Lucky (Radiohead song)

"Lucky"
"Lucky"
Single by Radiohead
from the album The Help Album and OK Computer
B-side	"Meeting in the Aisle" ; "Climbing Up the Walls" (Fila Brazillia Mix)
Released	26 December 1997 (France)
Recorded	4 September 1995
Genre	Alternative rock; space rock;
Length	4:19 (album version); 3:59 (single version);
Label	Parlophone
Songwriter(s)	Thom Yorke; Jonny Greenwood; Ed O'Brien; Colin Greenwood; Philip Selway;
Producer(s)	Nigel Godrich; Radiohead;
Radiohead singles chronology

"Lucky" is a song by the English rock band Radiohead, first released on The Help Album, a 1995 charity compilation organised by the charity War Child. "Lucky" was recorded in five hours with the producer Nigel Godrich. Radiohead included it on their third studio album, OK Computer (1997), and released it 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.^[3]^[4] The band developed the sound into a song, "Lucky", which became part of the set list.^[3]

Around this time, the producer Brian Eno asked Radiohead to contribute a song to The Help Album, a charity compilation organised by the charity War Child. The album was to be recorded in a single day, 4 September 1995, and rush-released that week.^[3] 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.^[5] 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."^[6]

Yorke later said "Lucky" shaped the nascent sound and mood of OK Computer.^[5] He said: "'Lucky' was indicative of what we wanted to do. It was like the first mark on the wall."^[7]

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.^[8] It was included as the 11th track on Radiohead's album OK Computer. "Lucky" was originally slated to be released as a single from the album, but due to circumstances beyond the band's control, it was issued as a physical single only in France on 26 December 1997.^[9]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Radiohead (Thom Yorke, Jonny Greenwood, Ed O'Brien, Colin Greenwood, Philip Selway)

French single (CD)^[10]
No.	Title	Length
1.	"Lucky"	3:59
2.	"Meeting in the Aisle"	3:08
3.	"Climbing Up the Walls" (Fila Brazillia Mix)	6:24

Charts

Chart (1996)	Peak position
Iceland (Íslenski Listinn Topp 40)^[11]	22

References

^ Gerard, Chris (4 April 2014). "50 Best Alternative Albums of the '90s". Metro Weekly. Retrieved 3 May 2021.
^ Domanick, Andrea (13 April 2017). "The Guide to Getting Into Radiohead". Vice. Retrieved 19 June 2023.
^ ^a ^b ^c Footman 2008, p. 113.
^ Fricke, David (3 December 2010). "Ed O'Brien – 100 Greatest Guitarists: David Fricke's Picks". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 24 August 2015.
^ ^a ^b Irvin, Jim (July 1997). "Thom Yorke tells Jim Irvin how OK Computer was done". Mojo. No. 44.
^ Robinson, Andrea (August 1997). "Nigel Godrich". The Mix.
^ Randall 2000, p. 161.
^ Lowe, Steve (December 1999). "Back to Save the Universe". Select. No. 114.
^ "Lucky". radiohead.fr (in French). Archived from the original on 9 October 2012. Retrieved 1 November 2023. Le vendredi 26 décembre 1997 : Le groupe a voulu la sortir en single, mais suite à des problèmes indépendants de leur volonté (et de notre connaissance), Lucky n'a connu qu'une sortie française. [Friday, December 26, 1997: The band wanted to release it as a single, but due to problems beyond their control (and our knowledge), Lucky only had a French release.]
^ Lucky (CD single liner notes). Radiohead. France: Parlophone. 1997. 7243 8 84980 2 9.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
^ "Íslenski Listinn Topp 40". DV (in Icelandic). 27 January 1996. p. 38. Retrieved 13 January 2020.

Bibliography

Footman, Tim (2008). Welcome to the Machine: OK Computer and the Death of the Classic Album. New Malden: Chrome Dreams. ISBN 978-1-84240-388-4.
Randall, Mac (2000). Exit Music: The Radiohead Story. New York: Delta Trade Paperbacks. ISBN 0-385-33393-5.

[1] Gerard, Chris (4 April 2014). "50 Best Alternative Albums of the '90s". Metro Weekly. Retrieved 3 May 2021.

[2] Domanick, Andrea (13 April 2017). "The Guide to Getting Into Radiohead". Vice. Retrieved 19 June 2023.

[FOOTNOTEFootman2008113-3] Footman 2008, p. 113.

[:02-4] Fricke, David (3 December 2010). "Ed O'Brien – 100 Greatest Guitarists: David Fricke's Picks". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 24 August 2015.

[IRVIN-5] Irvin, Jim (July 1997). "Thom Yorke tells Jim Irvin how OK Computer was done". Mojo. No. 44.

[The_Mix-6] Robinson, Andrea (August 1997). "Nigel Godrich". The Mix.

[FOOTNOTERandall2000161-7] Randall 2000, p. 161.

[LOWE2-8] Lowe, Steve (December 1999). "Back to Save the Universe". Select. No. 114.

[9] "Lucky". radiohead.fr (in French). Archived from the original on 9 October 2012. Retrieved 1 November 2023. Le vendredi 26 décembre 1997 : Le groupe a voulu la sortir en single, mais suite à des problèmes indépendants de leur volonté (et de notre connaissance), Lucky n'a connu qu'une sortie française. [Friday, December 26, 1997: The band wanted to release it as a single, but due to problems beyond their control (and our knowledge), Lucky only had a French release.]

[10] Lucky (CD single liner notes). Radiohead. France: Parlophone. 1997. 7243 8 84980 2 9.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)

[11] "Íslenski Listinn Topp 40". DV (in Icelandic). 27 January 1996. p. 38. Retrieved 13 January 2020.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

[9]

[10]

[11]