As a Radiohead fanatic myself, I surprisingly know very little of the band, how they originated, and even the band members. Aside from Thom Yorke, who we all know and love and will always be an icon in the music industry, the other members of the English rock band remain a mystery to me.
Formed in Abingdon, Oxfordshire, in 1985, Radiohead consists of Thom Yorke, Ed O’Brien, Philip Selway, Johnny Greenwood, and Colin Greenwood (who you are about to learn an unnecessary amount of information about). Colin Greenwood, Radiohead bassist, was born in Oxford in June 1969, back when making your own mixtape was still a fantasy and music lived on vinyl and radio waves. By 1985, he’d linked up with schoolmates Thom, Ed, Phil, and his younger brother Johnny, to form a band charmingly called On A Friday (named after their rehearsal day, naturally).
They gigged around town, full of teenage nerves and a quiet determination, until they inevitably drifted apart as they set off on the next part of their schooling journey… university. But the story didn’t end there. In 1991, they regrouped, sent off some demos, and caught the attention of EMI, a British record label (now owned by Universal Music Group) known for signing legendary artists like The Beatles, Queen, and Pink Floyd. A record deal later, On A Friday was no more. Radiohead was born.
Background Brilliance
There’s a long list of “did you knows?” that make Colin quietly iconic. For one, he was a total bookworm. Not in the cool-guy-carrying-a-novel-to-look-mysterious way — in the “I’d rather talk about American history writers than literally anything else” way. By 16, he’d ditched sci-fi for big-brain reads like Richard Ford, John Cheever, The Communist Manifesto, and The Ragged-Trousered Philanthropists. Basically, while other kids were discovering parties, Colin was discovering political theory. However, that’s not to say that his geeky side stopped him from getting girls… Colin is case in point that women like smart men. Around this time, Colin would spend hours on end in his mum’s room, chatting to his girlfriends on the phone. But Colin wasn’t exactly the easiest guy to pin down for weekend plans. From endless hours spent rehearsing and the occasional gig, his social life pretty much revolved around the band. Sure, he had that quiet charm that made people take notice, but the real romance in his life was always the music.
Colin bought his first guitar when he was 15, and he and Thom would take classical guitar lessons with their school music teacher, Terence. As a man passionate about music, inclusive of all genres, Colin and Thom were introduced to jazz, film scores, 20th century classical music and post war avant-garde music. With an upbringing like that, it’s no wonder Radiohead’s music feels like it’s always one step ahead, somewhere between genius and chaos.
With all that musical curiosity under his belt, Colin could have gone in any direction. But in the band, guitarists were already taken. So he picked up the bass instead and taught himself by playing along to New Order, Joy Division and even Otis Redding. The band just wanted to play together, they didn’t care deeply about any particular instrument at the start, they just cared about the music.
“We wanted to play music together, rather than just because we wanted to play that particular instrument,” Colin told The Irish Times in 2001. “So it was more of a collective angle, and if you could contribute by having someone else play your instrument, then that was really cool.”
The Quiet Backbone
While Thom often takes the spotlight, it’s Colin’s steady basslines that hold Radiohead together, weaving through the chaos and giving their songs depth you might not notice at first listen.
Being the quiet pulse of the band suited Colin. He was always observing, listening, noticing the little things others missed — a skill that would later show up in his photography. Behind the scenes, on tour, in the studio, he started capturing moments no one else saw, turning the everyday chaos of life in Radiohead into something strangely intimate and artful. After about 20 years of capturing candid moments of the band, Colin decided to publish his own photo book titled “How To Disappear”. As well as paying homage to their legendary song How To Disappear Completely from their fourth studio album, Kid A, the book’s title reflects Colin’s role as a photographer — capturing the band in ways that feel like the musical equivalent of the track: intimate, elusive, and quietly unforgettable.
“It’s a really beautiful object, and I think people will appreciate that because it’s made to the same exacting standard as books by some of my favourite fine art photographers – people like Paul Graham,” Colin told NME. “I think it tells a nice story about how five guys from Oxfordshire got together and worked on songs in various village halls, then managed to get that to stages around the world.”
From the curious teenager devouring history books to the often unseen pulse of the holding Radiohead together, Colin Greenwood has always been somewhat of a creative genius. Whether threading his baselines through complex songs or capturing fleeting moments behind the camera, he’s the kind of quiet presence that observes and notices the beauty around him and channels that into his work.
In major bands like Radiohead, it’s normal for one front person (typically the lead vocalist) to dominate the spotlight, but more often than not, the rest of the band goes unseen. A band is the sum of its parts, and Radiohead would not be Radiohead without Colin Greenwood. In fact, Radiohead would not be Radiohead without Johnny Greenwood. Or Ed O’Brien. Or Philip Selway. Or Thom Yorke. Each member works together to make the magic happen, and Colin is the perfect example of why the quiet ones deserve the spotlight too. His story makes you pause and wonder why someone so quietly brilliant hasn’t always been more recognized. Colin’s journey is a reminder that the people working behind the scenes often shape the music (and the moments) more than anyone realises.
