The Hollies Sue Radiohead in the Movie ‘Heretic’ – But Did They?

In the new horror movie Heretic, Hugh Grant’s character Mr. Reed plays the Hollies’ ’70s-era hit single “The Air That I Breathe” while allowing that his chosen victims might not recognize the song. Still, he adds, they’ll likely remember Radiohead’s 1992 hit “Creep” – and there’s a legal argument connecting the songs.

He goes on to mention a suit against Lana Del Rey too, and all of it plays well against the movie’s theme of the desire to control. “Creep” is a song about the same notion, and these courtroom battles also addressed the concept of ownership.

“The Air That I Breathe” was the Hollies’ final hit, reaching No. 50 in the U.S. and No. 2 in the U.K. in 1974. Written by Albert Hammond and Mike Hazlewood, the song first appeared on Hammond’s debut album It Never Rains in Southern California in 1972, before being covered by Phil Everly in 1973.

READ MORE: Why Radiohead’s ‘Creep’ Was Initially a Failure

Fast forward to 1992, and Radiohead was playing mind games while working on their own debut, Pablo Honey. Frontman Thom Yorke had written “Creep” while at college, and as his bandmates worked on the music, a section of “The Air That I Breathe” was deliberately put in. Guitarist Ed O’Brien is purported to have pointed out the similarity in the music they’d been developing, and Jonny Greenwood’s response was to replicate the 1972 construction perfectly during one section, making a sarcastic musical point.

Watch a Trailer for ‘Heretic’

How Radiohead Was Tricked Into a Hit

That wouldn’t have been a problem had the track been left out of their recording sessions, as the band expected. But producers Sean Slade and Paul Q. Kolderie sensed a hit. Yorke had light-heartedly described “Creep” as the band’s Scott Walker song, leading Slade to think it was a cover version. Discovering it wasn’t, Radiohead was encouraged to perform “Creep” in the studio, not knowing they were being recorded. It was an easy trick since the producers were known for preferring a live approach to tracking records.

The recording went up the ladder at EMI, with Kolderie’s recommendation that “Creep” be released as a single. With positive responses from the label, that’s what happened. Radiohead’s control over their output was limited after the failure of their first EP. Things didn’t improve when “Creep” only reached No. 78, as the all-powerful BBC refused to playlist the single due to its depressing tone.

READ MORE: When Radiohead Imitated Their Heroes on ‘Pablo Honey’

Gradually, things changed. “Creep” became an underground hit in Israel, then New Zealand and parts of Europe, and finally the U.S. embraced it as a slacker anthem like Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit.” It reached No. 7 after being re-released in the U.K., then secured cool status when it appeared on Beavis & Butt-Head in 1994. The band’s American label, Capital, ended up promoting Radiohead using the line “Beavis and Butt-Head say they don’t suck.”

Eventually, “Creep” reached the ears of Rondor Music, publishers of Hammond and Hazlewood’s “The Air That I Breathe.” A copyright infringement claim was initiated. Given that Radiohead had always been up-front about referring to the older song, the case was more or less a foregone conclusion. In an out-of-court settlement, Hammond and Hazlewood were granted co-writing credits on the song.

Listen to the Hollies’ ‘The Air That I Breathe’

Inside Radiohead’s Losing Case

An analysis of the legal case pointed out that the second chord of a four-chord sequence introduced a note alien to the key in which the song is written. “G#… jars against the G natural which is heard in the chord of C major and creates surprise,” according to Lost In Music’s report. As a result, “one eight-bar phrase the melody of ‘Creep’ appears to imitate the melody of ‘The Air That I Breathe.’ This occurs at the words ‘she’s running out the door again’ in ‘Creep,’ and can’t be coincidence.”

When the song was released, the publisher “felt it was a steal … and he sued Radiohead, and they agreed. Radiohead agreed that they had actually taken it from ‘The Air That I Breathe,’” said Hammond, father of the Strokes’ Albert Hammond Jr. “Because they were honest they weren’t sued to the point of saying, ‘We want the whole thing.’ So we ended up just getting a little piece of it.”

Watch Radiohead’s ‘Creep’ Video

Why ‘Creep’ Went Back to Court

“Creep” had more business to offer the legal trade. In 2018, Radiohead’s reps sued Del Rey over her song “Get Free,” pointing out obvious similarities. “Although I know my song wasn’t inspired by ‘Creep,’ Radiohead feel it was and want 100% of the publishing,” she wrote on social media. “I offered up to 40 over the last few months, but they will only accept 100. Their lawyers have been relentless, so we will deal with it in court.”

Radiohead said the percentage claims weren’t accurate but that Del Rey had been approached and discussions were underway. The result of the dispute was never publicized, but she performed “Get Free” at a subsequent festival in 2018 and then told the crowd: “Now that my lawsuit’s over, I guess I can sing that song any time I want, right?”

Watch Lana Del Rey’s ‘Get Free’ Video

The Lasting Legacy of ‘Creep’

Over time, Radiohead distanced themselves and “Creep.” They’ve never had an entirely comfortable relationship with the song, perhaps because of the control issues regarding its release, its reception and its continued influence over how their work has been perceived.

Yorke has admitted that he was against the idea of re-releasing the single, having felt “horribly gutted, pissed off, self-righteous” over the original’s chart failure. “There are good and bad things to it though,” he added. “A lot of people are asking ‘why isn’t it a hit?’ That’s a good thing. It stands us in good stead.”

Yorke later revealed that the song was about a real-life woman he had a months-long obsession with, and she was said to have attended at least one Radiohead show. “The way I write lyrics is just to ramble away for ages and ages. That was the ramble I came up with and I just kept using it – and it fits rhythmically really well,” he said.

“The song goes along and then you have that ‘fucking’ thing and then you have Jon’s ‘ker-runch’ [guitar] thing come in, and the song is like slashing its wrists,” Yorke added. “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.”