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The band Thom Yorke said he completely ripped off
Never one to shy away from discussing his influences, Radiohead frontman Thom Yorke highlighted one band that he admitted to pilfering from across the years.
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(Credits: Far Out / Radiohead Public Library)
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Mon 31 March 2025 19:30, UK
For many of Radioheadâs detractors, thereâs often a begrudging acknowledgement that âyeah, fair enoughâ 1995âs The Bends is a complete ripper. If excursions into electronica, avant-garde classical and jazzy krautrock left you cold since Kid Aâand maybe OK Compter a little too drenched in digital anxiety for your likingâthen their sophomore effortâs widescreen alternative rock and gargantuan riff attacks spell an era when the Old Abingdonians were firing on all cylinders.
While in the shadows of their seminal experimental ventures to come, The Bends is a crucial LP in the Radiohead story. Hinting at creative promise on the My Iron Lung EP, the band were still yet to shake off the one-hit wonder tag from the enormous success of âCreepââan albatross that would inspire said EPâs title track.
Seeking to enter new sonic terrain with an extra coating of haunted electronics, frontman Thom Yorke honed his lyrical barb toward a sharper introspective point, which offered the perfect antidote to Britpopâs nostalgic knees up.
A steady string of fantastic singles had pushed Radiohead away from âCreepâ dependency, but it was The Bendsâ fifth single that finally saw them enter a new lease of life. Inspired by Ben Okriâs The Famished Road, he was reading while touring America, Yorke wrote âStreet Spirit (Fade Out)âs spine-tingling arpeggio and gifted one of rockâs most eerily engrossing album finales everâa far cry from the Blur vs Oasis pantomime that otherwise dominated Top of the Pops at the time.
It proved a watershed moment for Radiohead, finally gleaning a creative direction that truly didnât sound like anything on the charts and pointed toward future intrepid explorations. âIf I ever forget why I started this as a career, then âStreet Spiritâ is why I started,â Yorke told Mojo in 2001. âWe spent a day going round in circles until I was thinking, âThis is never going to happen.â Then suddenly something happened, and I was transported to a place that Iâd been willing myself to be in for months on endâŚâ
Yorkeâs always been candid with who he and the band have creatively pilfered from. From Aphex Twinâs warped electronica, the live jazz pieces of Charles Mingus, and Canâs krautrock progressions, Radiohead have always worn their inspirations on the sleeves.
When discussing the band that sparked âStreet Spirit (Fade Out)âs lightning bolt, Yorke made clear to High Profile in 2004, whose fingerprints are all over their stark classic: âREMâit was just a straight rip-off, you know. Iâve ripped them off left, right and centre for years and years and years and yearsâ.
Having been obsessed with REM since his days as an art student, Yorke had watched the Georgian college rockers grow from the indie fringes to one of the 1990sâ biggest names. Subconsciously taking notes on how to enter the upper echelons of commercial stature with integrity, REM frontman Michael Stipe proved to be an authority for Yorke as their success picked up. Panged with stage fright during The Bends era, Stipeâs astral advice of âyouâre not here, this isnât happeningâ went on to lyrically find its way in Radioheadâs masterstroke âHow to Disappear Completelyâ.
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