Radiohead’s ‘Let Down’ becomes band’s fourth US hit 28 years after release thanks to TikTok

Radiohead‘s song ‘Let Down’ has become the band’s fourth US hit, 28 years after its release.

The track was released as a promotional single in 1997, and appears on Thom Yorke and co’s third studio album ‘OK Computer’.

• READ MORE: Jonny Greenwood tells us about The Smile’s ‘Cutouts’ and the “fun and natural” Radiohead reunion

‘Let Down’ entered the Billboard Hot 100 this week following an increasing resurgence on TikTok. It is sitting in the Number 91 position of the chart, at the time of writing.

Radiohead have previously featured in the Hot 100 with the ‘In Rainbows’ track ‘Nude’ in 2008 (Number 37), ‘High And Dry’ in 1995 (Number 78), and ‘Creep’ in 1993 (Number 34). The latter remains the band’s most successful single in the States.

‘Let Down’ spent seven weeks on the UK singles chart upon its release, peaking at Number 85.

The song featured in the season one finale of Disney+’s hit series The Bear in 2022. In a round-up of ‘nine note-perfect needle-drops’ in the show, NME said that the “magically mournful ‘OK Computer’ classic ‘Let Down’” provided “a strangely fitting counterpoint to this rare moment of euphoria” in the episode.

Recent months have seen the track become more popular on TikTok, where users have connected with its emotional themes. Per The Guardian, the most liked video to include ‘Let Down’ on the platform shows AI-generated fictional couples from well-known films taking a selfie with their imaginary children. The clip has earned 4.2million likes.

Radiohead are yet to follow up on their ninth and most recent album, 2016’s ‘A Moon Shaped Pool’. This March, the group sparked rumours of new material incoming after forming a new legal entity called RHEUK25 LLP. Shortly afterwards, it was reported that they had “placed holds in select European cities for a run of residency gigs” this year.

Bassist Colin Greenwood revealed last year that Radiohead “did some rehearsals” over the summer. However, he later told NME that “it doesn’t mean a tour is imminent”. The musician added: “I think we’re still a band where people might want to know what might happen next. We’re very lucky to have that.”

Elsewhere, Jonny Greenwood told us that the rehearsals were “fun and natural”, but explained that there were “no plans” for new music. “We’ve [got] lots of individual projects going on at the moment,” he continued.

At around the same time, frontman Yorke said he “really doesn’t give a fuck” if fans want Radiohead to return. The singer, who has been busy with The Smile in recent years, admitted earlier this month that he was “still struggling” to be creative following the COVID-19 pandemic. He was speaking upon the launch of Radiohead’s new exhibition, ‘This Is What You Get’.

Meanwhile, the band have revisited some “archive” recordings from the ‘Hail To The Thief’ era for a new live album.

Earlier this year, Yorke shared a lengthy post explaining his stance towards the conflict between Israel and Palestine.

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