List of unreleased songs by Radiohead

The English alternative rock band Radiohead have performed and/or recorded numerous songs that have not been officially released. Live performances of many of the songs circulate as bootlegs. Asked in 2013 about the status of the unreleased songs, Radiohead producer Nigel Godrich said: "Everything will surface one day... it all exists... and so [they] will eventually get there, I'm sure."[1] He cited the song "Nude", released on Radiohead's 2007 album In Rainbows but written 12 years prior, as an example of a song that took several years to complete.[1]

This is a list of known unreleased songs in chronological order.

"Big Boots" / "Man O'War"

Radiohead performed "Big Boots", also known as "Man O'War", in 1995 and again on their 2002 tour. In March 1998, they entered Abbey Road Studios to record the song for the 1998 film The Avengers, but were unsatisfied with the results. Footage of the recording session appears in the 1998 documentary Meeting People Is Easy.[2]

"I Promise"

Radiohead performed "I Promise" in 1996, while touring as Alanis Morisette's support act. Yorke likened the song to the band Joy Division.[3]

"Lift"

Radiohead performed "Lift" regularly during the 1996 leg of the Bends tour. Rolling Stone described it as "one of the last vestiges of that album's anthemic, Britpop hooks before the band embarked on a darker path with OK Computer."[4] The band performed a slower, "more restrained" arrangement of the song during their 2002 tour,[4] later dismissed by guitarists Jonny Greenwood and Ed O'Brien as inferior.[5]

In 2003, O'Brien said: "The spirit of the song was there in ‘96. It was kind of like… when it was first done it was our… it was Radiohead doing their "Design for Life", you know, it was that kind of epic song. And we’re not in that place at the moment. So… maybe it will happen, you never know."[5] In 2015, Greenwood suggested that Radiohead had worked on "Lift" again, saying: "It's a management favourite. What people don’t know is that there’s a very old song on each album, like 'Nude' on In Rainbows. We never found the right arrangement for that, until then. 'Lift' is just like that. When the idea is right, it stays right. It doesn't really matter in which form."[4]

"Follow Me Around"

"Follow Me Around" made its first appearance in the 1998 documentary Meeting People Is Easy. According to Rolling Stone, it is one of singer Thom Yorke's "darkest songs, if only because he's admitting he knows what's coming, but has no other choice than to carry on," with lyrics about "shadowy figures lurking in corners".[4]

"Skirting on the Surface"

Yorke debuted "Skirting on the Surface" in 2009 in a solo piano rendition while on tour with his other band Atoms for Peace.[6] It was first performed by Radiohead in 2012, in an arrangement which Pitchfork described as a "bleak slow-groover". Variations on the title phrase have appeared on Radiohead's website since the OK Computer era.[2]

"I Froze Up"

Yorke debuted "I Froze Up" on Rhodes piano during a webcast performance in 2002. In 2010, he performed the song again at a solo concert in Cambridge, England, and two months later in Chicago while touring with Atoms for Peace. Rolling Stone described it as "sparse" and "haunting".[4]

"Come To Your Senses"

"Come To Your Senses" was played in June 2006 at a soundcheck but has not made an appearance since.[6] According to Pitchfork, one version "may or may not have gone for nine minutes and include a Jonny Greenwood banjo solo."[2]

"Open the Floodgates" / "Porous"

"Open the Floodgates", also referred to by bassist Colin Greenwood as "Porous", dates to at least 2006. Yorke debuted it on piano alongside "I Froze Up" in 2010.[2]

"I Lie Awake"

"I Lie Awake" was played in soundchecks during Radiohead's 2006 tour.[6]

"Wake Me"

"Wake Me" was played in soundchecks during the 2008 In Rainbows tour.[6]

"Riding a Bullet"

"Riding a Bullet" was played in several soundchecks during the 2008 In Rainbows tour.[6]

"Dawn Chorus"

Yorke mentioned "Dawn Chorus" in a 2009 interview, saying it was his current favourite Radiohead song.[2]

"Cut a Hole"

Radiohead debuted "Cut a Hole" on the King of Limbs tour in 2012.[2] The song builds gradually to a climax, with "menacing" lyrics about a "long-distance connection".[2] The NME described it as "an atmospheric, shifting gloomathon" with a "head-flung-back vocal from Thom, climaxing with some of his highest notes since OK Computer."[7]

References

  1. 1 2 Kreps, Daniel (18 February 2013). "Thom Yorke Talks 'Amok' Leak, Photobombing in Reddit Q&A". Spin. Retrieved 3 May 2016.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "19 Unreleased Radiohead Songs That Could Be on Their Next Album - The Pitch - Pitchfork". pitchfork.com. Retrieved 2016-04-04.
  3. ↑ NME.COM. "Radiohead's 'A Moon Shaped Pool': 10 Unreleased Gems That Didn't Make It | NME.COM". NME.COM. Retrieved 2016-08-28.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 ""Polyethylene (Parts 1 & 2)" (1997) - 20 Insanely Great Radiohead Songs Only Hardcore Fans Know". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2016-04-04.
  5. 1 2 "Radiohead Hail to the Thief – Interview CD" (Interview). 2003. Promotional interview CD sent to British music press.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 "Hear 12 potential songs for Radiohead's new album". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved 2016-05-04.
  7. ↑ NME.COM. "NME Reviews - Radiohead - 'Cut A Hole'". NME.COM. Retrieved 2016-04-04.
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