View source for Creep (Radiohead song)

{{Short description|1992 single by Radiohead}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2021}}
{{Infobox song
| name       = Creep
| cover      = Creep by radiohead reissue.png
| border     = yes
| alt        = 
| caption    = 1993 EP reissue
| type       = single
| artist     = [[Radiohead]]
| album      = [[Pablo Honey]]
| released   = {{start date|1992|9|21|df=y}}
| recorded   = 1992
| studio     = [[Chipping Norton Recording Studios|Chipping Norton]] ([[Oxfordshire]], England)
| genre      =
* [[Alternative rock]]<ref name="ap">{{cite web|url=https://www.altpress.com/features/30_albums_that_turn_20_in_2015/|title=30 albums we can't believe turn 20 this year|date=20 January 2015|website=[[Alternative Press (magazine)|Alternative Press]]|access-date=14 March 2020}}</ref>
* [[grunge]]<ref>Reising (2005), p.210</ref>
| length     =
* {{Duration|03:56}} (album version)
* {{Duration|04:01}} ([[radio edit]])
* {{Duration|03:50}} (live version)
* {{Duration|04:19}} (acoustic version)
| label      =
* [[Parlophone]]
* [[Capitol Records|Capitol]]
| composer   =
* Radiohead
* [[Albert Hammond]]
* [[Mike Hazlewood]]
| lyricist   = [[Thom Yorke]]
| producer   =
* [[Sean Slade]]
* [[Paul Q. Kolderie]]
| prev_title =
| prev_year  =
| next_title = Anyone Can Play Guitar
| next_year  = 1993
| misc       = {{External music video|{{YouTube|XFkzRNyygfk|"Creep"}}
 | type = single
}}
}}

"'''Creep'''" is the debut [[Single (music)|single]] by the English rock band [[Radiohead]], released on 21 September 1992 by [[EMI]]. It was included as the second track of Radiohead's debut album, ''[[Pablo Honey]]'' (1993). It features "blasts" of guitar noise and lyrics describing an obsessive unrequited attraction.

Radiohead had not planned to release "Creep", and recorded it at the suggestion of the producers, [[Sean Slade]] and [[Paul Q. Kolderie]], while they were working on other songs. They took elements from the 1972 song "[[The Air That I Breathe]]" by [[Albert Hammond]] and [[Mike Hazlewood]]. Following legal action, Hammond and Hazlewood were credited as co-writers.

Kolderie convinced EMI to release "Creep" as a single. It was initially unsuccessful, but achieved radio play in Israel and became popular on American [[alternative rock]] radio. It was reissued in 1993 and became an international hit, likened to alt-rock "[[slacker]] anthems" such as "[[Smells Like Teen Spirit]]" by [[Nirvana (band)|Nirvana]] and "[[Loser (Beck song)|Loser]]" by [[Beck]]. Reviews of "Creep" were mostly positive.

EMI pressured Radiohead to match the success, which created tension during the recording of their second album, ''[[The Bends (album)|The Bends]]'' (1995). Radiohead departed from the style of "Creep" and grew weary of it, feeling it set narrow expectations of their music, and did not perform it for several years. Though they achieved greater commercial and critical success with later albums, "Creep" remains Radiohead's most successful single. ''[[Rolling Stone]]'' named it one of the greatest debut singles, and it was included in the 2021 and 2024 editions of [[Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time|''Rolling Stone's'' "500 Greatest Songs of All Time]]". In 2021, the singer, [[Thom Yorke]], released a [[remix]]ed version with synthesisers and [[Time stretching (audio)|time-stretched]] acoustic guitar.

== Recording ==
[[File:Former_Chipping_Norton_Recording_Studios.jpg|thumb|The former [[Chipping Norton Recording Studios]], Oxfordshire]]
Radiohead formed in [[Oxfordshire]] in 1985<ref name="MCLEAN">{{cite news |last=McLean |first=Craig |date=14 July 2003 |title=Don't worry, be happy |newspaper=[[The Sydney Morning Herald]] |url=http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/06/13/1055220766407.html |url-status=live |access-date=25 December 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180612185044/https://www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/06/13/1055220766407.html |archive-date=12 June 2018}}</ref> and signed a record contract with [[EMI]] in 1991.<ref name="ROSS">{{cite news |last=Ross |first=Alex |date=20 August 2001 |title=The Searchers |url=https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2001/08/20/the-searchers |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080214053947/http://www.therestisnoise.com/2004/04/mahler_1.html |archive-date=14 February 2008 |access-date=16 March 2011 |newspaper=[[The New Yorker]]}}</ref> Their 1992 debut, the ''[[Drill (EP)|Drill]]'' EP, drew little attention.<ref>{{cite news |last=Nestruck |first=Kelly |date=9 October 2007|title=15 years of Radiohead |work=[[The Guardian]] |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/gallery/2007/oct/09/radiohead |access-date=21 October 2021 |issn=0261-3077}}</ref> For their debut single, Radiohead hired the producers [[Sean Slade]] and [[Paul Q. Kolderie]] and recorded at [[Chipping Norton Recording Studios]] in [[Chipping Norton]], Oxfordshire.<ref name="Irvin-1997">{{cite journal |last1=Irvin |first1=Jim |author-link=Jim Irvin |last2=Hoskyns |first2=Barney |date=July 1997 |title=We have lift-off! |journal=[[Mojo (magazine)|Mojo]] |issue=45}}</ref> They worked on the songs "Inside My Head" and "Lurgee", but without results.<ref name="Irvin-1997" />

Between rehearsals, Radiohead spontaneously performed another song, "Creep", which the singer, [[Thom Yorke]], had written at the [[University of Exeter]] in the late 1980s.<ref name="postrockband">{{cite news |last=Marzorati |first=Gerald |date=1 October 2000 |title=The post-rock band |work=[[The New York Times]] |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2000/10/01/magazine/the-post-rock-band.html |access-date=28 July 2008 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> Yorke jokingly described it as their "[[Scott Walker (singer)|Scott Walker]] song", which the producers misinterpreted. As they left the studio that night, Slade told Kolderie, "Too bad their best song's a cover."<ref name="Irvin-1997"/>

After further recording sessions failed to produce results, Kolderie suggested Radiohead perform "Creep". After the first take, everyone in the studio burst into applause.<ref name="Irvin-1997" /> Radiohead did not know they were being recorded; according to the drummer, [[Philip Selway]], "The reason it sounds so powerful is because it’s completely unselfconscious."<ref name="Runtagh-2018" />

After Radiohead assured Kolderie that "Creep" was an original song, he called EMI and convinced them to release it as the single.<ref name="Irvin-1997" /> According to Kolderie, "Everyone [at EMI] who heard 'Creep' just started going insane."<ref name="Irvin-1997" /> Slade and Kolderie suggested that the lead guitarist, [[Jonny Greenwood]], record a piano part.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Daly |first=Rhian |date=8 April 2015 |title=Radiohead: 10 Geeky Facts about 'Creep' |url=https://www.nme.com/list/radiohead-10-geeky-facts-about-creep-757425?amp |access-date=24 November 2020 |website=NME}}</ref> While [[Audio mixing (recorded music)|mixing]] the song, Kolderie forgot to add the piano until the outro, but the band approved of the result.<ref>Randall, p. 98</ref>

== Lyrics ==
According to the critic [[Alex Ross (music critic)|Alex Ross]], "Creep" has "obsessive" lyrics that depict the "self-lacerating rage" of an unrequited attraction.<ref name="ROSS" /> Greenwood said the lyrics were inspired by a woman who Yorke had "followed for a couple of days", and who unexpectedly attended a Radiohead performance.<ref name="Kempf">{{cite web |author=Kempf |first=Christi |date=7 June 1993 |title=The Radiohead Vision Creeps Onto Airwaves |url=https://creephead.tripod.com/Archives/articles/chicagosun.html |website=[[Chicago Sun-Times]]}}</ref> [[John Harris (critic)|John Harris]], then the Oxford correspondent for ''[[Melody Maker]]'', said "Creep" was about a girl who frequented the upmarket [[Little Clarendon Street]] in Oxford. According to Harris, Yorke preferred the more bohemian [[Jericho, Oxford|Jericho]], and expressed his discomfort using the lines "What the hell am I doing here / I don't belong here".<ref name="Irvin-1997"/>

Asked if the lyrics were inspired by a real person who made him feel like a "creep", Yorke said: "Yeah. It was a pretty strange period in my life. When I was at college and stuff and I was really fucked up and wanted to leave and do proper things with my life like be in a rock band."<ref name="Fortnam-1992">{{Cite journal |last=Fortnam |first=Ian |date=1992 |title=Paranoid Android? |journal=[[Prog (magazine)|Prog]] |publisher=[[Future plc]]}}</ref> Yorke said he was not happy with the lyrics, and thought they were "pretty crap".<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Kenny |first=Glenn |date=16 September 1993 |title=Radiohead arrive: meet the English rock crew behind 'Creep' |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/radiohead-arrive-meet-the-english-rock-crew-behind-creep-188776/ |magazine=[[Rolling Stone]] |access-date=15 October 2020}}</ref> Asked about "Creep" in 1993, Yorke said: "I have a real problem being a man in the '90s... Any man with any sensitivity or conscience toward the opposite sex would have a problem. To actually assert yourself in a masculine way without looking like you're in a hard-rock band is a very difficult thing to do... It comes back to the music we write, which is not effeminate, but it's not brutal in its arrogance. It is one of the things I'm always trying: to assert a sexual persona and on the other hand trying desperately to negate it."<ref>Sullivan, Jim. "Creep stumbles onto fame". ''[[The Boston Globe]]''. 8 October 1993.</ref> Greenwood said "Creep" was in fact a happy song about "recognising what you are".<ref name="Kempf" />

Radiohead recorded a censored version of "Creep" for radio, which replaces the line "so fucking special" with "so very special". Radiohead worried that issuing a censored version would be [[selling out]], but decided it was acceptable since their idols [[Sonic Youth]] had done the same thing; nonetheless, Greenwood said the British press "weren't impressed".<ref name="Kempf" /> During the recording session for the censored lyrics, Kolderie convinced Yorke to rewrite the first verse, saying he thought Yorke could do better.<ref>Randall, p. 99</ref>

== Composition ==
[[Image:Radiohead "Creep" ostinato.png|thumb|upright=1.591|The [[ostinato]] features [[modal mixture]], [[common tone (chord)|common tones]] between adjacent triads (B between G & B, C and G between C & Cm, see: [[chord letters]]), and an emphasis on [[subdominant]] harmony (IV = C in G major).<ref name="Capuzzo">Capuzzo, Guy. "Neo-Riemannian Theory and the Analysis of Pop-Rock Music", p.186–87, ''Music Theory Spectrum'', Vol. 26, No. 2, pp. 177–199. Autumn 2004. Capuzzo uses "+" to indicate major and "-" to indicate minor (C+, C-).</ref>{{Audio|Radiohead "Creep" ostinato.mid|Play}}]]
{{Listen
| type = music
| filename = Radiohead - Creep (sample).ogg
| title = "Creep" sample
}}

Like many Radiohead songs, "Creep" uses [[Pivot (music)|pivot]] notes, creating a "bittersweet, doomy" feeling.<ref name="ROSS" /> The G–B–C–Cm [[chord progression]] is repeated throughout, alternating between [[arpeggio|arpeggiated]] chords in the [[verse (music)|verses]] and last [[refrain|chorus]] and [[Distortion (music)|distorted]] [[power chord]]s during the first two choruses. In G major, these may be interpreted as "I–V7/vi–IV–iv".<ref name="Capuzzo" />

According to Guy Capuzzo, the [[ostinato]] mirrors the lyrics. For example, the "highest pitches of the ostinato form a prominent [[chromatic]] line that 'creeps' up, then down, involving [[scale degree]]s <math>\hat 5</math>– {{music|sharp}}<math>\hat 5</math>– <math>\hat 6</math>– {{music|flat}}<math>\hat 6</math><!-- this shows as "$ {\hat {5}} $– ♯$ {\hat {5}} $– $ {\hat {6}} $– ♭$ {\hat {6}} $" while in the editing page it shows what it is shown right now -->....[while] ascend[ing], the lyrics strain towards optimism... Descend[ing], the subject sinks back into the throes of self-pity ... The guitarist's fretting hand mirrors this contour."<ref>Capuzzo ibid. Also quotes Ross 2001, 118.</ref>

The [[Thirty-two-bar form|middle eight]] originally featured a guitar solo from Greenwood. When the guitarist [[Ed O'Brien]] pointed out that the chord progression was the same as the 1972 song "[[The Air That I Breathe]]", Yorke wrote a new middle eight using the same vocal melody. According to Greenwood, "It was funny to us in a way, sort of feeding something like that into [it]. It's a bit of change."<ref name="frontline">{{Cite journal |last=Nichols |first=Natalie |date=Fall 1993 |title=Creeping into the Limelight |journal=Fender Frontline |publisher=The Phelps Group |volume=11}}</ref>

When the song shifts from the verse to the chorus, Jonny Greenwood plays three blasts of guitar noise ("dead notes" played by releasing fret-hand pressure and picking the strings).<ref name="Kempf" /> Greenwood said he did this because he did not like how quiet the song was, and so "I hit the guitar hard—really hard".<ref name="Kempf" /> O'Brien said: "That's the sound of Jonny trying to fuck the song up. He really didn't like it the first time we played it, so he tried spoiling it. And it made the song."<ref>[http://paulmcgarry.com/cdcatalogue/details/1465.html ''CD Inlay Archive''. 1993] {{webarchive|url=https://archive.today/20120629160328/http://paulmcgarry.com/cdcatalogue/details/1465.html |date=29 June 2012 }}</ref> Yorke said the sound was like the song was "slashing its wrists. Halfway through the song it suddenly starts killing itself off, which is the whole point of the song really. It's a real self-destruct song, there's a real self-destruction ethic in a lot of the things we do onstage."<ref name="Fortnam-1992" /> The producers boosted the sound so "it punched you in the face".<ref name="Runtagh-2018" /> According to the ''[[The Guardian|Guardian]]'' critic [[Alexis Petridis]], "Creep" has an "almost complete lack of resemblance" to Radiohead's later music.<ref name="Petridis-2017" />

== Music video ==
The "Creep" music video was filmed at the Venue, Oxford. For the video, Radiohead performed a free short concert, playing "Creep" several times. They donated proceeds from audience members to the Oxford magazine ''[[Nightshift (magazine)|Curfew]]'', which had covered their early work.<ref>{{cite news|date=13 March 2016|title=Radiohead, Foals and 25 years of discovering Oxford music|work=BBC News|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-oxfordshire-33176717|access-date=18 February 2021}}</ref> In the audience was the electronic musician [[Four Tet]], then a teenager, who years later supported Radiohead on tour and collaborated with Yorke.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Monroe|first=Jazz|date=2015-11-08|title=Four Tet says he was in Radiohead's 'Creep' video|url=https://pitchfork.com/news/62006-four-tet-says-he-was-in-radioheads-creep-video/|access-date=2022-01-30|website=[[Pitchfork (website)|Pitchfork]]|language=en-US}}</ref>

== Release ==
{{quote box
| width  = 20%
| align  = right
| quote  = Having a big hit like that wasn't in the game plan. We were giddy ... The first tour we sold out, and our American tour manager was going, "You know, I've toured with bands who have been doing this for seven, eight years, and this isn't usual." So it was really great on the one hand. But on the other hand we couldn't follow it up. The album had a couple of other songs that were OK, but we didn't have a body of work. We didn't know what we were doing.
| salign = right
| source = [[Ed O'Brien]], guitarist<ref name="oral-history"/>
}}

EMI released "Creep" as a single on 21 September 1992.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/UK/Music-Week/1992/Music-Week-1992-09-19-S-OCR.pdf|title=New Releases: Singles|magazine=[[Music Week]]|page=19|date=19 September 1992|access-date=6 August 2021}}</ref><ref>Randall, p. 84-85</ref> [[BBC Radio 1]] found it "too depressing" and excluded it from playlists.<ref name="MELODY">Jennings, Dave. "Creepshow". ''Melody Maker''. 25 September 1993.</ref> It reached number 78 on the [[UK singles chart]], selling 6,000 copies.<ref>Randall, p. 88</ref> Asked about the poor response, Yorke said he was "absolutely horribly gutted, pissed off, self-righteous".<ref name="Fortnam-1992" /> Radiohead's follow-up singles "Anyone Can Play Guitar" and "[[Pop Is Dead]]" were also unsuccessful.<ref name="MELODY" /><ref name="popisdead-1">{{cite book |author=Randall, Mac |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GU9QmQEpLoYC&q=%22Pop+Is+Dead%22+radiohead&pg=PT112 |title=Exit Music – The Radiohead Story: The Radiohead Story |publisher=Omnibus |year=2011 |isbn=978-0857126955}}</ref> 

In late 1992, the Israeli DJ [[Yoav Kutner]] played "Creep" often on Israeli radio, having been introduced to it by an EMI representative, and it became a national hit. Radiohead quickly set up tour dates in Israel to capitalise on the success.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://nypost.com/2017/07/18/is-this-the-reason-radiohead-is-playing-israel/amp/|title=Is this the reason Radiohead is playing Israel?|newspaper=[[New York Post]]|language=en|access-date=24 July 2017}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Lockett |first=Dee |date=2017-07-20 |title=Never forget Radiohead's relationship with Israel goes way back |url=https://slate.com/culture/2017/07/radiohead-s-relationship-with-israel-goes-way-back.html |access-date=2022-03-03 |website=[[Slate (magazine)|Slate]] |language=en}}</ref> "Creep" had similar success in New Zealand, Spain, and Scandinavia.<ref>Randall, p. 90-91</ref> In the US, "Creep" became an underground hit in California after it was added to an alternative rock radio playlist in San Francisco.<ref name="postrockband" /><ref>{{cite news |last=Selvin |first=Joel |date=18 March 2012 |title=At Berkeley record shop Mod Lang, owners feed their music addiction needs by serving those of others |url=https://www.sfgate.com/entertainment/article/At-Berkeley-record-shop-Mod-Lang-owners-feed-2610537.php |access-date=23 March 2021 |work=[[San Francisco Chronicle]]}}</ref> A censored version was released to radio stations.<ref name="postrockband" />

"Creep" was included on Radiohead's debut album, ''[[Pablo Honey]],'' released on 22 February 1993.<ref name="Irvin-1997" /> By mid-1993, it had become a hit in America, a "[[slacker]] anthem" in the vein of "[[Smells Like Teen Spirit]]" by [[Nirvana (band)|Nirvana]] and "[[Loser (Beck song)|Loser]]" by [[Beck]].<ref name="postrockband" /> Radiohead were surprised by the success; Yorke told ''[[Melody Maker]]'' in 1993 that many journalists misunderstood it, asking him if it was a joke.<ref name="MELODY" /> In September 1993, Radiohead performed "Creep" on ''[[Late Night with Conan O'Brien]]'' as the show's first musical guests.<ref>{{Cite web |date=16 August 2018 |title=Conan O'Brien's 10 most memorable music performances |url=https://consequenceofsound.net/2018/08/conan-10-most-memorable-performances/ |access-date=13 September 2020 |website=[[Consequence of Sound]] |language=en-US}}</ref>

Radiohead did not want to reissue "Creep" in the UK, but relented following pressure from the music press, EMI and fans.<ref>Randall, p. 117</ref> The reissue was released in the UK on 6 September 1993 and reached number seven, promoted with an appearance on the music programme ''[[Top of the Pops]]''.<ref>Randall, p. 118</ref> In the US, "Creep" was aided by its appearance in a 1994 episode of the [[MTV]] animated series ''[[Beavis and Butt-Head]].'' Capitol, Radiohead's US label, used the endorsement in a marketing campaign with the slogan "Beavis and Butt-Head say [Radiohead] don't suck".<ref name="Runtagh-2018">{{cite magazine|last=Runtagh|first=Jordan|date=22 February 2018|title=Radiohead's ''Pablo Honey'': 10 things you didn't know|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/radioheads-pablo-honey-10-things-you-didnt-know-201729/|magazine=[[Rolling Stone]]|language=en-US|access-date=23 May 2019}}</ref> An acoustic version of "Creep", taken from a live performance on [[KROQ-FM]] on 13 July 1993, was included on Radiohead's 1994 EP ''[[My Iron Lung]]''.<ref name="httt notes">{{cite AV media notes |title=My Iron Lung |others=[[Radiohead]] |year=1994 |type=booklet}}</ref>

In June 2008, "Creep" re-entered the UK singles chart at number 37 after its inclusion on ''[[Radiohead: The Best Of]]''.<ref name="officialUKChart">{{cite web|title=Official Singles Chart Top 100 {{!}} Official Charts Company|url=https://www.officialcharts.com/charts/singles-chart/20080608/7501/|access-date=19 February 2020|website=www.officialcharts.com|language=en}}</ref> As of April 2019, in the UK, it was the most streamed song released in 1992, with 10.1 million streams.<ref>{{cite news |last=Savage |first=Mark |date=11 April 2019 |title=The UK's most-streamed songs may surprise you |work=[[BBC News]] |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-47881992 |access-date=13 April 2019}}</ref> On 23 April 2024, "Creep" surpassed 1 billion views on [[YouTube]].<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Aniftos |first=Rania |date=2024-04-24 |title=Radiohead's 'Creep' video surpasses 1 billion YouTube views |url=https://www.billboard.com/music/rock/radiohead-creep-video-1-billion-youtube-views-1235665311/ |access-date=2024-04-25 |magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]}}</ref> It remains Radiohead's most successful single.<ref name="Monroe-2020">{{cite news |last=Monroe |first=Jazz |date=23 January 2020 |title=Radiohead's 40 greatest songs – ranked! |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2020/jan/23/radioheads-40-greatest-songs-ranked |access-date=25 January 2020 |work=[[The Guardian]] |issn=0261-3077}}</ref>

== Critical reception ==
Reviewing "Creep" for ''[[Melody Maker]]'' in September 1992, Sharon O'Connell described it as "a stormer, a perfect monster of a malevolent pop song  ... Like all the best pop, it gently strokes the nape of your neck before it digs the bread knife in. Aggression is rarely this delicious."<ref>{{cite magazine|first=Sharon|last=O'Connell|title=Singles|magazine=[[Melody Maker]]|date=19 September 1992|page=33|access-date=21 February 2023|url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/nothingelseon/52701085559/}}</ref> [[Larry Flick]] of ''[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]'' wrote: "Minimal cut, boosted with just a touch of noise, relies mainly on an appropriately languid, melodic vocal (which also vaults into [[Bono]]-esque [[falsetto]] range) to pull the whole thing together. A possible spinner for alternative and college radio."<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Flick |first=Larry |author-link=Larry Flick |date=10 April 1993 |title=Single Reviews |url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-Billboard/90s/1993/BB-1993-04-10.pdf |access-date=26 October 2020 |magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]] |page=72}}</ref> 

Troy J. Augusto from ''[[Cashbox (magazine)|Cash Box]]'' described it as a song "for all those of the post-pimple set who just can't find their way in this big ol' world. Vocalist Thom Yorke is our too-self-aware hero who won't let a little disillusionment keep him down. Song's hook is the razor-sharp guitar play that frames Yorke's gnashing of teeth."<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Augusto |first=Troy J. |date=5 June 1993 |title=Pop Singles: Reviews |url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Cash-Box/90s/1993/CB-1993-06-05.pdf |access-date=3 November 2020 |magazine=[[Cashbox (magazine)|Cash Box]] |page=13}}</ref> Marisa Fox of ''[[Entertainment Weekly]]'' wrote that "Creep" was "the ultimate neurotic teen anthem", marrying the self-consciousness of [[the Smiths]], the vocals and guitar of [[U2]], and the "heavy but crunchy pop" of the [[The Cure|Cure]].<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Fox |first=Marisa |date=14 May 1993 |title=Pablo Honey |url=https://ew.com/article/1993/05/14/pablo-honey/ |access-date=11 November 2020 |magazine=[[Entertainment Weekly]]}}</ref> A reviewer from ''[[People (magazine)|People]]'' called it a "startling pop song" and a "gripping descent into love's dark regrets".<ref>{{cite magazine |date=2 August 1993 |title=Picks and pans review: ''Pablo Honey'' |url=https://people.com/archive/picks-and-pans-review-pablo-honey-vol-40-no-5/ |access-date=13 November 2020 |magazine=[[People (magazine)|People]]}}</ref> [[Steve Lamacq]] from ''[[Select (magazine)|Select]]'' said it is "spectacularly under-achieving (but beautifully self-effacing)".<ref>{{cite magazine|first=Steve|last=Lamacq|url=https://selectmagazinescans.monkeon.co.uk/showpage.php?file=wp-content/uploads/2013/03/albums32.jpg|title=Reviews: New Albums|magazine=[[Select (magazine)|Select]]|date=April 1993|page=80|access-date=1 January 2025|author-link=Steve Lamacq}}</ref>

When "Creep" was reissued in the UK in September 1993, the ''Melody Maker'' critic Simon Price named "Creep" Single of the Week.<ref>{{cite magazine|first=Simon|last=Price|url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/nothingelseon/52962198127/|title=Singles|magazine=[[Melody Maker]]|date=4 September 1993|page=27|access-date=11 June 2023}}</ref> Martin Aston from ''[[Music Week]]'' gave it four out of five, describing it as "stunning".<ref>{{cite magazine|first=Martin|last=Aston|title=Market Preview: Alternative|magazine=[[Music Week]]|date=4 September 1993|page=17|access-date=1 February 2023|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/UK/Music-Week/1993/Music-Week-1993-09-04.pdf}}</ref> Tom Doyle from ''[[Smash Hits]]'' also gave it four out of five and named it Best New Single, praising the lyrics, "crunching guitar" and "delirious" chorus.<ref>{{cite magazine|first=Tom|last=Doyle|title=New Singles: Best New Single|url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/57779449@N02/52555612147/in/album-72177720304372654/|magazine=[[Smash Hits]]|date=15 September 1993|page=51|access-date=19 December 2022}}</ref> Edwin Pouncey of ''[[New Musical Express|NME]]'' named "Creep" Reissue of the Week and wrote that it had "clout, class and truth proudly branded on its forearm".<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Pouncey |first=Edwin |date=4 September 1993 |title=Singles |url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/nothingelseon/52967471430/ |magazine=[[New Musical Express|NME]] |page=19 |access-date=13 June 2023}}</ref> 

=== Later reviews ===
According to the journalist [[Alex Ross (music critic)|Alex Ross]] in 2001, "What set 'Creep' apart from the [[grunge]] of the early nineties was the grandeur of its chords—in particular, its regal turn from G major to B major. No matter how many times you hear the song, the second chord still sails beautifully out of the blue. The lyrics may be saying, 'I'm a creep,' but the music is saying, 'I am majestic.'"<ref name="ROSS" /> [[Stephen Thomas Erlewine]] wrote in 2001 that "Creep" achieved "a rare power that is both visceral and intelligent".<ref>{{cite web |last=Erlewine |first=Stephen Thomas |date=2001 |title=Radiohead – ''Pablo Honey'' |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/pablo-honey-mw0000095971 |access-date=5 November 2020 |publisher=[[AllMusic]]}}</ref>

In 2007, [[VH1]] ranked "Creep" the 31st-greatest song of the 1990s.<ref>{{Cite web |title=100 Greatest Songs of the '90s |url=http://blog.vh1.com/2007-12-13/top-100-songs-of-the-90s/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120214035830/http://blog.vh1.com/2007-12-13/top-100-songs-of-the-90s/ |archive-date=14 February 2012}}</ref> In 2020, ''Rolling Stone'' named it the 16th-greatest debut single; the journalist Andy Greene noted that though Radiohead had followed "Creep" with "some of the most innovative and acclaimed music of the past 30 years", it remained their most famous song.<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Greene |first=Andy |date=2020 |title=The 100 greatest debut singles of all time |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/greatest-debut-songs-singles-990470/ |magazine=[[Rolling Stone]] |language=en-US |access-date=2022-06-11}}</ref> In the same year, ''The Guardian'' named "Creep" the 34th-greatest Radiohead song.<ref name="Monroe-2020" /> It was included in the 2021 and 2024 editions of [[Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time|''Rolling Stone''<nowiki/>'s "500 Greatest Songs of All Time]]".<ref>{{Cite magazine |date=2021-09-15 |title=The 500 greatest songs of all time |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/best-songs-of-all-time-1224767/ |magazine=[[Rolling Stone]] |language=en-US |access-date=2022-07-19}}</ref><ref>{{Cite magazine |date=2024-02-16 |title=The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/best-songs-of-all-time-1224767/ |access-date=2024-02-17 |magazine=[[Rolling Stone]] |language=en-US}}</ref>

== Legacy ==
[[File:Thom Yorke 1998.jpg|thumb|Thom Yorke in 1998]]
Following the release of ''Pablo Honey'', Radiohead spent two years touring in support of [[Belly (band)|Belly]], [[PJ Harvey]] and [[James (band)|James]].<ref name="Irvin-1997"/> They performed "Creep" at every show, and came to resent it. O'Brien recalled: "We seemed to be living out the same four and a half minutes of our lives over and over again. It was incredibly stultifying."<ref name="Runtagh-2018" /> Yorke told ''[[Rolling Stone]]'' in 1993: "It's like it's not our song any more ... It feels like we're doing a cover."<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Kenny |first=Glenn |date=16 September 1993 |title=Radiohead Arrive: Meet the English Rock Crew Behind 'Creep' |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/radiohead-arrive-meet-the-english-rock-crew-behind-creep-188776/ |access-date=15 October 2020 |magazine=[[Rolling Stone]]}}</ref> During Radiohead's first American tour, audience members would scream for "Creep", then leave after it was performed.<ref name="postrockband" /> Yorke said the success "gagged" them and almost caused them to break up; they felt they were being judged on a single song.<ref name="Runtagh-2018" /> Radiohead were determined to move on rather than "repeat that small moment of [our] lives forevermore".<ref name="Runtagh-2018" />

The success of "Creep" meant that Radiohead were not in debt to EMI, and so had more freedom on their next album, ''[[The Bends (album)|The Bends]]'' (1995).<ref name="oral-history">{{Cite magazine|last=Greene|first=Andy|date=2017-06-16|title=Radiohead's ''OK Computer'': an oral history|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/radioheads-ok-computer-an-oral-history-196156/|access-date=2021-07-06|magazine=[[Rolling Stone]]|language=en-US}}</ref> The album title, a term for [[decompression sickness]], references Radiohead's rapid rise to fame with "Creep"; Yorke said "we just came up too fast".<ref>{{Cite magazine |date=February 25, 1995 |title=Radiohead creeps past early success |url= |magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]}}</ref> [[John Leckie]], who produced ''The Bends'', recalled that EMI hoped for a single "even better" than "Creep" but that Radiohead "didn't even know what was good about it in the first place".<ref>Randall, p. 90</ref> Radiohead wrote the ''Bends'' song "[[My Iron Lung]]" in response, with the lines: "This is our new song / just like the last one / a total waste of time".<ref name="Runtagh-2018" /> Yorke said in 1995: "People have defined our emotional range with that one song, 'Creep'. I saw reviews of 'My Iron Lung' that said it was just like 'Creep'. When you're up against things like that, it's like: 'Fuck you.' These people are never going to listen."<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Malins|first=Steve|date=April 1995|title=Scuba Do|journal=[[Vox (magazine)|Vox]]|issue=55}}</ref>

In January 1996, Radiohead surpassed the UK chart performance of "Creep" with the ''Bends'' single "[[Street Spirit (Fade Out)|Street Spirit]]", which reached number five.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Randall |first=Mac |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0q9bTJp2Bi4C |title=Exit Music: The Radiohead Story Updated Edition |date=2012-02-01 |publisher=Backbeat Books |isbn=978-1-4584-7147-5}}</ref> This, alongside the critical success of ''The Bends'', established that Radiohead were not [[one-hit wonder]]s.<ref name="Runtagh-2018" /><ref>{{cite news |last=Sullivan |first=Caroline |date=May 1997 |title=Aching Heads |newspaper=[[The Guardian]] |url=http://citizeninsane.eu/s1997-05-1xGuardian.htm |url-status=dead |access-date=23 August 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151016233036/http://citizeninsane.eu/s1997-05-1xGuardian.htm |archive-date=16 October 2015}}</ref>{{sfn|Randall|2012}} Over the following years, Radiohead departed further from the style of "Creep".<ref name="Petridis-2017" /> During the promotion for their third album, ''[[OK Computer]]'' (1997), Yorke became hostile when "Creep" was mentioned in interviews and refused requests to play it, telling a Montréal audience: "Fuck off, we're tired of it."<ref name="Uncut-2016" /> He dismissed fans demanding it as "anally retarded".<ref name="Uncut-2016">{{cite news |date=18 March 2016 |title=Radiohead: "We were spitting and fighting and crying…" |work=[[Uncut (magazine)|Uncut]] |url=http://www.uncut.co.uk/features/radiohead-we-were-spitting-and-fighting-and-crying-73254/8 |access-date=3 June 2017}}</ref> After the tour, Radiohead did not perform "Creep" until the encore of their 2001 homecoming concert at [[South Park, Oxford]], when an equipment failure halted a performance of another song.<ref>{{cite news| url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/reviews/1429002.stm | work=BBC News | title=Rapturous return for masters of misery | date=8 July 2001 | access-date=30 April 2010}}</ref>

In a surprise move, Radiohead performed "Creep" as the opening song of their headline performance at the 2009 [[Reading Festival]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nme.com/news/music/radiohead-416-1314147|title=Radiohead open with 'Creep' at Reading Festival 2009|date=31 August 2009|website=NME|language=en-US|access-date=17 July 2019}}</ref> They did not perform it again until their 2016 tour for ''[[A Moon Shaped Pool]],'' when a fan spent the majority of a concert shouting for it. Radiohead decided to play it to "see what the reaction is, just to see how it feels".<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://consequenceofsound.net/2016/06/thom-yorke-surprised-by-new-albums-success-thought-fans-would-have-abandoned-radiohead-by-now/|title=Thom Yorke surprised by new album's success, thought fans would have abandoned Radiohead by now|last=Geslani|first=Michelle|date=28 June 2016|publisher=[[Consequence of Sound]]}}</ref> They performed "Creep" again during the encore of their headline performance at the [[Glastonbury Festival 2017|Glastonbury Festival]] that year.<ref name="Petridis-2017" /> According to the ''Guardian'' critic [[Alexis Petridis]], "Given Radiohead's famously fractious relationship with their first big hit ... the performance of 'Creep' [was] greeted with something approaching astonished delight."<ref name="Petridis-2017">{{cite web |last=Petridis |first=Alexis |author-link=Alexis Petridis |date=24 June 2017 |title=Radiohead at Glastonbury 2017 review |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2017/jun/24/radiohead-glastonbury-2017-review |access-date=26 June 2017 |website=[[The Guardian]]}}</ref> In 2020, the ''Guardian'' critic Jazz Monroe wrote: "In the end, the band's disavowal of the song sent its credibility full circle. Nowadays, 'Creep' is a joke, but we're all blissfully in on it."<ref name="Monroe-2020" />

In 2017, O'Brien said: "It's nice to play for the right reasons. People like it and want to hear it. We do err towards not playing it because you don't want it to feel like show business."<ref name="Greene-2017" /> In the same interview, Yorke said: "It can be cool sometimes, but other times I want to stop halfway through and be like, 'Nah, this isn't happening'."<ref name="Greene-2017">{{cite news|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/19-things-we-learned-hanging-out-with-radiohead-w486278|title=19 Things We Learned Hanging Out With Radiohead|last=Greene|first=Andy|date=8 June 2017|magazine=Rolling Stone|access-date=8 June 2017}}</ref> In a 2020 interview, O'Brien was dismissive of ''Pablo Honey'' but cited "Creep" as the "standout track".<ref>{{cite web |last=McLean |first=Craig |date=6 February 2020 |title=Radiohead guitarist Ed O'Brien steps up |url=https://theface.com/music/radiohead-guitarist-ed-obrien-album-shangri-la-interview-thom-yorke |access-date=2020-02-08 |website=[[The Face (magazine)|The Face]] |language=en-gb}}</ref> In 2023, Yorke said that his vocal range had dropped with age and that he found "Creep" difficult to sing.<ref name="Gordon-2023">{{Cite magazine |last=Gordon |first=Jason Thomas |date=2023-09-08 |title=The songs that make Thom Yorke cry |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/thom-yorke-neil-young-bob-dylan-makes-him-cry-1234819196/ |magazine=[[Rolling Stone]] |language=en-US |access-date=2023-09-08}}</ref>

== 2021 remix ==
In July 2021, Yorke released "Creep (Very 2021 Rmx)", a [[remix]]ed version of "Creep". The remix is based on a [[Time stretching (audio)|time-stretched]] version of the acoustic version of "Creep", extending it to nine minutes, with "eerie" synthesisers.<ref name="Triscari-2021">{{Cite web |last=Triscari |first=Caleb |date=13 July 2021 |title=Thom Yorke releases slowed-down eerie remix of Radiohead's 'Creep' |url=https://www.nme.com/news/music/thom-yorke-slows-down-radioheads-creep-in-eerie-new-remix-2991687 |access-date=13 July 2021 |website=[[NME]] |language=en-GB}}</ref> Yorke contributed the remix to a show by the Japanese fashion designer [[Jun Takahashi]], who provided artwork and an animated music video.<ref name="Triscari-2021" /> ''[[Vogue (magazine)|Vogue]]'' described the remix as "haunting and spare",<ref>{{Cite web |last=Yotka |first=Steff |date=19 March 2021 |title=Undercover Fall 2021 Ready-to-Wear Collection |url=https://www.vogue.com/fashion-shows/fall-2021-ready-to-wear/undercover |access-date=20 March 2021 |website=Vogue |language=en-us}}</ref> and ''[[Classic Rock (magazine)|Classic Rock]]''  described it as "woozy" and "discombobulating".<ref>{{Cite web |last=July 2021 |first=Fraser Lewry13 |date=13 July 2021 |title=Thom Yorke remixes Radiohead's Creep, makes it even more miserable than before |url=https://www.loudersound.com/news/thom-yorke-remixes-radioheads-creep-makes-it-more-miserable-than-before |access-date=13 July 2021 |website=Classic Rock Magazine |language=en}}</ref> ''Rolling Stone'' said it was a fitting track for the [[COVID-19 pandemic]], when "a sense of time is warped and singular moments can seem both fleeting and drawn out simultaneously".<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Legaspi |first=Althea |date=13 July 2021 |title=Hear Thom Yorke, Radiohead's Sprawling 'Creep (Very 2021 Rmx)' |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/thom-yorke-radiohead-creep-very-2021-rmx-1196378/ |magazine=Rolling Stone |language=en-US |access-date=13 July 2021}}</ref>

== Covers ==
In April 2008, the American musician [[Prince (musician)|Prince]] covered "Creep" at the [[Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival]]. A [[bootleg recording]] was shared online, but removed at Prince's request. After being informed of the situation in an interview, Yorke said: "Well, tell him to unblock it. It's our song."<ref>{{cite web |date=30 May 2008 |title=Radiohead News – Yahoo! Music |url=http://music.yahoo.com/read/news/60761951 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080603004931/http://music.yahoo.com/read/news/60761951 |archive-date=3 June 2008 |access-date=14 February 2011 |publisher=Music.yahoo.com}}</ref><ref name="RehabilitatedCreep">{{cite magazine |author=Andrea DenHoed |date=23 April 2012 |title=A Rehabilitated "Creep" |url=http://www.newyorker.com/culture/culture-desk/a-rehabilitated-creep |magazine=[[The New Yorker]]}}</ref> A cover by the choir group the [[Scala & Kolacny Brothers]] was used in the trailer for the 2010 film ''[[The Social Network]]'', creating a trend for trailers using eerie, slowed-down versions of pop songs.<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Pappademus |first=Alex |date=2019-07-31 |title=How the Cover Song Conquered Movie Trailers |url=https://www.newyorker.com/culture/culture-desk/how-the-cover-song-conquered-movie-trailers |access-date=2023-05-11 |magazine=[[The New Yorker]] |language=en-US}}</ref> 

In 2011, the Canadian actor [[Jim Carrey]] covered "Creep" at [[Arlene's Grocery]] in New York City.<ref>{{Cite web |date=August 2020 |title=The shambolic moment Jim Carrey covered Radiohead song 'Creep' |url=https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/radiohead-jim-carrey-cover-creep/amp/ |access-date=24 November 2020 |website=[[Far Out (magazine)|Far Out]]}}</ref> A version sung by [[Diego Luna]] appears in the 2014 animated film ''[[The Book of Life (2014 film)|The Book of Life]]''. According to the director, [[Jorge Gutierrez (animator)|Jorge Gutierrez]], Radiohead told him: "For the first time ever, the way I'm using the song is exactly how it's supposed to be used. They said it's for a teenager who feels like he doesn't fit in."<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Grossman |first=Samantha |date=2014-10-16 |title=Welp, Here's Diego Luna Covering "Creep" by Radiohead |url=https://time.com/3513745/book-of-life-diego-luna-creep-radiohead/ |access-date=2023-05-11 |magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] |language=en}}</ref> 

In 2023, [[Pentatonix]] covered "Creep" on ''[[The Masked Singer (American season 9)|The Masked Singer]]'', and released a studio version the night after their unmasking.<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Schepp |first=Calie |date=May 10, 2023 |title=California Roll reveals 'light bulb moment' they had on ''The Masked Singer'' |url=https://ew.com/tv/the-masked-singer-california-roll-pentatonix-elimination-interview/ |access-date=2023-07-05 |magazine=[[Entertainment Weekly]] |language=en}}</ref> That November, the Australian musician [[Elly-May Barnes]] released a cover "Creep" as her first solo single, from her debut album, ''No Good''. Barnes, who has [[cerebral palsy]] which causes her [[chronic pain]], said that the song is "just a really beautiful song to relate to if you're feeling like you're in a world that's just not made for you".<ref>{{cite web | last1=Scott | first1=Leisa | last2=Cheshire | first2=Ben | title=Jimmy and Jane Barnes's youngest daughter Elly-May on cabaret and cerebral palsy | website=[[ABC News (Australia)|ABC News]]|format=text + audio | date=19 November 2023 | url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-11-20/elly-may-barnes-on-cabaret-cerebral-palsy/103092796 | access-date=24 December 2024}}</ref> Other artists who have covered "Creep" include [[Postmodern Jukebox]],<ref>{{cite web |date=8 April 2015 |title=Haley Reinhart's 'Creep' cover with Postmodern Jukebox is worth a listen |url=http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/music/posts/la-et-ms-haley-reinhart-postmodern-jukebox-cover-creep-20150408-story.html |access-date=17 April 2015 |website=[[Los Angeles Times]]}}</ref> [[Korn]],<ref name="spin">{{cite web |last=Martins |first=Chris |date=22 September 2012 |title=In Their Right Place: Ranking 10 Radiohead 'Creep' Covers (Plus One Bonus Clip!) |url=https://www.spin.com/2012/09/radiohead-creep-covers-ranked-weezer-kelly-clarkson-korn/ |access-date=4 November 2014 |website=[[Spin (magazine)|Spin]] |publisher=}}</ref> [[Weezer]],<ref name="spin" /> [[Damien Rice]],<ref name="spin" /> [[Amanda Palmer]],<ref name="spin" /> [[Moby]],<ref name="spin" /> the [[The Pretenders|Pretenders]],<ref name="spin" /> [[Kelly Clarkson]],<ref name="spin" /> [[Arlo Parks]],<ref>{{Cite web |last=Moore |first=Sam |date=11 June 2020 |title=Watch Arlo Parks deliver a captivating cover of Radiohead's 'Creep' |url=https://www.nme.com/news/music/arlo-parks-radiohead-creep-cover-video-2685911 |access-date=11 June 2020 |website=[[NME]] |language=en-GB}}</ref> [[Olivia Rodrigo]],<ref>{{Cite web|last=Rogerson |first=Ben |date=3 July 2023 |title=There's a reason why people are saying that Olivia Rodrigo's Vampire reminds them of Radiohead's Creep|url=https://www.musicradar.com/news/olivia-rodrigo-vampire-radiohead-creep |access-date=2024-04-02  |website=[[Future plc|musicradar]]}}</ref> and [[Ernest (singer)|Ernest]].<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Nicholson |first=Jessica |date=2024-04-19 |title=Ernest Honors Nashville Hometown, Songwriters on New Album: 'The True Denominator Is Country Music' |url=https://www.billboard.com/music/country/ernest-nashville-tennessee-album-1235661108/ |access-date=2024-05-02 |magazine=Billboard |language=en-US}}</ref>

== Copyright infringement ==
The chord progression and melody in "Creep" are similar to those of the 1972 song "[[The Air That I Breathe]]", written by [[Albert Hammond]] and [[Mike Hazlewood]].<ref>{{Cite news |last=Locker |first=Melissa |title=11 Suspiciously Sound-Alike Songs |language=en-US |magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] |url=https://entertainment.time.com/2013/08/22/11-suspiciously-sound-alike-songs/slide/the-hollies-the-air-that-i-breathe-1974-vs-radiohead-creep-1992/ |access-date=25 June 2017 |issn=0040-781X}}</ref> After [[Rondor Music Publishing|Rondor Music]], the [[Music publisher|publisher]] of "The Air That I Breathe", took legal action, Hammond and Hazlewood received cowriting credits and a percentage of the [[Royalty payment|royalties]]. Hammond said Radiohead were honest about having reused the composition, and so he and Hazlewood accepted only a small part of the royalties.<ref>{{cite news |date=8 January 2018 |title=Lana Del Rey sued by Radiohead for allegedly copying Creep |work=[[The Daily Telegraph|The Telegraph]] |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/music/artists/lana-del-rey-sued-radiohead-allegedly-copying-creep/ |url-status=live |url-access=subscription |access-date=17 July 2019 |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220112/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/music/artists/lana-del-rey-sued-radiohead-allegedly-copying-creep/ |archive-date=12 January 2022 |issn=0307-1235}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

In January 2018, the American singer [[Lana Del Rey]] said on [[Twitter]] that Radiohead were taking legal action against her for allegedly plagiarising "Creep" on her 2017 track "[[Get Free (Lana Del Rey song)|Get Free]]", and had asked for 100% of publishing royalties instead of Del Rey's offer of 40%. She denied that "Creep" had inspired "Get Free".<ref>{{Cite web |last=Hyun Kim |first=Michelle |date=2018-01-07 |title=Lana Del Rey says Radiohead suing her for copying 'Creep' |url=https://pitchfork.com/news/radiohead-sue-lana-del-rey-for-allegedly-copying-creep/ |access-date=2022-11-06 |website=[[Pitchfork (website)|Pitchfork]] |language=en-US}}</ref> Radiohead's publisher, [[Warner Chappell Music]], confirmed it was seeking songwriting credits for "all writers" of "Creep", but denied that a lawsuit had been brought or that Radiohead had demanded 100% of royalties.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/radiohead-publisher-issues-statement-refuting-lana-del-rey-lawsuit-w515241|title=Radiohead Publisher Issues Statement Refuting Lana Del Rey Lawsuit|magazine=Rolling Stone|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180110104105/https://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/radiohead-publisher-issues-statement-refuting-lana-del-rey-lawsuit-w515241 |access-date=10 January 2018|archive-date=10 January 2018 }}</ref> In March, Del Rey told an audience: "My lawsuit's over, I guess I can sing that song any time I want."<ref name="Savage-2018">{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-43540358|title=Lana Del Rey and Radiohead 'settle dispute'|last=Savage|first=Mark|date=26 March 2018|access-date=11 January 2020|language=en-GB}}</ref> The writing credits for "Get Free" were not updated on the database of the [[American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers|American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers]].<ref name="Savage-2018" />

==Track listings==
All tracks are written by Radiohead.{{efn|Except "Creep" composed by Radiohead, [[Albert Hammond]] and [[Mike Hazlewood]];<ref>{{cite web|title=Credits / Creep / Radiohead|date=21 September 1992 |url=https://listen.tidal.com/album/60258228/credits|publisher=[[Tidal (service)|Tidal]]|access-date=7 August 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210807174604/https://listen.tidal.com/album/60258228/credits|archive-date=7 August 2021|url-status=live}}</ref> Thom Yorke is credited as the lyricist of "Creep", "Lurgee", "Prove Yourself", "Blow Out", "You" and "Vegetable" on the liner notes of ''[[Pablo Honey]]''.<ref>{{Cite AV media notes|title=Pablo Honey|others=[[Radiohead]]|year=1993|type=CD album liner notes|publisher=[[Parlophone]]|id=0 7777 81409 2 4|location=UK}}</ref>}}
{{col-begin}}
{{col-2}}
* '''UK release (CD, cassette, 12")'''<ref name="Original release">{{Cite AV media notes|title=Creep|others=Radiohead|year=1992|type=CD extended play liner notes|publisher=Parlophone|id=CDR 6078|location=UK}}</ref><ref>{{Cite AV media notes|title=Creep|others=Radiohead|year=1992|type=MC extended play liner notes|publisher=Parlophone|id=TCR 6078|location=UK}}</ref><ref>{{Cite AV media notes|title=Creep|others=Radiohead|year=1992|type=12-inch vinyl extended play liner notes|publisher=Parlophone|id=12R 6078|location=UK}}</ref>{{efn|name=fn1|The same tracks are played on both sides of the cassette tape.}}{{efn|name=fn2|The 12 and 7-inch vinyls contain two tracks on each side.}}
* '''Australian release (CD, cassette)'''<ref>{{Cite AV media notes|title=Creep|others=Radiohead|year=1992|type=CD extended play liner notes|publisher=Parlophone|id=8802342|location=Australia}}</ref><ref>{{Cite AV media notes|title=Creep|others=Radiohead|year=1992|type=MC extended play liner notes|publisher=Parlophone|id=8802344|location=Australia}}</ref>{{efn|name=fn1}}
* '''European release (CD)'''<ref>{{Cite AV media notes|title=Creep|others=Radiohead|year=1992|type=CD extended play liner notes|publisher=Parlophone|id=7243 8 80234 2 9|location=Europe}}</ref>
# "Creep"&nbsp;– 3:53
# "Lurgee"&nbsp;– 3:05
# "Inside My Head"&nbsp;– 3:07
# "Million Dollar Question"&nbsp;– 3:10

* '''US promo (CD)'''<ref>{{Cite AV media notes|title=Creep|others=Radiohead|year=1992|type=promo CD liner notes|publisher=[[Capitol Records|Capitol]]|id=dpro-79684|location=US}}</ref>
# "Creep" ([[Radio edit|edit]])&nbsp;– 4:01
# "Creep" (LP version)&nbsp;– 3:55

* '''US single (cassette)'''<ref>{{Cite AV media notes|title=Creep|others=Radiohead|year=1993|type=MC single liner notes|publisher=Capitol|id=4KM 0777 7 44932 4 6|location=US}}</ref>{{efn|name=fn1}}
# "Creep"&nbsp;– 3:53
# "Faithless, the Wonder Boy"&nbsp;– 4:14

* '''US jukebox single (7")'''<ref>{{Cite AV media notes|title=Creep|others=Radiohead|year=1993|type=7-inch jukebox single liner notes|publisher=Capitol|id=S7-17591|location=US}}</ref>{{efn|Track 1 is on side A of the 7-inch vinyl and track 2 is on side B.}}
# "Creep"&nbsp;– 4:00
# "Anyone Can Play Guitar"&nbsp;– 3:37

* '''French limited edition (CD)'''<ref>{{Cite AV media notes|title=Creep|others=Radiohead|year=1993|type=CD single liner notes|publisher=EMI France|id=8806792|location=France}}</ref>
# "Creep"&nbsp;– 3:53
# "[[The Bends (song)|The Bends]]" (live)&nbsp;– 3:58
# "Prove Yourself" (live)&nbsp;– 2:28
# "Creep" (live)&nbsp;– 3:50
{{col-2}}
* '''UK reissue (CD, cassette, 7")'''<ref name="Reissue">{{Cite AV media notes|title=Creep|others=Radiohead|year=1993|type=CD extended play liner notes|publisher=Parlophone|id=CDR 6359|location=UK}}</ref><ref>{{Cite AV media notes|title=Creep|others=Radiohead|year=1993|type=MC extended play liner notes|publisher=Parlophone|id=TCR 6359|location=UK}}</ref><ref>{{Cite AV media notes|title=Creep|others=Radiohead|year=1993|type=7-inch vinyl extended play liner notes|publisher=Parlophone|id=R 6359|location=UK}}</ref>{{efn|name=fn1}}{{efn|name=fn2}}
* '''Japanese release (CD)'''<ref>{{Cite AV media notes|title=Creep|others=Radiohead|date=12 January 1994|type=CD extended play liner notes|publisher=[[EMI Records|EMI]]|id=TOCP-8129|location=Japan}}</ref>
# "Creep" (album version)&nbsp;– 3:58
# "Yes I Am"&nbsp;– 4:24
# "Blow Out" (remix)&nbsp;– 4:18
# "Inside My Head" (live)&nbsp;– 3:06

* '''UK limited edition (12")'''<ref>{{Cite AV media notes|title=Creep|others=Radiohead|year=1993|type=12-inch vinyl extended play liner notes|publisher=Parlophone|id=12RG 6359|location=UK}}</ref>{{efn|name=fn2}}
# "Creep" (acoustic)&nbsp;– 4:19
# "You" (live)&nbsp;– 3:39
# "Vegetable" (live)&nbsp;– 3:07
# "Killer Cars" (live)&nbsp;– 2:17

* '''Dutch release and European reissue (CD)'''<ref>{{Cite AV media notes|title=Creep|others=Radiohead|year=1993|type=CD extended play liner notes|publisher=Parlophone|id=8809192|location=Netherlands}}</ref><ref>{{Cite AV media notes|title=Creep|others=Radiohead|year=1993|type=CD extended play liner notes|publisher=Parlophone|id=7243 8 80919 2 3|location=Europe}}</ref>
# "Creep" (album version)&nbsp;– 3:58
# "Yes I Am"&nbsp;– 4:25
# "Inside My Head" (live)&nbsp;– 3:07
# "Creep" (acoustic)&nbsp;– 4:19

* '''French reissue (CD)'''<ref>{{Cite AV media notes|title=Creep|others=Radiohead|year=1995|type=CD single liner notes|publisher=EMI France|id=07243 882633 2|location=France}}</ref>
# "Creep"&nbsp;– 3:55
# "The Bends"&nbsp;– 3:58
{{col-end}}

==Credits and personnel==
Adapted from the original release liner notes,<ref name="Original release" /> except where noted:

'''Radiohead'''
* [[Thom Yorke]]
* [[Jonny Greenwood]]
* [[Ed O'Brien]]
* [[Colin Greenwood]]
* [[Philip Selway]]

'''Technical'''
* [[Sean Slade]]{{spaced ndash}} production, engineering; mixing<ref name="Reissue" />
* [[Paul Q. Kolderie]]{{spaced ndash}} production, engineering; mixing<ref name="Reissue" />

'''Artwork'''
* Icon{{spaced ndash}} design
* Steve Gullick{{spaced ndash}} photography
* Maurice Burns{{spaced ndash}} painting {{small|("Craigavon Under Age Drinkers Rule")}}

==Charts==
{{col-begin}}
{{col-2}}

===Weekly charts===
{|class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
|+Weekly chart performance for "Creep"
!scope="col"|Chart (1992–2023)
!scope="col"|Peak<br />position
|-
{{single chart|Australia|6|artist=Radiohead|song=Creep|rowheader=true|access-date=16 February 2013}}
|-
{{single chart|Austria|15|artist=Radiohead|song=Creep|rowheader=true|access-date=16 February 2013}}
|-
{{single chart|Flanders|37|artist=Radiohead|song=Creep|rowheader=true|access-date=16 February 2013}}
|-
{{single chart|Wallonia|8|artist=Radiohead|song=Creep|rowheader=true|access-date=16 February 2013}}
|-
{{single chart|Canadatopsingles|30|chartid=2235|rowheader=true|access-date=12 September 2019}}
|-
!scope="row"|Canada Digital Song Sales (''[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]'')<ref>{{Cite magazine|url=https://www.billboard.com/artist/radiohead/chart-history/cns/|title=Radiohead Chart History (Canadian Digital Song Sales)|magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]|access-date=June 5, 2024}}</ref>
| 22
|-
{{single chart|Denmark|18|artist=Radiohead|song=Creep|rowheader=true|access-date=16 February 2013}}
|-
!scope="row"|Europe ([[European Hot 100 Singles|Eurochart Hot 100]])<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/UK/Music-and-Media/90s/1993/MM-1993-10-09.pdf|title=Eurochart Hot 100 Singles|magazine=[[Music & Media]]|volume=10|issue=41|date=9 October 1993|page=15|access-date=31 March 2020}}</ref>
| 42
|-
{{single chart|France|17|artist=Radiohead|song=Creep|rowheader=true|access-date=16 February 2013}}
|-
{{single chart|Germany|50|artist=Radiohead|song=Creep|songid=7971|rowheader=true|access-date=16 February 2013}}
|-
{{single chart|Billboardglobal200|56|artist=Radiohead|rowheader=true|access-date=23 May 2023}}
|-
{{single chart|Ireland2|13|song=Creep|rowheader=true|access-date=12 September 2019}}
|-
{{single chart|Dutch40|17|year=1993|week=25|rowheader=true|access-date=16 February 2013}}
|-
{{single chart|Dutch100|13|artist=Radiohead|song=Creep|rowheader=true|access-date=16 February 2013}}
|-
{{single chart|New Zealand|19|artist=Radiohead|song=Creep|rowheader=true|access-date=16 February 2013}}
|-
{{single chart|Norway|3|artist=Radiohead|song=Creep|rowheader=true|access-date=16 February 2013}}
|-
{{single chart|Sweden|35|artist=Radiohead|song=Creep|rowheader=true|access-date=16 February 2013}}
|-
{{single chart|Switzerland|39|artist=Radiohead|song=Creep|rowheader=true|access-date=16 February 2013}}
|-
{{single chart|UK|7|artist=Radiohead|song=Creep|date=19930918|rowheader=true|access-date=16 February 2013}}
|-
!scope="row"|UK Airplay (''[[Music Week]]'')<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.worldradiohistory.com/UK/Music-Week/1993/Music-Week-1993-09-25.pdf|title=The Airplay Chart|magazine=[[Music Week]]|date=25 September 1993|page=30|access-date=2 May 2024}}</ref>
| 32
|-
{{single chart|Billboardhot100|34|artist=Radiohead|rowheader=true|access-date=16 February 2013}}
|-
{{single chart|Billboardalternativesongs|2|artist=Radiohead|rowheader=true|access-date=16 February 2013}}
|-
{{single chart|Billboardrocksongs|6|artist=Radiohead|rowheader=true|access-date=23 May 2023}}
|-
{{single chart|Billboardmainstreamrock|20|artist=Radiohead|rowheader=true|access-date=16 February 2013}}
|-
{{single chart|Billboardpopsongs|39|artist=Radiohead|rowheader=true|access-date=16 February 2013}}
|-
!scope="row"|US [[Cash Box Top 100 Pop Singles|''Cash Box'' Top 100]]<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Cash-Box/90s/1993/CB-1993-08-14.pdf|title=Top 100 Pop Singles|magazine=[[Cashbox (magazine)|Cash Box]]|volume=LVI|issue=49|date=14 August 1993|page=10|access-date=20 April 2024}}</ref>
| 37
|}
{{col-2}}

===Year-end charts===
{|class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
|+1993 year-end chart performance for "Creep"
!scope="col"|Chart (1993)
!scope="col"|Position
|-
!scope="row"|Australia (ARIA)<ref>{{cite book|last=Ryan|first=Gavin|title=Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010|year=2011|publisher=Moonlight Publishing|location=Mt. Martha, VIC, Australia}}</ref>
| 91
|-
!scope="row"|Netherlands (Single Top 100)<ref>{{cite web|url=https://dutchcharts.nl/jaaroverzichten.asp?year=1993&cat=s|title=Jaaroverzichten – Single 1993|publisher=[[Dutch Charts|MegaCharts]]|language=nl|access-date=12 September 2019}}</ref>
| 97
|}
{|class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
|+1996 year-end chart performance for "Creep"
!scope="col"|Chart (1996)
!scope="col"|Position
|-
!scope="row"|Belgium (Ultratop 50 Wallonia)<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.ultratop.be/fr/annual.asp?year=1996|title=Rapports annuels 1996|publisher=[[Ultratop]]|language=fr|access-date=12 September 2019}}</ref>
| 30
|-
!scope="row"|France (SNEP)<ref>{{cite web|url=http://snepmusique.com/les-tops/le-top-de-lannee/top-singles-annee/?annee=1996|title=Tops de L'année {{!}} Top Singles 1996|publisher=[[Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique|SNEP]]|language=fr|access-date=29 September 2020}}</ref>
| 94
|}
{|class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
|+2012 year-end chart performance for "Creep"
!scope="col"|Chart (2012)
!scope="col"|Position
|-
!scope="row"|France (SNEP)<ref>{{cite web|url=https://snepmusique.com/les-tops/le-top-de-lannee/top-singles-annee/?categorie=Top%20Single%20de%20l%E2%80%99ann%C3%A9e&annee=2012|title=Top de l'année Top Singles 2012|publisher=SNEP|language=fr|access-date=26 November 2020}}</ref>
| 191
|}
{|class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
|+2023 year-end chart performance for "Creep"
!scope="col"|Chart (2023)
!scope="col"|Position
|-
! scope="row"| Global 200 (''Billboard'')<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.billboard.com/charts/year-end/2023/billboard-global-200/|title=Billboard Global 200 – Year-End 2023|magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]|access-date=22 November 2023}}</ref>
| 176
|}
{|class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
|+2024 year-end chart performance for "Creep"
!scope="col"|Chart (2024)
!scope="col"|Position
|-
! scope="row"| Global 200 (''Billboard'')<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.billboard.com/charts/year-end/2024/billboard-global-200/|title=Billboard Global 200 – Year-End 2024|magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]|access-date=20 December 2024}}</ref>
| 137
|}
{{col-end}}

==Certifications==
{{Certification Table Top|caption=Certifications for "Creep"}}
{{Certification Table Entry|region=Australia|type=single|artist=Radiohead|title=Creep|award=Gold|relyear=1992|certyear=1994|certref=<ref name=aria94>{{cite web|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151025122130/http://i.imgur.com/LHigR9p.jpg|title=The ARIA Australian Top 100 Singles 1994|url=http://i.imgur.com/LHigR9p.jpg|publisher=Australian Record Industry Association Ltd.|archive-date=25 October 2015|access-date=27 October 2015}}</ref>}}
{{Certification Table Entry|region=Canada|artist=Radiohead|title=Creep|type=single|relyear=1992|certyear=2023|award=Platinum|number=7|access-date=8 March 2023}}
{{Certification Table Entry|region=Denmark|artist=Radiohead|title=Creep|type=single|id=12781|relyear=1992|certyear=2023|award=Platinum|access-date=19 August 2023}}
{{Certification Table Entry|region=Italy|artist=Radiohead|title=Creep|relyear=1992|certyear=2024|type=single|access-date=18 November 2024|award=Platinum|number=3|id=13593}}
{{Certification Table Entry|region=New Zealand|artist=Radiohead|title=Creep|award=Platinum|number=3|type=single|relyear=1992|id=2023-05-19|source=newchart|access-date=2024-11-20|certyear=2023}}
{{Certification Table Entry|region=Portugal|artist=Radiohead|title=Creep|relyear=1992|certyear=2023|type=single|award=Platinum|number=3|id=file_2023-07-03-11-37-42.pdf|access-date=16 September 2023}}
{{Certification Table Entry|region=Spain|artist=Radiohead|title=Creep|type=single|award=Platinum|number=2|relyear=1992|certyear=2024|id=radiohead-creep|access-date=27 February 2024}}
{{Certification Table Entry|region=United Kingdom|artist=Radiohead|title=Creep|relyear=2005|certyear=2024|type=single|id=9567-1730-1|access-date=31 May 2024|award=Platinum|number=3}}
{{Certification Table Separator|title=Streaming}}
{{Certification Table Entry|region=Chile (Profovi)|certref=<ref name=Profovi>{{cite web |title=Galardones |url=https://profovi.cl/galardones.html |website=profovi.cl |access-date=23 December 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220211124123/https://profovi.cl/galardones.html|archive-date=11 February 2022}}</ref>|award=Gold|salesamount=13,000,000|salesref=<ref name=Profovi/>}}
{{Certification Table Bottom|nosales=true|streaming=true}}

== Notes ==
{{notelist}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Bibliography==
{{Refbegin}}
* {{cite book | title=1989: Bob Dylan Didn't Have This to Sing About | publisher=University of California Press | author=Clover, Joshua | year=2009 | isbn=978-0520944640}}
* {{cite book | title=Radiohead and Philosophy: Fitter Happier More Deductive | publisher=Open Court Publishing | author=Forbes, Brandon W. and George A. Reisch | year=2009 | isbn=978-0812696646}}
* {{cite book |chapter=The Aura of Authenticity: Perceptions of Honesty, Sincerity, and Truth in 'Creep' and 'Kid A' |last=Jones |first=Carys Wyn |title=The Music and Art of Radiohead | publisher=Ashgate | editor=Joseph Tate | year=2005 | isbn=0754639797}}
*Randall, Mac. ''Exit Music: The Radiohead Story''. Delta, 2000. {{ISBN|0-385-33393-5}}
* {{cite book | title=Speak To Me: The Legacy Of Pink Floyd's Dark Side Of The Moon | publisher=Ashgate Publishing, Ltd | author=Reising, Russell | year=2005 | isbn=0754640191}}
* {{cite book |title=Touch Me, I'm Sick: The 52 Creepiest Love Songs You've Ever Heard |last=Reynolds |first=Tom |publisher=[[Chicago Review Press]] |year=2008 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/touchmeimsick00tomr/page/47 47–51] |isbn=9781556527531 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/touchmeimsick00tomr/page/47 }}
{{Refend}}

==External links==
* {{Discogs master|master=21481|name=Creep|type=single}}
* {{MusicBrainz release group|name=Creep|mbid=c5bc370b-95c2-3634-bb89-51bb2dce97c3|type=single}}

{{Radiohead}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Creep (Radiohead Song)}}
[[Category:1992 songs]]
[[Category:1992 debut singles]]
[[Category:Radiohead songs]]
[[Category:Parlophone singles]]
[[Category:Capitol Records singles]]
[[Category:Songs written by Thom Yorke]]
[[Category:Songs written by Jonny Greenwood]]
[[Category:Songs written by Ed O'Brien]]
[[Category:Songs written by Colin Greenwood]]
[[Category:Songs written by Philip Selway]]
[[Category:Songs written by Albert Hammond]]
[[Category:Songs written by Mike Hazlewood]]
[[Category:1990s ballads]]
[[Category:Grunge songs]]
[[Category:Songs involved in plagiarism controversies]]
[[Category:Alternative rock ballads]]
[[Category:Songs about loneliness]]