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Creep was released on 21st Sept 1992. It was
about Thom’s experience in college but he doesn’t like the lyrics though.
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Thom’s songs were very personal, written as a form of a
therapy. And he felt it quite weird when the fans sang along the line “I’m
better off dead” in ‘Prove Yourself’. Somehow, it was encouraging to know
that their live gigs changed for the better now, with fans singing along their
songs.
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Thom had chosen the baby photo for the Pablo Honey cover
because he thought the infant resembles so much like him.
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Thom wore a yellow raincoat when performing ‘Creep’ in
Arsenio Hall’s popular late-night show in US.
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It was not unusual for Thom to wake up in the morning in
his hotel room, turn on the MTV, and see his own image on video. This was the
beginning of Radiohead’s success. Well, at least in the US.
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Even though Creep and Pablo Honey were made so successful
in US, to the extent of receiving gratitude from Suede via fax, Thom was so
eager to get on to the next album.
“It’s starting to get a bit
frustrating for us because we’ve got 20 or 30 songs ready to go into
rehearsal, and we just want to start working on that to get a better
perspective of what we’re doing now.”
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Thom loved it so much when Creep appears in Beavis and
Butthead
“That was great. My favourite bit
is where Beavis goes, ‘If they didn’t have that bit in the song that
sucked, then the other bit wouldn’t be so great.’ Yes!”
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Thom hates the time when they perform
Creep at an MTV Beach Party and swore that would be the last time they’d do
that fucking thing.
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Thom (and Jonny) modelled for
fashion-magazine spreads.
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Thom underwent various hair
transformations throughout 1993-94 tours. He even had blonde extensions
done—instant long hair for the US visit.
“Me image changes were a result of
a low boredom threshold and a lack of confidence in what I look like.”
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Thom received a shocking letter from a prison inmate that
read, ‘I’m the creep to that song. I killed this bloke. They made me do it.
It wasn’t me, it was the words in my head.’
“I felt like someone had walked
over my grave.”
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Thom also received letters from fans who believed Thom knew
the answers to their problems.
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Thom felt that he didn’t owe anyone an explanation
despite the very personal nature of his songs. There was this interview in US
when the DJ asked Thom whether he was a fucked up kid.
“I just sat there for 5 minutes and
decided not to answer her. And I haven’t said anything on the subject since.
Once I’d given people that information, I find it very, very painful.”
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Thom lost his voice on the morning where they were to
perform in Reading Festival. He told Rachel to ring their manager and said he
can’t speak. They cancelled their gig then.
“I’m fully aware that the reason
a lot of people thought we didn’t do Reading was that I was too shit-scared.
And I’m sure that part of it was that I was so scared that my voice just
collapsed. I went to see the specialist a week later. When he felt my neck, he
said it was like concrete!”
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Thom responded the way he often did when confronting his
own limitations: he sat down and wrote a song called, ‘The Iron Lung’.
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Thom’s health deteriorates. His would lose his voice and
sometimes, his back went out. There was once when he got off the bus in San
Francisco and just collapsed on the ground.
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During the tour, they were sick of one another… even to
the point of splitting up since they were so frustrated that they couldn’t get
their new songs recorded and all. But they held on and remain strong.
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It was unbearable for Thom when they got back to Oxford for
a six-week break as he described himself as “a sensitive artist who has to be
alone, in order to create wonderful music.”
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Thom promised that their 2nd album would be much
better than the first since he admitted that they were so naïve and didn’t
know how to use the studio back then.
“It’s going to be a lot calmer
and a lot more simpler, without being boring. The hysteria will be subtle.”
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