Editing Radiohead (section)

=== 1994–1995: ''The Bends'', critical recognition and growing fanbase ===

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| caption2          = ''The Bends'' marked Radiohead's first collaboration with the producer [[Nigel Godrich]] (top) and the artist [[Stanley Donwood]], both of whom have worked on every Radiohead album since.
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Radiohead began work on their second album in 1994 with the veteran [[Abbey Road Studios]] producer [[John Leckie]]. Tensions were high, with mounting expectations to match the success of "Creep".<ref>{{cite journal |first=Johnny |last=Black |title=The Greatest Songs Ever! Fake Plastic Trees |date=1 June 2003 |journal=[[Blender (magazine)|Blender]] |url=http://www.blender.com/guide/articles.aspx?id=824|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070409000921/http://blender.com/guide/articles.aspx?id=824|archive-date=9 April 2007|access-date=15 April 2007|url-status=dead}}</ref> To break a deadlock, Radiohead toured Asia, Australasia and Mexico and found greater confidence performing their new music live.<ref>{{cite book |last=Randall |first=Mac |title=Exit Music: The Radiohead Story |date=12 September 2000 |publisher=Delta |isbn=0-385-33393-5 |pages=127–134}}</ref> However, troubled by his new fame, Yorke became disillusioned with being "at the sharp end of the sexy, sassy, MTV eye-candy lifestyle" he felt he was helping to sell to the world.<ref name="REYNOLDS">{{cite web |last=Reynolds |first=Simon |date=July 2001 |title=Walking on thin ice |url=https://www.rocksbackpages.com/Library/Article/radiohead-walking-on-thin-ice |url-access=subscription |access-date=10 March 2024 |work=[[The Wire (magazine)|The Wire]]}}</ref>

The ''[[My Iron Lung]]'' EP and single, released in 1994, was Radiohead's reaction, marking a transition towards the greater depth they aimed for on their second album.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Mallins |first=Steve |date=1 April 1995 |title=Scuba Do |journal=[[Vox (magazine)|Vox]]}}</ref> It was Radiohead's first collaboration with their future producer, [[Nigel Godrich]], then working under Leckie as an [[audio engineer]],<ref name="McKinnon-2006">{{cite news |last=McKinnon |first=Matthew |date=24 July 2006 |title=Everything in its right place |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/arts/everything-in-its-right-place-1.587693 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303170935/http://www.cbc.ca/news/arts/everything-in-its-right-place-1.587693 |archive-date=3 March 2016 |access-date=12 April 2016 |website=[[CBC Arts]]}}</ref> and the artist [[Stanley Donwood]]. Both have worked on every Radiohead album since.<ref name="EYE" /> Though sales of ''My Iron Lung'' were low, it boosted Radiohead's credibility in alternative circles, creating commercial opportunity for their next album.<ref>{{cite book |last=Randall |first=Mac |title=Exit Music: The Radiohead Story |date=12 September 2000 |pages=98–99 |isbn=0-385-33393-5 |publisher=Delta}}</ref>

Having introduced more new songs on tour, Radiohead finished recording their second album, ''[[The Bends (album)|The Bends]]'', by 1995, and released it that March. It was driven by dense riffs and ethereal atmospheres, with greater use of keyboards.<ref name="guitar-world" /> It received stronger reviews for its songwriting and performances.<ref name="FREQUENCY" /> While Radiohead were seen as outsiders to the [[Britpop]] scene that dominated music media at the time, they were finally successful in the UK,<ref name="KENT" /> as the singles "[[Fake Plastic Trees]]", "[[High and Dry]]", "[[Just (song)|Just]]", and "[[Street Spirit (Fade Out)]]" became chart successes. "High and Dry" became a modest hit, but Radiohead's growing fanbase was insufficient to repeat the worldwide success of "Creep". ''The Bends'' reached number 88 on the US album charts, and remains Radiohead's lowest showing there.<ref name="art-rock" /> Jonny Greenwood later said ''The Bends'' was turning point for Radiohead: "It started appearing in people's [best-of] polls for the end of the year. That's when it started to feel like we made the right choice about being a band."<ref name="LAUNCH">{{cite journal |last=DiMartino |first=Dave |title=Give Radiohead to Your Computer |journal=[[Yahoo! Music|LAUNCH]] |date=2 May 1997}}</ref> In later years, ''The Bends'' appeared in many publications' lists of the best albums of all time,<ref>{{citation |title=Beatles, Radiohead albums voted best ever |date=4 September 2000 |url=http://archives.cnn.com/2000/SHOWBIZ/Music/09/04/britain.albums/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080522120621/http://archives.cnn.com/2000/SHOWBIZ/Music/09/04/britain.albums/ |work=CNN.com|access-date=8 October 2008|archive-date=22 May 2008}}<br />{{cite journal |date=February 1998 |title=Q Readers All Time Top 100 Albums |journal=[[Q (magazine)|Q]] |issue=137}}<br />{{cite web |url=http://www.listsofbests.com/list/13644-q-readers-best-albums-ever-2006-readers-poll |title=Q Magazine's Q Readers Best Albums Ever (2006 Readers Poll) Archived by Lists of Bests |work=[[Q (magazine)|Q]]|access-date=15 March 2012|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131231034303/http://www.listsofbests.com/list/13644-q-readers-best-albums-ever-2006-readers-poll|archive-date=31 December 2013}}</ref> including ''[[Rolling Stone]]'s'' 2012 edition of the [[Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time|"500 Greatest Albums of All Time"]] at No. 111.<ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/lists/500-greatest-albums-of-all-time-20120531/radiohead-the-bends-20120524 |title=500 Greatest Albums of All Time |magazine=Rolling Stone|access-date=18 July 2016 |date=31 May 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160717125207/http://www.rollingstone.com/music/lists/500-greatest-albums-of-all-time-20120531/radiohead-the-bends-20120524|archive-date=17 July 2016|url-status=live}}</ref>

In 1995, Radiohead again toured North America and Europe, this time in support of [[R.E.M.]], one of their formative influences and at the time one of the biggest rock bands in the world.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.westnet.com/consumable/1995/May08.1995/revradio.html |title=Radiohead's Phil Selway |last=Harding |first=Nigel |newspaper=consumable.com|access-date=28 May 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070810101504/http://www.westnet.com/consumable/1995/May08.1995/revradio.html|archive-date=10 August 2007|url-status=dead |year=1995}}</ref> Attention from famous fans such as the R.E.M. singer [[Michael Stipe]], along with distinctive music videos for "Just" and "Street Spirit", helped sustain Radiohead's popularity outside the UK.<ref>Randall, p. 127</ref> The night before a performance in Denver, Colorado, Radiohead's tour van was stolen, and with it their musical equipment. Yorke and Jonny Greenwood performed a stripped-down acoustic set with rented instruments and several shows were cancelled.<ref name="StolenEquipment">{{Cite news |url=https://www.denverpost.com/2015/02/23/radioheads-jonny-greenwood-reunited-guitar-stolen-in-denver-in-1995/ |title=Radiohead's Jonny Greenwood reunited with guitar stolen in Denver in 1995 |date=23 February 2015 |work=[[The Denver Post]]|access-date=11 January 2019 |language=en-US|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180923200713/https://www.denverpost.com/2015/02/23/radioheads-jonny-greenwood-reunited-guitar-stolen-in-denver-in-1995/|archive-date=23 September 2018|url-status=live}}</ref>{{refn|group=nb|Greenwood was reunited with one of the stolen guitars in 2015 after a fan recognised it as one they had purchased in Denver in the 1990s.<ref name="StolenEquipment" />}} Their first live video, ''[[Live at the Astoria]]'', was released in 1995.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Skinner |first=Tom |date=27 May 2020 |title=Radiohead to stream classic ''Live at the Astoria'' show in full |url=https://www.nme.com/news/music/radiohead-to-stream-classic-live-at-the-astoria-show-in-full-2677066|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200606082132/https://www.nme.com/news/music/radiohead-to-stream-classic-live-at-the-astoria-show-in-full-2677066|archive-date=6 June 2020|access-date=2 June 2020 |website=[[NME]] |language=en-GB}}</ref>