festival, Leuven, Belgium
* 1993-08-21, Waterpop Festival, Wateringen, Netherlands
* 1993-08-28, The Venue, Oxford, England
* 1993-09-01, The Garage, London, England
* 1993-09-23, Cameo Theatre, Miami, FL, USA
* 1993-10-06, Lupo's Heartbreak Hotel, Providence, RI, USA
* 1993-10-08, Avalon Ballroom, Boston, MA, USA
* 1993-10-15, Riviera Theatre, Chicago, IL, USA
* 1993-10-22, Palace Theatre, Los Angeles, CA, USA
* 1993-11-01, RPM Club, Toronto, Canada
* 1993-11-11, Markthalle, Hamburg, Germany
* 1993-11-12, Live Music Hall, Cologne, Germany
* 1993-11-23, Casino de Paris, Paris, France
* 1993-11-25, Zeleste, Barcelona, Spain
* 1993-11-27, Pavilhão Os Belenenses, Lisbon, Portugal
* 1993-12-09, Brixton Academy, London, England
* 1993-12-11, Guildhall, Portsmouth, England
* 1994-05-13, Vidia Rock Club, Cesena, Italy
* 1994-05-22, Rock Am Ring Festival, Nürburgring, Germany
* 1994-06-04, Shibuya Club Quatro, Tokyo, Japan
* 1994-09-30, Sheffield University, Sheffield, England
* 1994-10-06, Exeter University, Exeter, England
* 1994-10-08, Shepherds Bush Empire, London, England
* 1994-12-02, Melkweg, Amsterdam, Netherlands
* 1995-03-14, Hallam University, Sheffield, England