The story of Thom trying to shave himself became legendary. Ultimately, Yorke and the band spent six weeks there. Although renting this historic space could not be cheap, the label responsible for Radiohead - EMI - offered the group their financial support. Catherine's Court, the residence belonging at the time to the actress, Jane Seymour. Most of the work was done by the band in an idyllic historic setting of the St. The rehearsals related to the successor of The Bends began in mid-1996. The music he created at this time was his way to help him sort out the chaotic reality. Thom Yorke was no exception, he "felt overload with information". From today's perspective it sounds like a (grim) joke, but in the era of only the beginning of the Internet or mobile phones people felt tired of the constant flow of new messages, which more and more often became already obsolete as soon as they were released into the world. He tried to deal with his fears caused by general haste, intensified by the aforementioned concert regime, which by the end of the twentieth century became unbearable for many. Years later, he will describe his condition in this way: "Claustrophobia - I had no sense of reality."Ĭomposing for Yorke was the only form of escape from the devastating scheme of a bus-hotel-concert-hotel-bus routine, stretching indefinitely for several years. As he admitted, he was in fact in a catatonic state. Thom Yorke - the person who, even when he is happy, looks as if he was struggling in a depressing battle with internal demons - spent months in identical buses, planes and hotels. Only in the USA in 1995 alone, it included 177 performances. In the mid-1990s, band released the second longplay entitled The Bends, promoted by an exhausting concert tour. Show after show, town after town, song by song. The fans had to be gradually accustomed to the unusual Radiohead sound, rooted in grunge, but looking for his own unique way. The band, who at all costs wanted to avoid being labeled as one-hit-wonder, was aware of the huge work that had to be done, above all in terms of live concerts. This unexpected success, however, was a one-time event the released in 1993, Pablo Honey did not turn out to be such a successful undertaking (though, admittedly, it found its supporters). Although initially the song was received without much enthusiasm, it eventually achieved great success, becoming an international hit listed equally willingly in Spain or New Zealand, as in the USA. That's when the first single - Creep landed of the shelves of music shops. Although its beginnings date back to the 1980s, the Thom Yorke group had to wait for their phonographic debut until 1992. That's the reality the Radiohead was quietly rising. Apart from a few exceptions (among older bands - Metallica, among the newer ones - Oasis or Blur), no band nor artist could calm the hearts of rock-fans, eagerly awaiting more hit albums and hit singles. Iron Maiden was in a terrible condition because of friction between members, there was not even a trace after the wave of glam metal bands, even the biggest stars such as Kiss or The Rolling Stones (I doubt anyone would remember their Bridges to Babylon album from 1997, if not for the hit called Anybody Seen My Baby?) had to settle for less attention from the fans. Even worse were the achievements of the old rock heroes who a few years earlier had ignited the imaginations of millions of people around the world. Music lacked this youthful energy and, above all, honesty, which determined the success of Nirvana or Soundgarden. From the suicidal death of Kurt Cobain in 1994, its most vital variety, grunge, was in a constant defensive. N the second half of the 1990s, the rock was dying. On the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the release of the Radiohead's OK Computer