Prince dead: Watch his cover of Radiohead’s ‘Creep’, the online video that actually got his blessing
It was initially pulled from YouTube, but then Thom Yorke stepped in
In 2008, Prince, who was found dead today, surprised the crowd at Coachella with a cover of Radiohead’s ‘Creep’.
It was a thoroughly Prince version of course, filled with little embellishments - vocal squeals and guitar trills - and had everyone of course rushing to their smartphones to film it.
Notorious Luddite that he was, Prince initially had live recordings of it pulled from YouTube, but then Thom Yorke stepped in.
Hearing about this, the Radiohead frontman told AP the same year: "Well, tell him to unblock it. It's our... song."
Prince - A Life in Pictures
Show all 10The band’s blessings, along with the adoration for the cover among fans, clearly reached Prince eventually however, with NPG Music Publishing eventually reinstating the YouTube video in 2015.
They issued a statement on behalf of Prince, telling the uploader: "Hi. As you can see below the video has been restored and is now playing again thus removing the strike. I am sorry it took so long to resolve this matter but happy it worked in your favor. Please except our apologies for the delay. Sincerely, NPG Music Publishing”.
Both Thom Yorke and Prince are/were fierce opponents of internet streaming, but this cover you can at least enjoy guilt-free.
Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this article
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies