Radiohead is an Oxford (Great Britain) band consisting of Thomas (Thom) Edward Yorke on vocals + guitars, Jonathan (Jonny) Greenwood on guitars + keyboards + percussion, Edward (Ed) O'Brien on guitars + background vocals, Colin Greenwood on bass guitar, and Philip (Phil) James Selway on drums. After finishing studying at various universities (except Jonny, the youngest member), the former bandmembers decided to re-join, and in 1992 came their first EP called "Drill". The year after, their first album "Pablo Honey" was released. The music was good, but not very original, although a few of the songs still remains classics. At this very beginning of their professional career, Radiohead didn't seem like they would overglance all others. There was, however, one song on the record called "Creep" that created a massive media hype on its re-release in the summer of 1993. The year before, it had been released without further success, but now an Israelian radio channel began playing it regularly, and suddenly the song could be heard everywhere, including the UK. But the place where its success was biggest was in the USA. Here Radiohead became known as the "Creep"-guys, and at their concerts they were asked to do this song over and over again. In the end, it became too much for the band, and for a period they refused to play it live. Eventually they decided to take a short break, but in late 1994 they returned with the "My Iron Lung" EP consisting of 8 songs, and in 1995 the critically acclaimed album "The Bends" was sent on the market. The songs were of such a high standard that it was hard to believe they were the same band. But they were still Radiohead, and now they had proven to be more than just a one-hit wonder. The great rocking "Just", the sad but beautiful "Black Star" and the confusingly high-tec "Planet Telex" were just some among 12 great songs, but two tracks stood out: The marvellous songs "Fake Plastic Trees" and "Street Spirit (Fade Out)". Here, Thom Yorke for the first time really showed his fantastic voice which might only stand back for the late Freddie Mercury's tones. At the same time, Yorke's lyrics kept getting better and better, and he showed that he was no ordinary singer-songwriter. The young Jonny Greenwood also showed an extraordinary musical talent which would only be more expansive later on, leading him to use numerous instruments at Radiohead's concerts. While "The Bends" was called one of the best albums of the '90s, the release of the astonishing "OK Computer" on June 16, 1997, totally knocked everyone out. This was nothing less than an astonishing, breathtaking, epic record which would easily be the year's and the decade's best album. In fact, the readers of the British Q Magazine voted it "The best album of the Universe ever" (although it should have been enough with just the Earth, right?). Here were the technically amazing "Airbag", the visionary "Subterranean Homesick Alien", the sarcastic "Karma Police" (which went on to be a big hit), the confusing "Fitter, Happier", the mind-blowing "Electioneering", the scary "Climbing Up The Walls", the nicest imaginable song "No Surprises" and the song where Thom Yorke reached his most pure voice to date, "The Tourist". There was also the Bosnian warhymn "Lucky" and "Let Down", where the stereo effects create a harmonic end, and then there was "Exit Music (For A Film)". Written after the band had seen 10 minutes of "Romeo & Juliet", this song is about two young lovers running away for freedom. The chilling voice combined with the angel-like harmonium and the orchestral chaos makes this - in my opinion - the most beautiful song ever written. There is, however, one song on "OK Computer" that beats it. It's called "Paranoid Android" and deals with, according to Thom himself, the decline of the Roman Empire, although it is more than difficult to discover that in the lyrics. It more seems like Yorke's surpressed hatred towards the conventional businessman shows its face in lines like "Kicking squealing Gucci little piggy" and "The yuppies networking". Chosen as an unconventional first single, this 6m 20s long epic song is built up in 7 sections. First comes what you could call the two "verses" and the repeated line "Huh? What's that?" followed by a rocking section and a guitarsolo, ending somewhere in the storm of chanting munks taking over the picture. Probably the most harmonic part of a song to date, these two minutes are so beautiful I could crie of joy. With the ending line, "God loves his children, yeah", Thom Yorke leaves the scene, the whirling guitars ending the song. I rank this song on the lines of "A Day In The Life" by The Beatles and "Bohemian Rhapsody" by Queen. No matter what you think, you cannot defy that Radiohead have undergone an amazing development in the 4 years that went from "Pablo" to "OK". Few other bands - except for The Beatles - have managed to change their musical direction and develop their skills that much. For me it seems that they have found the way for music to go into the next milennium and still being more human than machinelike. If Radiohead continue on their road to stardust, it is hard to say where they'll end. It'll be exciting to see if they can do even better next time when they start working on their new album in October .......... MY EXPERIENCE WITH RADIOHEAD: I didn’t know Radiohead until last year when I saw the video for "Paranoid Android". I was stunned and soon decided to find out more about this group. After reading some great reviews I bough "OK Computer" and heard it 39 times during the first week. It didn’t take me long to get "The Bends" and "Pablo Honey", and my appreciation of the band grew with incredibly speed. I read just about everything on the Net about them, and my great knowledge turned out to be rewarded in February this year when I won a journey to Australia! I competed with others in a contest on the Danish radio programme Strax, and after answering 60 questions about politics, geography, history, and of course Radiohead, I had won two flight tickets to Perth, Australia, including a week’s stay at a hotel and a Radiohead concert. The next day (!) my cousin and I were on a plane, and we had a wonderful week. Some hours before the concert I passed by the building and heard music (turned out to be the warm-up band), and my desperation for meeting the band made me walk into the cinema on the backside of the building. After walking around in total darkness for 15 minutes, the alarm started beeping, and I ran away. What a chock... Radiohead played 25 songs in a fantastic concert, but unfortunately our seats were in the back, and it was difficult to see anything. A month later, I won another contest where I had stated why exactly I was Denmark’s biggest Radiohead fan. The prize: An "OK Computer" gold record! You may call me lucky. I choose to call it perfectionism. The next time Radiohead come to Denmark, I’ll try everything to come closer to them. And I will succeed. Trust me.