{"id":773,"date":"2025-07-17T16:06:03","date_gmt":"2025-07-17T16:06:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/773\/"},"modified":"2025-07-17T16:06:03","modified_gmt":"2025-07-17T16:06:03","slug":"he-really-didnt-like-it-the-first-time-we-played-it-the-controversial-radiohead-hit-that-launched-two-lawsuits-and-ended-up-being-performed-by-prince","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/773\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cHe really didn\u2019t like it the first time we played it\u201d: The controversial Radiohead hit that launched two lawsuits and ended up being performed by Prince"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>It\u2019s one of the great debut singles by a guitar band \u2013 but it\u2019s also caused a whole lot of trouble over the years.<\/p>\n<p><a data-analytics-id=\"inline-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.musicradar.com\/tag\/radiohead\" data-auto-tag-linker=\"true\" data-before-rewrite-localise=\"https:\/\/www.musicradar.com\/tag\/radiohead\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Radiohead<\/a>\u2019s Creep was their first step on the road to worldwide fame, even if their sound today is largely unrecognisable from such comparably straightforward and humble beginnings.<\/p>\n<p>The song had actually been written by singer\/guitarist Thom Yorke before the group had even formed, while Yorke was studying at the University Of Exeter in the late 1980s.<\/p>\n<p>You may like<\/p>\n<p>A few years later, during the sessions for the band\u2019s debut album Pablo Honey at Chipping Norton Recording Studios, it was co-producer Paul Q. Kolderie who suggested they run through a quick take of Creep \u2013 the band members unaware, according to drummer Philip Selway, that they were being recorded.<\/p>\n<p>A piano part was later added by guitarist Jonny Greenwood, though thanks to a production oversight, it was only included towards the end of the song.<\/p>\n<p>Upon learning that Yorke\u2019s description of Creep as their \u201cScott Walker song\u201d was in fact a joke, Kolderie then suggested they release it as the lead single in 1992.<\/p>\n<p>It was initially unsuccessful at home in the UK, but heavy rotation on Israeli and American rock radio turned Creep into an international hit, with a similar self-deprecating \u2018slacker\u2019 feel to <a data-analytics-id=\"inline-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.musicradar.com\/tag\/nirvana\" data-auto-tag-linker=\"true\" data-before-rewrite-localise=\"https:\/\/www.musicradar.com\/tag\/nirvana\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Nirvana<\/a>\u2019s Smells Like Teen Spirit, released the year prior, and Beck\u2019s Loser, which came in early 1993.<\/p>\n<p class=\"newsletter-form__strapline\">Want all the hottest music and gear news, reviews, deals, features and more, direct to your inbox? Sign up here. <\/p>\n<p>Controversy came when Radiohead were sued by songwriters Albert Hammond and Mike Hazlewood, who argued that Creep infringed on their own copyright, borrowing heavily from their 1972 song The Air That I Breathe, famously covered by the Hollies two years later.<\/p>\n<p>As a result, Hammond and Hazlewood were later credited as co-writers.<\/p>\n<p>The Air That I Breathe (2008 Remaster) &#8211; YouTube<br \/>\n<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/maxresdefault.jpg\" alt=\"The Air That I Breathe (2008 Remaster) - YouTube\" data-aspect-ratio=\"16\/9\" loading=\"lazy\"\/><\/p>\n<p><a class=\"watch-on-youtube-YC3iYl2Ux6o\" href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/YC3iYl2Ux6o\" target=\"_blank\" data-url=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/YC3iYl2Ux6o\" referrerpolicy=\"no-referrer-when-downgrade\" data-hl-processed=\"none\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Watch On <\/a><\/p>\n<p>But this bizarre story doesn\u2019t end there.<\/p>\n<p>In 2018, Radiohead launched their own court case against Lana Del Rey for similarities between Creep and her track Get Free, although no amendments were made to the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers.<\/p>\n<p>Del Rey later told an audience that the lawsuit was over, revealing: \u201cI guess I can sing that song any time I want.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Prince also sang his own version of Creep, surprising the audience at Coachella 2008 with a cover that included some of his own amendments, although his representatives ensured it was kept off streaming services after the performance.<\/p>\n<p>Yorke found the situation \u201chilarious\u201d, given that his bandmate Ed O&#8217;Brien had been blocked from seeing The Purple One unexpectedly pay tribute to the song that started it all for them.<\/p>\n<p>In an interview with Billboard, Yorke referred to Prince, saying: \u201cTell him to unblock it. It\u2019s our song.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The Radiohead original \u2013 which still stands as one of their most guitar-centric offerings to date \u2013 is a fairly simple arrangement based around the chord progression G\/B\/C\/Cmin, although there\u2019s a little more to it if you look at the notes played during the verses and pre-choruses.<\/p>\n<p>There are moments where the arpeggios alternate from standard major barre chords to sus4 shapes on the B and C chords.<\/p>\n<p>By the time we get to the pre-choruses, the three higher strings are introduced to instil a sense of momentum and build.<\/p>\n<p>But the real fireworks arrive just seconds before the chorus when Jonny Greenwood rakes three pairs of dead notes on his guitar with a herculean amount of gain compared to the tremolo-effected clean guitars that precede it.<\/p>\n<p>The multi-instrumentalist Greenwood later confessed that he did this out of frustration at the song\u2019s overall quietness, although the shimmering clean arpeggios of the verse sections are quickly replaced by the thunder of overdriven power chords during the chorus.<\/p>\n<p>Co-guitarist Ed O&#8217;Brien went as far as admitting \u201cthat\u2019s the sound of Jonny trying to fuck the song up\u201d because \u201che really didn\u2019t like it the first time we played it\u201d. O\u2019Brien added that Greenwood\u2019s violent musical outbursts effectively \u201cmade the song\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>Yorke also reflected on how well Greenwood\u2019s distorted contributions ended up complimenting the message behind the music, noting how it was \u201ca real self-destruct song\u201d that called for extremely intense dynamics through drops and lifts.<\/p>\n<p>The biggest of those lifts arrives after the second chorus when Yorke sings \u201cShe\u2019s runnin\u2019 out the door\u201d as Greenwood scratches his guitar into oblivion, using octave shapes to create a counter melody above the unassuming chord movement that runs through the entire four minutes.<\/p>\n<p>For the final verse, it all simmers back down, ending with Yorke\u2019s moody observation: \u201cI don\u2019t belong here.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>There has been some debate over the meaning of the song\u2019s lyrics over the years, with the band members stating it was in fact a happy song about recognising what you are, as well as the total opposite \u2013 realising you are not good enough for the person you are in love with.<\/p>\n<p>Yorke stated that his lyrics were written during \u201ca pretty strange period in my life\u201d, when he was attending college and \u201creally fucked up\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>He also confessed that he had \u201ca real problem being a man in the \u201990s\u201d, reasoning: \u201cTo actually assert yourself in a masculine way without looking like you\u2019re in a hard rock band is a very difficult thing to do.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He went on to explain: \u201cIt comes back to the music we write, which is not effeminate, but it\u2019s not brutal in its arrogance\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>33 years on, Creep remains an anthem for disenfranchised youth \u2013 and while it is highly unlikely that the Radiohead of today would write a song of such minimalist fashion, it undoubtedly played a crucial part in their rise.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"It\u2019s one of the great debut singles by a guitar band \u2013 but it\u2019s also caused a whole&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":774,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[64,63,134,136],"class_list":["post-773","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-music","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-entertainment","tag-music"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/773","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=773"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/773\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/774"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=773"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=773"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=773"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}