| "The Bends" | ||||
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| Single by Radiohead | ||||
| from the album The Bends | ||||
| B-side |
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| Written | 1992 | |||
| Released | 26 July 1996 | |||
| Recorded | July 1994 | |||
| Studio | The Manor (Oxfordshire) | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length |
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| Label | Parlophone | |||
| Songwriter(s) | ||||
| Producer(s) | John Leckie | |||
| Radiohead singles chronology | ||||
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| Licensed audio | ||||
| "The Bends" on YouTube | ||||
"The Bends" is a song by the English rock band Radiohead from their second studio album, The Bends (1995). In Ireland, it was released by Parlophone on 26 July 1996 as the album's sixth and final single, reaching number 26 on the Irish Singles Chart.
Written in 1992 during the grunge era, "The Bends" predated the release of Radiohead's 1992 debut single, "Creep", and debut studio album, Pablo Honey (1993). A fan favourite, Radiohead performed it numerous times over the following two years before recording it at the Manor Studio in Oxfordshire, England, with producer John Leckie. It remains one of Radiohead's most frequently performed songs.
"The Bends" has been compared to the work of bands such as Queen, the Beatles, Pixies, the Smiths, and Oasis; Radiohead's singer, Thom Yorke, described it as a "Bowie pastiche". The track consists of five sections, making it one of the most structurally complex songs on The Bends. Several critics interpreted the lyrics as a commentary on the success of "Creep", which had led the media to label Radiohead as a one-hit wonder. However, Yorke said the lyrics were intended to be humorous and had been misinterpreted.
Although "The Bends" has been musically characterised by critics as Britpop—a British-based genre that Yorke and lead guitarist Jonny Greenwood have criticised in press interviews—some commentators have noted that its lyrics subtly satirise the genre and its cultural movement.
The song was included on the greatest hits album Radiohead: The Best Of (2008), and other versions have appeared on compilations by Radiohead and other artists. In 2017, Uncut ranked it as the third-greatest Radiohead song, while NME placed its guitar solo as the seventh-greatest in music history.