Editing OK Computer (section)

==Release and promotion==
===Commercial expectations===
According to Selway, Radiohead's American label [[Capitol Records|Capitol]] saw the album as {{"'}}commercial suicide'. They weren't really into it. At that point, we got the fear. How is this going to be received?"<ref name="CANTIN">
{{citation
 | first = Paul
 | last = Cantin
 | title = Radiohead's OK Computer confounds expectations
 | date = 19 October 1997
| newspaper = [[Ottawa Sun]]
}}</ref> Yorke recalled: "When we first gave it to Capitol, they were taken aback. I don't really know why it's so important now, but I'm excited about it."<ref>{{cite news|last=Strauss|first=Neil|title=The Pop Life: The Insane Clown Posse, recalled by Disney and now in demand Promoting Radiohead|date=July 1997|magazine=[[The New York Times]]|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1997/07/02/arts/the-pop-life-919608.html}}</ref> Capitol lowered its sales forecast from two million to half a million.{{sfn|Randall|2000|p=202}} In O'Brien's view, only [[Parlophone]], the band's British label, remained optimistic, while global distributors dramatically reduced their sales estimates.{{sfn|Randall|2000|p=242}} Label representatives were reportedly disappointed with the lack of marketable songs, especially the absence of anything resembling Radiohead's 1992 hit "[[Creep (Radiohead song)|Creep]]".<ref name="BLASHILL">
{{citation
 | first = Pat
 | last = Blashill
 | title = Band of the Year: Radiohead
 | date = January 1998
 | magazine = [[Spin (magazine)|Spin]]}}</ref> "''OK Computer'' isn't the album we're going to rule the world with", Colin Greenwood predicted at the time. "It's not as hitting-everything-loudly-whilst-waggling-the-tongue-in-and-out, like ''The Bends''. There's less of the [[Van Halen]] factor."<ref name="MORAN"/>

===Marketing===
[[File:Radiohead Matters.ogg|thumb|right|[[Colin Greenwood]], [[Jonny Greenwood]], [[Ed O'Brien]], and [[Phil Selway]] discussing ''OK Computer'' in 1997]]
[[File:Fitter Happier shirt.png|thumb|The lyrics to "Fitter Happier" and images adapted from the album artwork were used on advertisements in music magazines, signs in the [[London Underground]] and shirts (''shirt design pictured'').]]
Parlophone launched an unorthodox advertising campaign, taking full-page advertisements in high-profile British newspapers and [[London Underground|tube stations]] with lyrics for "Fitter Happier" in large black letters against white backgrounds.<ref name="CANTIN"/> The same lyrics, and artwork adapted from the album, were repurposed for shirt designs.<ref name="SELECT"/> Yorke said they chose the "Fitter Happier" lyrics to link what a critic called "a coherent set of concerns" between the album artwork and its promotional material.<ref name="SELECT"/>

Other unconventional merchandise included a [[floppy disk]] containing Radiohead [[screensaver]]s and an [[FM broadcasting|FM]] radio in the shape of a [[desktop computer]].<ref>{{cite news
 | first = Chris
 | last = Martins
 | url = http://blogs.laweekly.com/westcoastsound/2011/03/radiohead_newspaper_collectible_walkman_universal_sigh.php?page=2
 | title = Radiohead Gives Out Free Newspaper in LA: Here's a Top Eight List of the Band's Most Peculiar Swag
 | newspaper = [[Los Angeles Times]]
 | date = 29 March 2011 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120423174629/http://blogs.laweekly.com/westcoastsound/2011/03/radiohead_newspaper_collectible_walkman_universal_sigh.php?page=2
 | archive-date = 23 April 2012 | url-status = dead
 | access-date = 30 September 2011 }}</ref> In America, Capitol sent 1,000 cassette players to prominent members of the press and music industry, each with a copy of the album permanently glued inside.{{sfn|Randall|2000|p=243}} Gary Gersh, Capitol's president, said: "Our job is just to take them as a left-of-centre band and bring the centre to them. That's our focus, and we won't let up until they're the biggest band in the world."<ref>{{citation
 | first = Barney
 | last = Hoskyns
 | title = Exit Music: Can Radiohead save rock music as we (don't) know it?
 | magazine = [[GQ]]
 | date = October 2000}}</ref>

Radiohead planned to produce a video for every song on the album, but the project was abandoned due to financial and time constraints.{{sfn|Clarke|2010|p=113}} According to [[Grant Gee]], the director of the "No Surprises" video, the plan was cancelled when the videos for "Paranoid Android" and "Karma Police" went over budget.<ref name="Quietus">{{Cite web|last=Scovell|first=Adam|date=15 January 2018|title=The Bends? Grant Gee On The Day Thom Yorke Nearly Drowned For Art|url=https://thequietus.com/articles/23859-grant-gee-radiohead-interview-meeting-people-is-easy|access-date=15 February 2021|website=[[The Quietus]]|language=en-us}}</ref> Also cancelled were plans for the [[trip hop]] group [[Massive Attack]] to [[remix]] the album.<ref>{{cite web|date=4 March 1998|title=Massive Attack Drops Plans To Remix Radiohead, Teams With Cocteau Twins|url=http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1427202/massive-attack-drops-plans-remix-radiohead-teams-with-cocteau-twins.jhtml|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120621132802/http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1427202/massive-attack-drops-plans-remix-radiohead-teams-with-cocteau-twins.jhtml|archive-date=21 June 2012|publisher=[[MTV News]]}}</ref>

Radiohead's website was created to promote the album, which went live at the time of its release, making the band one of the first to [[Online presence management|manage an online presence]].<ref name="Curious Case">{{cite web|url=https://pitchfork.com/features/article/9890-internet-explorers-the-curious-case-of-radioheads-online-fandom/|title=Internet Explorers: The Curious Case of Radiohead's Online Fandom|last=Jeremy|first=Gordon|date=12 May 2016|website=[[Pitchfork (website)|Pitchfork]]|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160512175336/http://pitchfork.com/features/article/9890-internet-explorers-the-curious-case-of-radioheads-online-fandom/|archive-date=12 May 2016|access-date=21 October 2019}}</ref> The first major Radiohead [[fansite]], Atease, was created shortly following the album's release, with its title taken from "Fitter Happier".<ref name="Curious Case"/> In 2017, for ''OK Computer''{{'}}s 20th anniversary, Radiohead temporarily restored their website to its 1997 state.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Plaugic |first=Lizzie |date=2 May 2017 |title=Radiohead restores the '1997 version' of its website for OK Computer remaster |url=https://www.theverge.com/2017/5/2/15518820/radiohead-ok-computer-remaster-1997-website |access-date=14 May 2021 |website=[[The Verge]] |language=en}}</ref>

===Singles===
Radiohead chose "[[Paranoid Android]]" as the lead single, despite its unusually long running time and lack of a catchy chorus.<ref name="KENT"/><ref name="SUTHERLAND">{{citation
 | first = Mark
 | last = Sutherland
 | title = Rounding the Bends
 | magazine = [[Melody Maker]]
 | date = 4 March 1998}}</ref> Colin Greenwood said the song was "hardly the radio-friendly, breakthrough, buzz bin unit shifter [radio stations] can have been expecting", but that Capitol supported the choice.<ref name="SUTHERLAND"/> The song premiered on the Radio 1 programme ''The Evening Session'' in April 1997{{sfn|Randall|2000|p=201}} and was released as a single in May 1997.<ref>{{citation
 | first = David
 | last = Broc
 | title = Remembering the Future – Interview with Jonny Greenwood
 | magazine = MondoSonoro
 | date = June 2001}}</ref> On the strength of frequent radio play on Radio 1<ref name="SUTHERLAND"/> and rotation of the song's music video on MTV,<ref>{{citation
 | first = Bob
 | last = Gulla
 | title = Radiohead: At Long Last, a Future for Rock Guitar
 | magazine = [[Guitar World]]
 | date = October 1997}}</ref> "Paranoid Android" reached number three in the UK, giving Radiohead their highest chart position.{{sfn|Randall|2000|pp=242–243}}

"[[Karma Police]]" was released in August 1997 and "[[No Surprises]]" in January 1998.{{sfn|Clarke|2010|pp=117–119}} Both singles charted in the UK top ten, and "Karma Police" peaked at number 14 on the ''[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]'' [[Alternative Songs|Modern Rock Tracks]] chart.<ref name="UK Charts">{{cite web|title=Radiohead {{!}} full Official Chart History|url=https://www.officialcharts.com/artist/28161/radiohead/|publisher=[[Official Charts Company]]|access-date=15 August 2020}}</ref><ref name="Billboard singles">{{cite magazine|title=Radiohead Chart History: Alternative Songs|url=https://www.billboard.com/artist/radiohead/chart-history/mrt/|magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]|access-date=15 August 2020}}</ref> "Lucky" was released as a single in France, but did not chart.{{sfn|Footman|2007|p=116}} "[[Let Down (Radiohead song)|Let Down]]", considered for release as the lead single,{{sfn|Footman|2007|p=74}} was issued as a [[promotional single]] in September 1997 and charted on the Modern Rock Tracks chart at number 29.<ref name="Billboard singles" />

===Tour===
Radiohead embarked on the "Against Demons" world tour in promotion of ''OK Computer'', commencing at the album launch in [[Barcelona]] on 22 May 1997.{{sfn|Randall|2000|pp=202–203}} They toured the UK and Ireland, continental Europe, North America, Japan and Australasia,{{sfn|Footman|2007|p=203}} concluding on 18 April 1998 in New York.{{sfn|Randall|2000|p=247}} A documentary by [[Grant Gee]] following Radiohead on the tour, ''[[Meeting People Is Easy]]'', premiered in November 1998.{{sfn|Clarke|2010|p=134}}

The tour was taxing for the band, particularly Yorke, who said: "That tour was a year too long. I was the first person to tire of it, then six months later everyone in the band was saying it. Then six months after that, nobody was talking any more."<ref>{{citation|last=Paphides|first=Peter|title=Into the Light|date=August 2003|magazine=[[Mojo (magazine)|Mojo]]|author-link=Peter Paphides}}</ref> In 2003, Colin Greenwood said the tour was the lowest point in Radiohead's career: "There is nothing worse than having to play in front of 20,000 people when someone—when Thom—absolutely does not want to be there, and you can see that hundred-yard stare in his eyes. You hate having to put your friend through that experience."<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Klosterman |first=Chuck |author-link=Chuck Klosterman |date=July 2003 |title=No more knives |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=N0HASap-qBoC&dq=no%20more%20knives&pg=PA68 |access-date=23 June 2024 |magazine=[[Spin (magazine)|Spin]] |page=68}}</ref>

The tour included Radiohead's first headline performance at [[Glastonbury Festival]] on 28 June 1997. Despite technical problems that almost caused Yorke to abandon the stage, the performance was acclaimed and cemented Radiohead as a major live act.<ref>{{cite news |last=White |first=Adam |date=23 June 2017 |title=Radiohead's Glastonbury 1997 set was 'like a form of hell', according to guitarist Ed O'Brien |language=en-GB |work=The Telegraph |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/music/news/radioheads-glastonbury-1997-set-like-form-according-guitarist/ |url-status=live |access-date=24 June 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170623230959/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/music/news/radioheads-glastonbury-1997-set-like-form-according-guitarist/ |archive-date=23 June 2017}}</ref> ''[[Rolling Stone]]'' described it as "an absolute triumph", and in 2004 ''[[Q (magazine)|Q]]'' named it the greatest concert of all time.<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Greene |first=Andy |date=18 July 2013 |title=Flashback: Radiohead Live in 1997 |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/flashback-radiohead-perform-paranoid-android-at-glastonbury-in-1997-76628/ |magazine=[[Rolling Stone]] |access-date=26 June 2021}}</ref> In 2023, the ''[[The Guardian|Guardian]]'' named it the greatest Glastonbury headline set, writing that "frustration and tension led to the band playing out of their skins, adding a startling potency to a set that confirmed ''OK Computer'' as the defining sound of rock's [[post-Britpop]] shift".<ref name="Petridis-2023">{{Cite news |last=Petridis |first=Alexis |author-link=Alexis Petridis |date=22 June 2023 |title=Glastonbury headline sets – ranked! |language=en-GB |work=[[The Guardian]] |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2023/jun/22/glastonbury-headline-sets-ranked |access-date=22 June 2023 |issn=0261-3077}}</ref>

===Sales===
''OK Computer'' was released in Japan on 21 May, in the UK on 16 June, in Canada on 17 June and in the US on 1 July.{{sfn|Footman|2007|p=38}} It was released on CD, double-LP vinyl record, [[Compact Cassette|cassette]] and [[MiniDisc]].{{sfn|Footman|2007|p=126}} It debuted at number one in the UK with sales of 136,000 copies in its first week.<ref name="Music Week" /> In the US, it debuted at number 21 on the [[Billboard 200|''Billboard'' 200]].<ref>{{cite web |last=Blashill |first=Pat |date=16 June 2017 |title=Radiohead's 'OK Computer' Made Them Our 1997 "Band of the Year" |url=https://www.spin.com/featured/radiohead-ok-computer-profile/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190831035259/https://www.spin.com/featured/radiohead-ok-computer-profile/ |archive-date=31 August 2019 |access-date=18 July 2019 |website=[[Spin (magazine)|Spin]]}}</ref> It held the number-one spot in the UK for two weeks and stayed in the top ten for several more, becoming the UK's eighth-bestselling record that year.<ref>{{Cite web |title=End of Year Album Chart Top 100 - 1997 {{!}} Official Charts Company |url=https://www.officialcharts.com/charts/end-of-year-artist-albums-chart/19970105/37502/ |access-date=25 May 2022 |publisher=Official Charts Company |language=en}}</ref>

By February 1998, ''OK Computer'' had sold at least half a million copies in the UK and 2{{nbsp}}million worldwide.<ref name="100 GREATEST Q" /> By September 2000, it had sold 4.5{{nbsp}}million copies worldwide.<ref name="Rules">{{citation
 | first = Paul
 | last = Sexton
 | title = Radiohead won't play by rules
 | magazine = [[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]
 | date = 16 September 2000}}</ref> The ''[[Los Angeles Times]]'' reported that by June 2001 it had sold 1.4 million copies in the US, and in April 2006 the [[International Federation of the Phonographic Industry|IFPI]] announced it had sold 3 million copies across Europe.<ref name="Hilburn">{{citation
 | first = Robert
 | last = Hilburn
 | url = https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2001-jun-03-ca-5681-story.html
 | title = Operating on His Own Frequency
 | newspaper = [[Los Angeles Times]]
 | date = 3 June 2001 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20130118112957/http://articles.latimes.com/2001/jun/03/entertainment/ca-5681
 | archive-date = 18 January 2013
| url-status = live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news
 | url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/4891672.stm
 | title = James Blunt album sales pass 5m
 | work = [[BBC News]]
 | date = 8 April 2006 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120406112932/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/4891672.stm
 | archive-date = 6 April 2012
| url-status = live}}</ref> In the UK, it was certified gold in June 1997, platinum in July, and five-times platinum in August 2013.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Radiohead, ''OK Computer'' |url=https://www.bpi.co.uk/award/4812-1730-2 |access-date=2024-09-15 |website=[[British Phonographic Industry]] |language=en}}</ref> It is certified double platinum in the US,<ref name="US cert">{{cite web|url=https://www.riaa.com/goldandplatinumdata.php?artist=%22OK+Computer%22|title=American album certifications – Radiohead – OK Computer|publisher=[[Recording Industry Association of America]]|postscript=. ''If necessary, click ''Advanced'', then click ''Format'', then select ''Album'', then click ''SEARCH|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924142353/http://www.riaa.com/goldandplatinumdata.php?artist=%22OK+Computer%22|archive-date=24 September 2015}}</ref> in addition to certifications in other markets. By May 2016, [[Nielsen SoundScan]] figures showed ''OK Computer'' had sold 2.5{{nbsp}}million digital album units in the US, plus 900,000 sales measured in [[album-equivalent unit]]s.<ref>
{{citation
 | first = Nick
 | last = DeSantis
 | url = https://www.forbes.com/sites/nickdesantis/2016/05/10/radioheads-digital-album-sales-visualized/
 | title = Radiohead's Digital Album Sales, Visualized
 | magazine = [[Forbes]]
 | date = 10 May 2016 | archive-url = https://archive.today/20190222204347/https://www.forbes.com/
 | archive-date = 22 February 2019 | url-status = live
 | access-date = 29 January 2018 | df = dmy-all
 }}
</ref> Twenty years to the week after its release, the [[Official Charts Company]] recorded total UK sales of 1.5{{nbsp}}million, including album-equivalent units.<ref name="Music Week" /> Tallying American and European sales, ''OK Computer'' has sold at least 6.9 million copies worldwide (or 7.8 million with album-equivalent units).<ref group="nb">The ''LA Times'' reported US sales of 1.4 million in 2001, before Nielsen SoundScan had begun tracking digital sales in 2003—therefore, this amount only included non-digital sales on CD, cassette, and LP. ''Forbes'' reported 2.5 million in digital sales and 900,000 in album-equivalent units in 2016, bringing the US total to at least 3.9 million (or 4.8 million with album-equivalent units). BBC News reported 3 million in sales across Europe in 2006, bringing the worldwide total to at least 6.9 million (or 7.8 million with album-equivalent units). ''Music Week'' reported that the album had sold 1.5 million units in the UK by 2017; however, the 2006 European sales figure included UK sales up to that time and, as such, adding the 2017 UK sales figure to the total would result in erroneous [[Double counting (accounting)|double counting]] of UK units sold before 2006. Exact sales figures from other territories are not known. ''OK Computer'' has certainly sold ''more'' than 7.8 million units worldwide, but it is impossible to say how many more with any certainty.<!-- Permissible routine calculation, not original research; see [[WP:CALC]]. --></ref>