An early Radiohead demo tape is set to hit the auction block this January.

When it was released, the band’s name wasn’t even Radiohead, but rather its predecessor, On a Friday. The Gripe EP was recorded between 1987 and 1988 and includes a total of 6 tracks, three of which are unreleased. Frontman Thom Yorke designed the cassette label himself, writing “Gripe + 3 trax at beginning” and “Happy Song (why don’t you write a happy song?), To Be a Brilliant Light (Mid life crises, no comforts), Sinking Ship (how would you like a job like that?!)” on the inlay card. The three unreleased cuts are supposedly entitled “Promise Me,” “Body in a box” and “These are the Chains.”
The EP tape was given to the auction by an anonymous seller who claims he was gifted the project in thee 90s by someone in the band. Auctioneer Paul Fairweather said, “The tracks are raw but certainly suggest something of the fantastic potential that the band would realize in a few years’ time.”
On a Friday’s Gripe EP is expected to fetch £2,000 GBP (approximately $2,720 USD), however as of writing the current bid is already at £3,400 GBP (approximately $3,270 USD) on Omega Auctions.
Posted by:Staff