Editing Radiohead (section)

=== 1992–1994: "Creep", ''Pablo Honey'' and early success ===
Radiohead recorded their debut EP, ''[[Drill (EP)|Drill]]'', with Hufford and Edge at Courtyard Studios. Released in May 1992, its chart performance was poor.<ref name="guitar-world" /> As it was difficult for [[major labels]] such as EMI to promote bands in the UK, where [[Independent record label|independent labels]] dominated the [[indie charts]], Radiohead's managers planned to have Radiohead use American producers and tour aggressively in America, then return to build a following in the UK.<ref name="popisdead-1" /> [[Paul Q. Kolderie|Paul Kolderie]] and [[Sean Slade]], who had worked with the US bands [[Pixies (band)|Pixies]] and [[Dinosaur Jr.]], were enlisted to produce Radiohead's debut album, ''[[Pablo Honey]],'' recorded quickly in Oxford in 1992.<ref name="guitar-world" /> With the release of their debut single, "[[Creep (Radiohead song)|Creep]]", that September, Radiohead began to receive attention in the British music press, not all of it favourable; ''[[NME]]'' described them as "a lily-livered excuse for a rock band",<ref name="FREQUENCY">{{cite news |title=Radiohead: The right frequency |date=22 February 2001 |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/1182725.stm |newspaper=BBC News|access-date=24 November 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110728142710/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/1182725.stm|archive-date=28 July 2011|url-status=live}}</ref> and "Creep" was blacklisted by [[BBC Radio 1]] as "too depressing".<ref>{{cite news |title=Creepshow |newspaper=[[Melody Maker]] |date=19 December 1992}}</ref>

{{Listen
| filename    = Radiohead - Creep (sample).ogg
| title="Creep"
| description="[[Creep (Radiohead song)|Creep]]", Radiohead's debut single, was released in 1993. This sample features Jonny Greenwood's [[guitar distortion]] before the chorus.
}}
''Pablo Honey'' was released in February 1993. It reached number 22 in the UK charts. "Creep" and its follow-up singles "Anyone Can Play Guitar" and "[[Stop Whispering]]" failed to become hits, and "[[Pop Is Dead]]", a non-album single, also sold poorly. O'Brien later called it "a hideous mistake".<ref name="popisdead-1">{{cite book |author=Randall |first=Mac |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GU9QmQEpLoYC&q=%22Pop+Is+Dead%22+radiohead&pg=PT112 |title=Exit Music – The Radiohead Story |publisher=[[Omnibus Press]] |year=2011 |isbn=978-0-85712-695-5}}</ref> Some critics compared Radiohead to the wave of [[grunge]] music popular in the early 1990s, dubbing them "[[Nirvana (band)|Nirvana]]-lite",<ref name="SMITH">{{cite news |last=Smith |first=Andrew |date=1 October 2000 |title=Sound and Fury |url=http://observer.guardian.co.uk/life/story/0,6903,375564,00.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20031226112721/http://observer.guardian.co.uk/life/story/0%2C6903%2C375564%2C00.html |archive-date=26 December 2003 |access-date=17 March 2007 |newspaper=[[The Observer]] |location=London}}</ref> and ''Pablo Honey'' initially failed to make a critical or a commercial impact.<ref name="FREQUENCY" /> The members of Radiohead expressed dissatisfaction with the album in later years.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Klein |first=Joshua |date=26 February 2007 |title=Various artists: ''Jonny Greenwood Is the Controller'' Album Review |url=https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/9911-jonny-greenwood-is-the-controller/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210310040933/https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/9911-jonny-greenwood-is-the-controller/ |archive-date=10 March 2021 |access-date=23 June 2016 |website=[[Pitchfork (website)|Pitchfork]]}}</ref>

In early 1993, Radiohead began to attract listeners elsewhere. "Creep" had become a hit in Israel after it was played frequently by the influential DJ [[Yoav Kutner]], and, in March, Radiohead were invited to [[Tel Aviv]] for their first show overseas.<ref>{{cite news |last=Rubinstein |first=Harry |title=The Radiohead&nbsp;— Israel connection |newspaper=israelity.com |url=http://israelity.com/2009/01/20/the-radiohead-israel-connection/ |date=20 January 2009|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090515111700/http://israelity.com/2009/01/20/the-radiohead-israel-connection/|archive-date=15 May 2009}}</ref> Around the same time, "Creep" became a hit in America, a "[[slacker]] anthem" in the vein of "[[Smells Like Teen Spirit]]" by [[Nirvana (band)|Nirvana]] and "[[Loser (Beck song)|Loser]]" by [[Beck]].<ref>{{cite news |last=Marzorati |first=Gerald |date=1 October 2000 |title=The post-rock band |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2000/10/01/magazine/the-post-rock-band.html |access-date=28 July 2008 |work=[[The New York Times]] |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> It reached number two on the ''Billboard'' [[Alternative Airplay|Modern Rock chart]],<ref name="ROSS" /> number 34 on the ''Billboard'' [[Hot 100]] chart,<ref name="Irvin-1997">{{cite journal |last1=Irvin |first1=Jim|author-link=Jim Irvin |last2=Hoskyns |first2=Barney |date=July 1997 |title=We have lift-off! |journal=[[Mojo (magazine)|Mojo]] |issue=45}}</ref> and number seven on the [[UK singles chart]] when EMI rereleased it in September.<ref name="BILL" /> To build on the success, Radiohead embarked on a US tour supporting [[Belly (band)|Belly]] and [[PJ Harvey]],<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Nichols |first=Natalie |date=Fall 1993 |title=Creeping into the Limelight |journal=Fender Frontline |publisher=The Phelps Group |volume=11}}</ref> followed by a European tour supporting [[James (band)|James]] and [[Tears for Fears]].<ref name="Irvin-1997" /><ref name="Gilbert-1996" />