All of these years I assumed the mysterious, melancholic verse of Radiohead’s “Creep” was a signature sound. The haunting progression was lifted straight off the 1974 Hollies hit The Air That I Breathe. Pablo Honey‘s linear notes credit the original songwriters.
Update: Radiohead vs. The Hollies vs. Reamonn
When I heard the Hollies song on the radio I thought “wait a minute… this is the same melody as Creep!” Everyone who doesn’t hear the similarities, just listen to the acoustic version of ‘creep’, (released on the EP “My iron lung”) then you must hear it, it’s very much the same melodie, both chords and singing!
The first time I heard Creep in ’92 or 93 I thought “where have I heard this before; something from riding around in my parents’ station wagon in the 70’s”. (I am too old to rock & roll…..). After about a year of driving myself crazy each time I heard it, I saw a late-night ad for a 70’s hits compilation with the Hollies original version and the mystery in my head was solved. If you have any sense of melody, you will recognize the sincerest flattery right away, especially if you know the original. Both are great songs, though, and the Radiohead interpretation is sublime and sans fromage compared to the Hollies’.
Is it any wonder why Thom Yorke ended up hating Creep? It was ‘cus of The Hollies taking action against him for the song because of the similarities between them that not everyone can hear. Not to mention the song was making them a “One hit wonder” band which Thom didn’t want at all.
I feel more sorry for Thom than The Hollies.
Creep is a total ripoff of The Hollies track, but then Radiohead are a very derivative band. I’ve known the boys since school, long before they were called Radiohead or On A Friday, and they have always “borrowed” their “songs”.
radiohead went on to cover “nobody does it better” by carly simon. I’m not sure if they started playing that song in response to the hollies lawsuit, since they have they same chord progression but in another key, or if the carly simon song inspired creep by radiohead which the hollies ended up suing radiohead over. kinda funny. look up the nobody does it better cover. same exact chords as creep.