About six years ago, five like-minded young Englishmen from Oxford decided to do what many young men do to alleviate the boredom of school – form a band. Thom E. Yorke, Radiohead’s vocalist, failed his art courses at Exeter University, but was consoled by the fact that he was one of the best DJs at Exeter’s Lemon Grove Club (more about that later). During the summer of 1991, he got together with drummer Phil Selway, guitarist Ed O’Brien, guitarist Johnny Greenwood and his bassist brother Colin in Oxford where they all still live) and Radiohead was born.

Despite raucous and sometimes bloody shows – both the audience and the band members – Radiohead is THE antithesis of a band with a “rock and roll” lifestyle. They rarely drink and the way that they pass the time while on tour is playing bridge, which is what you would hardly expect from one of England’s hottest musical exports. Colin told me that maybe if they are still together in ten years then maybe they will get really pissed; by then I am sure that it will be a well deserved indulgence.

Radiohead, named after a song and memorable scene in David Bryne’s mid-80s film, True Stories, is now Oxford’s loudest claim to fame thanks to the runaway UK success of “Creep”, the lead single from their debut album, Pablo Honey, a turbulent slow-burning epic recorded in one take. “Creep” became an anthem of self-loathing, describe as “one of the best pieces of rock since Everest.” Radiohead has earned a dedicated live following across the UK from supporting the Catherine Wheel, Sultans of Ping, The Frank and Walters, Levitation and Kingmaker. “Creep” was voted one of the NME’s “Essential Ten Indie 45s of 1992” and made number 4 in “Critics Top 50 Singles of the Year”. Radiohead was tipped as one of the “Bands For 93” by Melody Maker and was voted one of the “Top 10 Best New Bands for 1993” in the NME Reader’s Poll. Their second single, “Anyone Can play Guitar” was a Melody Maker “Single of the Week” and Music Week “Pick of the Week” and became Radiohead’s first Top 40 single, peaking at number 32 in the UK. It certainly looks as if Radiohead is poised for the same success in America with “Creep” cracking the Top 40.

I had the opportunity to speak to Colin twice, the first time when I called him from my grandmother’s in Brooklyn when he filled in for the exhausted Ed O’Brian, who, according to Colin had been out the night before taking advantage of the city that never sleeps. The second time I spoke t Colin was when I wanted to gather some more information on Radiohead when The Island Ear realized that this was a band that we were going to be hearing a lot more from in the future.

Let’s start from the beginning – how did Radiohead get together?

Back in the mists of time we had a Bon Tempe drum machine we bought from a charity shop. It had a bossa nova and quick step pattern in it. Later we got a drummer and we also had three saxophone players as well. It was up to me to fire them since they were my friends – we’re still friends, they still talk to me because they respected my honesty. They’re sweet people, I just got a birthday card from one of them. Well, it was really, we originally just started playing around in a band for fun, but when things started to happen it wasn’t really practical to have three alto saxes.

What did your parents think when you decided on a career in music?

My mom thinks that this is all a passing fancy, that this is all completely silly and that we’re going to be out on the street next Monday. I think that this is a very healthy attitude to take. Well, she thinks it’s all not real, it’s all rather ephemeral and kind of ridiculous. She watches Top of the Pops and thinks that all those rock and roll people are drugged out of their eyeballs with their long hair and we say “Yes mum.” When we were kids she used to drive us to our rehearsals and she says that if she knew then what would be happening now she never would have driven us. She always said she didn’t mind doing it because it kept us off the streets. She rings up our guitarist, Ed, and asks him when all this silly business is going to end.

What would you do if all this did end?

I’d go back to school and study English and history.

Through your travels in America, what did you learn about this country that surprised you?

God, that’s a high-powered question. Well, I could be glib and say they have all these shops with nice clothes. Actually, I have a good friend who is studying at Berkeley and he assures me that the more time he spends here the more obvious the differences become.

What have you seen so far?

We’re getting a kind of common urban experience. New York and London seem very similar, it’s like a crash-culture experience. The most ridiculous thing is that all the money (in the USA) looks the same, why don’t they put it on different coloured paper? It’s not very considerate to people with poor vision, isn’t it? I had this ear infection while I was in New York and it was scary because when I went to the doctor the first thing I was asked was if I wanted to pay with American Express or Visa. Which is a bit different, we have socialized medicine, National Health Service. It’s so weird, the British government wants to introduce as much privatization as possible and it shouldn’t be, and America wants exactly the opposite.

How is the tour going?

Oh, where do we go from here? We’re going to Phoenix, that’s it yeah  - we’re going to Phoenix which we’re looking forward to and then we’re playing two dates in San Diego. I’m going to check out Jim Croce’s restaurant when I’m up there.

Are you looking forward to the tour ending?

(laughing) When does the madness stop? Do I want it to stop? Please stop the pain, I can’t take this anymore! Yeah, I want it to stop actually, I want to get home and see my girlfriend. We want to have a chance to write some more stuff and do some more stuff and do some more arranging.

Any plans to return to the States for another tour?

NO! (laughing) We are never coming back! No one would want us to come back. Actually, we’re probably coming back in September in some shape or form. We used to change musical styles every two months so you never know what will happen.

I wouldn’t go changing something that is working out so well for you

Yeah, I know. You’re right.

When you are on tour, how do you all retain your sanity and not want to kill each other?

Well, we’ve known each other for a ridiculous amount of years so nothing surprises me anymore.

Well, they (who’s they) say that you never really know someone until you live with them?

Well, I’ve lived with these guys before for over a year in Oxford in a house. It was like some nightmare version of the Monkees. O I wouldn’t recommend it. Tom slept on the floor one summer because he didn’t have any money – he spent it all on records. He used to make a fortune. He was a DJ in England and he’d blow it all on crap records. He freely admits it. He has the worst record collection. Well, I think he was actually going for the bulk quality over quantity. So I had him crashing on my floor. Me and Phil and Ed – the sensible three were sharing a house.

Are you a practical person?

No, I’m not. Ed’s very good with money.

Do you have a special responsibility within the group?

No, I don’t think I do really. Well, I’ve been listening to a lot of my brother’s jokes – but apart from that, nothing.

What’s it like working with a relative?

It’s bizarre, but Jonathan is a really sweetie so it’s alright expect his fringe (bangs) is getting so long that it looks like he has a back/front ponytail and he’s wearing these horrible shirts. Actually, it’s just fine working with him.

Do you feel like you have any control over the direction your career is taking?

I don’t know. I don’t know how much control you think you have and how much control you actually do. In England we have a lot of control, I mean what does control mean – that we can say something and it will happen? That we don’t have to do anything we don’t want to? But record companies can usually find ways of persuading people to do what they originally didn’t want to.

What have you been persuaded into doing that you really didn’t want to do?

Oh, we haven’t been persuaded into doing anything really. We work with great people actually. Capitol is terrific. I don’t know if I like LA though, very much. I’d really like it if Capitol was based in New York.

What music do you listen to?

Oh, I’ve got three cases of music I’m currently going through. I guess if I had to pick three they would be Joy Division, Unknown Pleasures, Nick Drake and James Brown because you’ve got to have a good groove. We did a radio show in Israel and we were asked what we’d like to play and it was like Joy Division, Tim Buckley, American Music Club. It was like the dirge hour.

Who do you admire?

Well, Peter Hook was always kind of a hero. But I admire our tour manager, Alex Hoffman.

I’m sure that he will be happy to hear that?

Yeah, especially since he’s doing the accounts at the moment. I admire writers rather than musicians.

Such as?

A guy called Walter Benjamin I admire; he’s a German writer who hated living in New York because he could never get lost, you always know exactly where you are in New York. New York is very orderly. America is very orderly. When you fly, you see all these neat little squares. IT was like the country was created by drawing a straight line through it. Tom’s reading Raymond Carver. I’m reading Garrison Keillor’s book which is kind of cool.

What are your plans for a follow-up album?

Actually, after this I think we are going to release a “Greatest Hits” (laughs) album. We’re working on new stuff and looking to record a new album in November or December. We’ve got lovely songs which we can’t play at the moment.

Why?

Well, it is a combination of we don’t know them well enough and we don’t have enough time since we have to play a certain amount of tracks off the new album.

What is the best advice you were ever given?

That would have to be my mother saying, “It will all end tomorrow”.

That’s advice?

It keeps a perspective on things. Mothers are good at that, especially mine.

Has your mother come to any of your shows?

No, but I think she’d like to. But she’d worry about it being too loud and it ruining me or my brother’s ears. (We wear earplugs).

I would make one suggestion though – keep mom out of the mosh pit. At the CBGB’s show there were quite a few people coming out of it bloody.

Yeah, I know. It was quite distasteful, wasn’t it? Our management talks about how if things keep going well, we’ll be alright but if start going very successfully they won’t have a clue as to what to do with us. So now basically there are five idiots hanging onto the wheel.

What is your next big plan?

Our next thing is that we are getting a bridge table for our next tour because, quite frankly, we haven’t got a good enough one now. Me, Jim our sound engineer, my brother, and Ed are going to get together and buy a nice green felt table. We’re trying to angle from Capitol, since they did School of Fish playing cards, some Radiohead bridge playing cards. My brother and I are partners known as the Greenwich Sisters. It is not like we are exactly the butchest bunch of fellows around.

Well, there is a lot to be said for that.

I think so. There’s more pressure playing a four diamond contract than playing in front of 2000 people.

Do you follow the bridge columns in the papers?

In England I do.

Well, you are all much more advanced than I am. I think that the last new card game that I learned to play was “Go Fish”.

You should definitely get into playing bridge. You know Omar Sharif, he plays bridge. He represents his country, Egypt, he also played football for Egypt – was a disgustingly talented, good-looking individual.

Maybe you can teach me to play bridge when you return to NYC.

That would be excellent. See you in September.