Until today, the only semi-official recording of Radiohead’s “Follow Me Around” that existed was in the 1998 documentary, Meeting People Is Easy. The film followed the hallowed British band on the OK Computer tour and captured leader Thom Yorke playing a hypnotic acoustic guitar and singing the song during an unassuming sound-check. “Follow Me Around” became fodder for super-fan forums and bootleg enthusiasts, who even went as far as building an ephemeral website (followmearound.com) that demanded the song’s release following a performance of it at a Toronto show in 2000. The band relished in this mystique, posting lyrics to this rare song on the band website and in a hidden booklet that came with early editions of Kid A.
Now those folks can rest easy, as the band has officially put out “Follow Me Around.” They shared it ahead of the November 5th release of Kid A Mnesia, a 21st anniversary reissue of Kid A, Amnesia and a bonus third disc of unreleased/unearthed material from the early sessions of each of the two albums. Today’s release comes along with an often-hilarious music video starring Mare Of Easttown and Memento actor Guy Pearce running away from in-your-face surveillance. It plays into Radiohead’s signature feeling of paranoia in a frenetic-yet-tongue-in-cheek manner.
Relish in the long-awaited glory of “Follow Me Around” in the video above.
Kid A Mnesia is out 11/5 via XL Records. Pre-order it here.
