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Lucky (Radiohead song)

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"Lucky"
Single by Radiohead
from the album The Help Album and OK Computer
ReleasedDecember 1997 (France)
Recorded4 September 1995
GenreAlternative rock
Length4:19
Label
Songwriter(s)Radiohead
Producer(s)
Radiohead singles chronology
"Karma Police"
(1997)
"Lucky"
(1997)
"No Surprises"
(1998)

"Lucky" is a song by English alternative rock band Radiohead from their third studio album OK Computer (1997). It was released as a single in France in December 1997.

Recording

In 1995, Radiohead were on tour, promoting their second album, The Bends. During soundchecks for shows in Japan, guitarist Ed O'Brien produced a high-pitched sound by strumming above the guitar nut.[1][2] The band developed the sound into the song and it became part of the set list.[1]

Around this time, producer Brian Eno contacted Radiohead to contribute a song to The Help Album, a charity compilation organised by War Child. The album was to be recorded over the course of a single day, 4 September 1995, and rush-released that week.[1] Radiohead recorded "Lucky" in five hours with engineer Nigel Godrich, who had assisted producer John Leckie with The Bends and produced several Radiohead B-sides.[3] Godrich went on to produce their third album, OK Computer. He said of the Help Album session: "Those things are the most inspiring, when you do stuff really fast and there's nothing to lose. We left feeling fairly euphoric."[4]

Yorke later said "Lucky" shaped the nascent sound and mood of their upcoming record, OK Computer.[3] He said: "'Lucky' was indicative of what we wanted to do. It was like the first mark on the wall."[5]

Release

To promote The Help Album, "Lucky" featured as the lead track on the Help EP, which charted at number 51 after BBC Radio 1 chose not to play it.[6] It was included as the 11th track on Radiohead's album OK Computer.

Track listing

CD single (France)[7]

  1. "Lucky" – 4:19
  2. "Meeting in the Aisle" – 3:10
  3. "Climbing Up the Walls" (Fila Brazillia Mix) – 6:24

Personnel

Radiohead

Additional personnel

Charts

Chart (1996) Peak
position
Iceland (Íslenski Listinn Topp 40)[8] 22

References

  1. ^ a b c Footman 2008, p. 113.
  2. ^ Fricke, David (3 December 2010). "Ed O'Brien – 100 Greatest Guitarists: David Fricke's Picks". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 24 August 2015.
  3. ^ a b Irvin, Jim (July 1997). "Thom Yorke tells Jim Irvin how OK Computer was done". Mojo. No. 44.
  4. ^ Robinson, Andrea (August 1997). "Nigel Godrich". The Mix.
  5. ^ Randall 2000, p. 161.
  6. ^ Lowe, Steve (December 1999). "Back to Save the Universe". Select. No. 114.
  7. ^ Footman 2008, p. 270.
  8. ^ "Íslenski Listinn Topp 40". DV (in Icelandic). 27 January 1996. p. 38. Retrieved 13 January 2020.

Bibliography