Radiohead – The Bends

The Bends is the second studio album by the English rock band Radiohead, released on 13 March 1995 by Parlophone. Most tracks were produced by John Leckie, with extra production by Radiohead, Nigel Godrich and Jim Warren. The Bends was the first Radiohead album with cover art by Stanley Donwood, who, with singer Thom Yorke, has produced all of Radiohead’s artwork since. It was also Radiohead’s first collaboration with Godrich, who has produced all their subsequent albums.

The Bends combines guitar songs and ballads, with more restrained arrangements and cryptic lyrics than Radiohead’s debut album, Pablo Honey (1993). Work began at RAK Studios, London, in February 1994. Tensions were high, with pressure from EMI to match sales of Radiohead’s debut single “Creep”, and progress was slow. After an international tour in May and June, recording resumed at Abbey Road in London and the Manor in Oxfordshire; the recording took around four months in total. The album was mixed by Leckie and by Sean Slade and Paul Q. Kolderie, who had produced Pablo Honey.

The Bends produced several singles, backed by music videos: “My Iron Lung” (released as an EP in 1994), the double A-side “Planet Telex / High and Dry”, “Fake Plastic Trees”, “Just”, and Radiohead’s top-five UK entry “Street Spirit (Fade Out)”. “The Bends” was also released as a single in Ireland. A live video, Live at the Astoria, was released on VHS on the same day as the album. Radiohead toured extensively in support of The Bends, including US tours supporting R.E.M. and Alanis Morissette. Though it reached number four on the UK Albums Chart, The Bends failed to build on the success of “Creep” outside the UK, reaching number 88 on the US Billboard 200. It has since been certified platinum in the US and quadruple platinum in the UK.

The Bends received greater acclaim than Pablo Honey, including a nomination for Best British Album at the Brit Awards 1996; it elevated Radiohead from one-hit-wonders to one of the most recognised British bands. It is frequently named one of the greatest albums of all time, and was included in Colin Larkin’s All Time Top 1000 Albums 3rd Edition (2000) and all three editions of Rolling Stone‘s 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. The Bends is credited for influencing a generation of post-Britpop acts, such as Coldplay, Muse and Travis.