Excellent. I was only 10 when OK Computer came out, and I only really got into Radiohead when Amnesiac came out. I've seen this Jools performance numerous times, but this is the first time I've heard it described as a game-changing moment. I had no idea that this was the first time many were exposed to OK Computer, but yes, it makes sense. Most histories talk about Glastonbury 1997 as the moment Radiohead became SOMETHING ELSE, but I suppose there was something in the air that whole year!
Yeah, this performance was akin to The Beatles on Ed Sullivan. It wasn't as culturally huge as the Ed Sullivan performance, but musically, it was obvious they were in a different league than most bands. It wasn't just music it was Art with a capital A.
Back then, most music fans watched Jools, and that evening we witnessed something truly special. Even the musicians who shared the stage with Radiohead that night were in awe. Glastonbury confirmed what had happened on Jools as they headlined to an audience of 100k.
I saw just about ever brit band on Creation Records and 4AD in the 90's. That was a great decade for music. I was not feeling the grunge scene at all. I was even offered a job by Warner Bros. Records to promote the scene. They were willing to pay to relocate me from Burbank to Seattle. It just was not my thing, I just hoped at the time it would get "Yo MTV Raps" off the air. Rap was saturating MTV and I was happy seeing Nirvana's video but I don't remember where I was, probably home. It was the bands like Oasis, Blur, Suede, Pulp, Chapterhouse, Lush, Ride etc. etc. OMG what a beautiful time for music!
Thank you for reading and commenting, Lori! I moved to London in 1993, and shoegaze was already sadly forgotten due to the American bands and grunge. However, it was indeed a fun time, as being there at the birth of BritPop was very exciting. The legacy of The Stone Roses was also so huge that they seemed to be the yardstick that so many other bands were being measured by. I also met many people, including Jay Kay of Jamiroquai (I worked with him at a pub before his band became famous!) who turned me on to Ride, My Bloody Valentine, Slowdive, Teardrop Explodes etc.
I saw a young Oasis at the Hammersmith Palais. It was very early on, as they had yet to hit supersonic speeds in fame and popularity, but you could feel you were witnessing something special. To be honest, I eventually lost interest in Oasis, but so many other bands emerged out of the scene. Some of my favorites (Longpigs, in particular) are now long forgotten by the masses, but in their brief moment, they shined bright, for me at least (and I adore the two albums Longpigs left us)!
I saw My Bloody Valentine at the Roxy in Hollywood. They were so brilliant, but the feedback was so damn loud. It felt like you are standing beneath the shit. Everyone was calling the label the next morning with hearing problems that’s pretty cool. You got to live in London. I visited there at 1995. I really love the Goth bands as well, I was into the Mission UK,Sisters of Mercy and The Chameleons UK..and The Church, House of Love etc. Have you heard Terry Bickers band Levitation? They were part of that shoegaze scene. I was lucky enough to see them at the Club Lingerie in Hollywood. Cheers!
I lived in London for 14 years and loved every minute of it. But all good things must pass and it was time to start a new chapter, and we moved to Portland.
I never saw MBV, but I have friends who have and said it was so dangerously loud they felt like they were standing under a jet engine. I do know Levitation! A good friend of mine is a huge fan of The House of Love. I was a big fan of other British psych bands, Spacemen 3 and SunDial (Gary Ramon's band), but neither of those bands registered with the US audience. More people have since discovered S3 because of Spiritualized and their obvious influence on the Brian Jonestown Massacre. I was hoping to see S3 on their 'Playing With Fire' US Tour of 1989, but sadly, they broke up dooming the tour for good.
Primal Scream was also very interesting back then, creating trippy, psychedelic dance music that seemed very far out compared to the US bands at the time!
Yes. This is one show I am sorry to have missed. My head was buried in classical music for too long. Again, it's you I have to thank for an introduction to Radiohead back in the late '90s.
Thanks Phil. I have followed their career very closely and am of the belief that both Thom (the vocalist) and Jonny (the floppy-haired lead guitarist with arm brace) are musical geniuses.
I've just sat down and watched/listened to this. It was a real 'wtf just happened' moment wasn't it? Something equivalent to a religious experience, I'd say. As you may remember, I bought OK Computer for Ana a few years ago, only a few decades behind the curve! I often wonder what kind of miracles of coincidence bring bands together and keep them together for long enough to birth such monumental works.
Wow!! Goosebumps here! Not sure I ever saw the Jools Holland performance but that was incredible! Your description of the performance really took me there and I found myself singing along with the lyrics you posted.
I was a huge fan of those two albums. The Bends was fantastic but OK Computer was sublime, next level stuff and remains the band’s high water mark for me. I wasn’t ready for Kid A and really didn’t like it at the time. My musical tastes have expanded over the years and I’ve since softened on the album but OK Computer will remain the masterpiece in their catalog for me.
I was lucky enough to see them perform at Radio City Music Hall in the spring of 1998. I’d been in NY to see Ani DiFranco in Albany (she was incredible) and down in the city when I saw Radiohead were playing. On a whim four of us headed over there to see if we could find tickets. I was SO broke at the time, staying three to a room in a tiny hotel room with my $500 credit card limit maxed out. So I pretty much much had a budget of $10-20 for a ticket. My hopes were not high.
As I drifted through the throng outside the venue these two young ladies approached us to see if we were looking for tickets. One of them worked for MTV and had received free tickets. When I sheepishly asked how much she wanted for them she replied, “nothing, they’re yours, we just wanted to make sure someone got to enjoy them”. Centre stage tickets about fifteen rows from the stage. Some of the best seats in the house. For free.
That concert is right up there in the pantheon of great shows I’ve attended. Spiritualized opened and were the perfect warmup for Radiohead who were closing out the OK Computer tour. It probably remains a top five concert for me almost thirty years later.
That's fantastic, Mark. Thank you for reading and sharing your thoughts and experiences.
I was fortunate to have been living in London and have seen them five times from 1995-2017. Two of those shows were at Brixton Academy before they exploded into the arena circuit. I also caught them at Wembley Arena and Earl's Court. The last time was in Portland on their Moon Shaped Pool tour, which was a nightmare to get tickets to, but we did. In 1997, a friend of mine was working at Wembley Arena, and he gave us backstage passes, which got us to the front of the floor as well. I didn't meet Radiohead with those passes, but I did meet Jarvis Cocker and Zoe Ball.
Album wise, I adore Kid A and In Rainbows, but I also love Moon Shaped Pool, which is Thom's Blood on the Tracks. In 2017, they opened the Portland show with 'Daydreaming.' An odd choice to kick off a show, but it was breathtaking.
I've never been a Radiohead fan; It's down to my own protest of certain people I knew who were "too smart" for "dumb rock" and would use them like a weapon of sorts.
But you've painted picture that I feel I need to visit. An exhilarating performance is an exhilarating performance!
Also, England always had us on the music shows (Europe in general really with Beat Club / Musikladen, Rock Palast, AVRO's Top Pop, and whetever the hell was going on at Madrid's La Eded de Oro performances in the 80s on channel TVE!). I use to do these video screenings of televised performances, and it just blows me away how much more variety was presented there than in the US—and particularly how COOL music played such a part of British life and identity.
Unfortunately, fans, and academics, can be the worst gatekeepers. I have similar issues with the academization of visual art (probably because I am also an art educator).
For me, if art is honest, speaks to its audience, and creates something very new, the direction it takes is irrelevant. Whether it's the "what you see is what you get" of Frank Stella, the raw four-minute simplicity of The Stooges in 'Loose,' or something as textural, layered, complex, and multifaceted as Radiohead or Picasso's 'Guernica'.
It all holds value.
One doesn't have to overthink art, but it should always be about the idea, and how you approach and execute that idea will be the artist's decision. However, I firmly believe that art should never be driven by financial gain, as that does compromise its honesty, the idea, and the artist's authentic voice.
Nicely recalled and recreated, Michael. Amazing to think it was so long ago. I'm also constantly surprised just how long that TV show has been running, and I have some vivid memories from it too.
Thanks, Richard. I miss those music shows that I used to watch all the time when I lived in England. Jools was always the king of music, but even the chaotic post-pub craziness of The Tube, The Word, and Chris Evans' TFI Friday were fun. I also remember a music show called The White Room that ran around that time. And, of course, the great Classic Albums series. The US has nothing that comes remotely close to these shows.
Excellent. I was only 10 when OK Computer came out, and I only really got into Radiohead when Amnesiac came out. I've seen this Jools performance numerous times, but this is the first time I've heard it described as a game-changing moment. I had no idea that this was the first time many were exposed to OK Computer, but yes, it makes sense. Most histories talk about Glastonbury 1997 as the moment Radiohead became SOMETHING ELSE, but I suppose there was something in the air that whole year!
Yeah, this performance was akin to The Beatles on Ed Sullivan. It wasn't as culturally huge as the Ed Sullivan performance, but musically, it was obvious they were in a different league than most bands. It wasn't just music it was Art with a capital A.
Back then, most music fans watched Jools, and that evening we witnessed something truly special. Even the musicians who shared the stage with Radiohead that night were in awe. Glastonbury confirmed what had happened on Jools as they headlined to an audience of 100k.
I saw just about ever brit band on Creation Records and 4AD in the 90's. That was a great decade for music. I was not feeling the grunge scene at all. I was even offered a job by Warner Bros. Records to promote the scene. They were willing to pay to relocate me from Burbank to Seattle. It just was not my thing, I just hoped at the time it would get "Yo MTV Raps" off the air. Rap was saturating MTV and I was happy seeing Nirvana's video but I don't remember where I was, probably home. It was the bands like Oasis, Blur, Suede, Pulp, Chapterhouse, Lush, Ride etc. etc. OMG what a beautiful time for music!
Thank you for reading and commenting, Lori! I moved to London in 1993, and shoegaze was already sadly forgotten due to the American bands and grunge. However, it was indeed a fun time, as being there at the birth of BritPop was very exciting. The legacy of The Stone Roses was also so huge that they seemed to be the yardstick that so many other bands were being measured by. I also met many people, including Jay Kay of Jamiroquai (I worked with him at a pub before his band became famous!) who turned me on to Ride, My Bloody Valentine, Slowdive, Teardrop Explodes etc.
I saw a young Oasis at the Hammersmith Palais. It was very early on, as they had yet to hit supersonic speeds in fame and popularity, but you could feel you were witnessing something special. To be honest, I eventually lost interest in Oasis, but so many other bands emerged out of the scene. Some of my favorites (Longpigs, in particular) are now long forgotten by the masses, but in their brief moment, they shined bright, for me at least (and I adore the two albums Longpigs left us)!
I saw My Bloody Valentine at the Roxy in Hollywood. They were so brilliant, but the feedback was so damn loud. It felt like you are standing beneath the shit. Everyone was calling the label the next morning with hearing problems that’s pretty cool. You got to live in London. I visited there at 1995. I really love the Goth bands as well, I was into the Mission UK,Sisters of Mercy and The Chameleons UK..and The Church, House of Love etc. Have you heard Terry Bickers band Levitation? They were part of that shoegaze scene. I was lucky enough to see them at the Club Lingerie in Hollywood. Cheers!
I lived in London for 14 years and loved every minute of it. But all good things must pass and it was time to start a new chapter, and we moved to Portland.
I never saw MBV, but I have friends who have and said it was so dangerously loud they felt like they were standing under a jet engine. I do know Levitation! A good friend of mine is a huge fan of The House of Love. I was a big fan of other British psych bands, Spacemen 3 and SunDial (Gary Ramon's band), but neither of those bands registered with the US audience. More people have since discovered S3 because of Spiritualized and their obvious influence on the Brian Jonestown Massacre. I was hoping to see S3 on their 'Playing With Fire' US Tour of 1989, but sadly, they broke up dooming the tour for good.
Primal Scream was also very interesting back then, creating trippy, psychedelic dance music that seemed very far out compared to the US bands at the time!
I love all those bands you mentioned.....only one I never saw was Spacemen 3.
Yes. This is one show I am sorry to have missed. My head was buried in classical music for too long. Again, it's you I have to thank for an introduction to Radiohead back in the late '90s.
Thanks Phil. I have followed their career very closely and am of the belief that both Thom (the vocalist) and Jonny (the floppy-haired lead guitarist with arm brace) are musical geniuses.
I've just sat down and watched/listened to this. It was a real 'wtf just happened' moment wasn't it? Something equivalent to a religious experience, I'd say. As you may remember, I bought OK Computer for Ana a few years ago, only a few decades behind the curve! I often wonder what kind of miracles of coincidence bring bands together and keep them together for long enough to birth such monumental works.
Wow!! Goosebumps here! Not sure I ever saw the Jools Holland performance but that was incredible! Your description of the performance really took me there and I found myself singing along with the lyrics you posted.
I was a huge fan of those two albums. The Bends was fantastic but OK Computer was sublime, next level stuff and remains the band’s high water mark for me. I wasn’t ready for Kid A and really didn’t like it at the time. My musical tastes have expanded over the years and I’ve since softened on the album but OK Computer will remain the masterpiece in their catalog for me.
I was lucky enough to see them perform at Radio City Music Hall in the spring of 1998. I’d been in NY to see Ani DiFranco in Albany (she was incredible) and down in the city when I saw Radiohead were playing. On a whim four of us headed over there to see if we could find tickets. I was SO broke at the time, staying three to a room in a tiny hotel room with my $500 credit card limit maxed out. So I pretty much much had a budget of $10-20 for a ticket. My hopes were not high.
As I drifted through the throng outside the venue these two young ladies approached us to see if we were looking for tickets. One of them worked for MTV and had received free tickets. When I sheepishly asked how much she wanted for them she replied, “nothing, they’re yours, we just wanted to make sure someone got to enjoy them”. Centre stage tickets about fifteen rows from the stage. Some of the best seats in the house. For free.
That concert is right up there in the pantheon of great shows I’ve attended. Spiritualized opened and were the perfect warmup for Radiohead who were closing out the OK Computer tour. It probably remains a top five concert for me almost thirty years later.
That's fantastic, Mark. Thank you for reading and sharing your thoughts and experiences.
I was fortunate to have been living in London and have seen them five times from 1995-2017. Two of those shows were at Brixton Academy before they exploded into the arena circuit. I also caught them at Wembley Arena and Earl's Court. The last time was in Portland on their Moon Shaped Pool tour, which was a nightmare to get tickets to, but we did. In 1997, a friend of mine was working at Wembley Arena, and he gave us backstage passes, which got us to the front of the floor as well. I didn't meet Radiohead with those passes, but I did meet Jarvis Cocker and Zoe Ball.
Album wise, I adore Kid A and In Rainbows, but I also love Moon Shaped Pool, which is Thom's Blood on the Tracks. In 2017, they opened the Portland show with 'Daydreaming.' An odd choice to kick off a show, but it was breathtaking.
I've never been a Radiohead fan; It's down to my own protest of certain people I knew who were "too smart" for "dumb rock" and would use them like a weapon of sorts.
But you've painted picture that I feel I need to visit. An exhilarating performance is an exhilarating performance!
Also, England always had us on the music shows (Europe in general really with Beat Club / Musikladen, Rock Palast, AVRO's Top Pop, and whetever the hell was going on at Madrid's La Eded de Oro performances in the 80s on channel TVE!). I use to do these video screenings of televised performances, and it just blows me away how much more variety was presented there than in the US—and particularly how COOL music played such a part of British life and identity.
I think that is a fair comment, Jamie.
Unfortunately, fans, and academics, can be the worst gatekeepers. I have similar issues with the academization of visual art (probably because I am also an art educator).
For me, if art is honest, speaks to its audience, and creates something very new, the direction it takes is irrelevant. Whether it's the "what you see is what you get" of Frank Stella, the raw four-minute simplicity of The Stooges in 'Loose,' or something as textural, layered, complex, and multifaceted as Radiohead or Picasso's 'Guernica'.
It all holds value.
One doesn't have to overthink art, but it should always be about the idea, and how you approach and execute that idea will be the artist's decision. However, I firmly believe that art should never be driven by financial gain, as that does compromise its honesty, the idea, and the artist's authentic voice.
Nicely recalled and recreated, Michael. Amazing to think it was so long ago. I'm also constantly surprised just how long that TV show has been running, and I have some vivid memories from it too.
Thanks, Richard. I miss those music shows that I used to watch all the time when I lived in England. Jools was always the king of music, but even the chaotic post-pub craziness of The Tube, The Word, and Chris Evans' TFI Friday were fun. I also remember a music show called The White Room that ran around that time. And, of course, the great Classic Albums series. The US has nothing that comes remotely close to these shows.