Creep (Radiohead song)
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| Single by Radiohead | ||||||||
| from the album Pablo Honey | ||||||||
| Released | 21 September 1992 | |||||||
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| Recorded | 1992 at Chipping Norton Recording Studios in Oxfordshire, England | |||||||
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| Length | 3:59 | |||||||
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"Creep" is a song by the English alternative rock band Radiohead, released as their debut single in 1992; it appeared on their first album, Pablo Honey (1993). During its initial release, "Creep" was not a chart success. However, upon re-release in 1993, it became a worldwide hit. Attendees of Radiohead's early gigs often exhibited little interest in the band's other songs, causing the band to react against "Creep" and play it less often during the mid-to-late 1990s. It is included in the Radiohead: The Best Of compilation album.
The artwork for the single is a painting by Maurice Burns, called "Craigavon Under Age Drinkers Rule".
According to Radiohead bassist Colin Greenwood, Thom Yorke wrote "Creep" while studying at Exeter University in the late 1980s. Guitarist Jonny Greenwood said that the song was inspired by a girl that Yorke had followed around who showed up unexpectedly during a show by the band.
In 1992, during rehearsal sessions with producers Sean Slade and Paul Q. Kolderie, Radiohead spontaneously performed "Creep". Yorke jokingly described the song as "our Scott Walker song"; Slade and Kolderie mistook this to mean the song was a cover.
After tension arose due to unsatisfactory attempts at recording other songs, Slade and Kolderie tried to improve morale by requesting Radiohead play "Creep" again. The band recorded the song in a single take; after the performance everyone in the room burst into applause. Once the band assured Kolderie that "Creep" was an original song, he called EMI to tell them to consider it as Radiohead's first single. While the recording had minimal overdubs and the band did not intend to release it, the producers were impressed with the song.
Due to similarities to "The Air That I Breathe", a song recorded by the Hollies in 1973, Albert Hammond and Mike Hazlewood are credited as co-writers of "Creep". "Creep" uses a chord progression used in "The Air That I Breathe" in its verse and a melody from "The Air That I Breathe" in the bridge following the second chorus.
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