My Iron Lung

The song *My Iron Lung* was first released as part of an EP in 1994, and its best-known version later appeared on the 1995 album *The Bends*. This EP compiled tracks that had not made it onto the main album, and it is considered a connecting point between the simplicity of *Pablo Honey* (1993) and the pursuit of greater sonic depth that the band would undertake with *The Bends*. The single *My Iron Lung* reached #24 in the UK, one position below the previous success of *Creep*. In the United States, both the single and the song received little airplay on radio and MTV, especially when compared to the impact of *Creep*. The duration of *My Iron Lung* is 4:36.

The recording of *The Bends* began in February 1994 at RAK Studios in London. There were moments of tension, with the record label Parlophone pushing to match the sales of the single *Creep*. Work resumed after an international tour in May and June, moving to Abbey Road and The Manor in Oxfordshire. It was during these sessions that Nigel Godrich and artist Stanley Donwood, who have collaborated on all subsequent Radiohead albums, first worked with the band. The album's production was handled by John Leckie, with additional contributions from Radiohead, Nigel Godrich, and Jim Warren. The mixing involved Paul Q. Kolderie, John Leckie, Radiohead, and Sean Slade, while the recording engineering involved Chris Brown, Nigel Godrich, John Leckie, Guy Massey, Shelley Saunders, and Jim Warren.