How to Disappear: A Photographic Portrait of Radiohead

by Colin Greenwood

Genres: Music, Nonfiction, Photography, Art

136 pages, Hardcover

Published October 15, 2024

Reviews

[Alain Gutierrez · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful book from the bassist of one of the greatest bands of all time Radiohead. Colin Greenwood provides words of thought on life as a musician on tour and also his personal photographs of the band through out the years. Highly recommended

[léonna marie · Rating 4 out of 5]

i love buying books for my lover and reading them before i gift them! but anyways this was awesome, beautiful personal photos that im very grateful to have held in my hands and amazing insight from colin. i felt a part of the band for a few moments while reading this. he's very good at conveying emotion and providing context with few words:)

[Domenico Capilongo · Rating 5 out of 5]

A treasure inside, backstage pass into band’s inner workings.

[Nick · Rating 5 out of 5]

that there that’s not me I go where I please I walk through walls float down the liffy I’m not here this isn’t happening

[Guso · Rating 5 out of 5]

Este es para nosotros los fans. Además de las lindas e íntimas fotos tomadas por Collin, los breves textos son también un atisbo a la equilibrada vida de la banda, muy lejana a las usuales historias de excesos y desmanes.

[Sam · Rating 3 out of 5]

The essay is actually really good, but super short. Do a whole book now pls

[Chas Smash · Rating 5 out of 5]

Muchas fotos ya las conocía. Me ha gustado más leer sus experiencias como bajista de uno de los mejores grupos del mundo. Desde los inicios hasta ahora. Muy recomendable si eres fan del grupo.

5/5

[Darrick · Rating 5 out of 5]

Everything was beautiful

[jonah · Rating 4 out of 5]

lovely to have a look into their process, their stage, their life & times.... wish it was longer.

[Wybe Wiersma · Rating 4 out of 5]

Leuke teksten tussendoor maar beetje weinig foto's

[Veerle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Colin Greenwood’s How to Disappear is not just a collection of photographs; it’s a love letter—to music, to his bandmates, and most tenderly, to his brother Jonny who features a lot in this book ('Perhaps as his brother, I could boss him about, Colin jokingly says). Best known as Radiohead’s brilliant bassist, Greenwood reveals a whole other side of his artistic self: observant, reflective, and deeply human.

Shot over years of recording sessions, tours, concerts and quiet in-between moments, the book offers a rare glimpse into the life of the best band ever. Greenwood’s camera captures mood rather than spectacle: Thom and Jonny fully focused, a pondering Phil, Ed in need of a morning coffee, the band waiting, listening, searching. There’s a meditative quality to these images—snapshots not of performance, but of process, presence, and intimacy.

The title How to Disappear takes on a layered meaning. There’s no ego here, no attempt to steal the spotlight. Instead, Greenwood disappears into the background—just as he often does on stage—and from that quiet vantage point, he sees everything. The result is a deeply affectionate portrait.

More than anything, this is a book about love: for photography, for fleeting moments, for the enduring bond between brothers and bandmates, and for the shared language of music. Greenwood proves he is much more than an exceptional bassist—he’s a storyteller, with a gift for stillness and subtlety. I will definitely return to this!

[Alessandro Cabrini · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not sure how to rate what is mostly a photography book but Colin captures never-seen-before moments from the band’s history from 2003 onwards.
As a huge fan of Radiohead this book feels like a piece of memorabilia - something I’ll hold dear for very long. Colin’s short essays scattered in between shots are also beautifully insightful while still feeling amateurish in a way. You can feel Colin return to being a young man while telling tales of his dream-like ascent into adulthood. The stories encapsulate that excitement while still feeling like they’re being told by a somewhat-nostalgic man, looking back at his past.
As a musician, though, this extract hit me:
“In my head, our music is a conversation with other musicians - for me Isaac Hayes is there in Weird Fishes/Arpeggi, Al Green is there in a live performance of “Nude” in Tokyo.”
Seeing these songs as conversations with legends rather than tracks that take inspiration from the greats shows a whole new way of looking at references when building your own music. Something I will certainly be incorporating in my own creative process.

[kev · Rating 4 out of 5]

ok i finished. i think watching meeting people is easy the night before makes this book feel exhausting. you have images tied to the grueling touring experience now and while some photos they look in their element, others more often than not look tired or too busy if that makes sense.

which makes it all the more :) when you do come across some of the quirkier more upbeat photos. the whole rolling with the punches and taking the good with the bad.

“One of my regrets is that I haven’t been bolder with the lens, got closer, taken more photographs. Im shy with a camera”



original: just some thoughts after doing a quick skim and looking at a few of the pages:

i think this is the only reason i'd like to be famous. just to make a book with photos i took of memories and have people reflect on them, connect their own thoughts, memories, feelings to them and see what happens.

i think it'd be neat if when we all died that we would all make this type of photobook and it'd be placed in some sort of world library where you can read about anyone you want.

i hope the book is called how to disappear bc colin disappears as a photographer and captures everyone in their natural element versus something more sad bc that song is already 2000000 stab wounds to the heart.


never gonna forgive myself for going to rough trade the DAY AFTER COLIN WAS THERE. but atleast i got the memory of the two cashiers bantering with me and getting to talk about the music.

[Charlie Repp · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mostly good pictures but only 12 pages of writing and if it was edited differently this book would be less than half the length. Really nice words from Colin and engaging to read but the book itself feels like it could’ve been done better. Also don’t like the single landscape pictures taking up less than half the page space with the rest left blank and a list of place/time at the back like a bibliography…

[Daniel Bartholomew]

I'm grateful that Colin has put together these photos of Radiohead on the road and in the studio. They're intimate pictures, taken on a Yashica T4 Super camera, of the liminal space between recording and performing. The few pages of text in between are a welcome addition. The photos would make a nice exhibition alongside Stanley and Tom's artwork.

[Lori · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely awesome! The pictures are exquisite and so amazing, capturing the essence of one of my favorite bands of all time. The prose is beautiful and well written. This book is for any Radiohead fan. I really want to see them again after reading this.

[Tony · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting book. I loved the insight into the life of a band. Greenwood describes areas if their lives on tours and being the bass guitarist which gives you such an understanding. The photographs get better as the skill of the photographer progresses.

[David Hirons · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good insight into a band from within the band itself, and a nice product to have for fans. The photographs have an intimate feel, as does the written text. An interesting counterpoint to traditional rock photography.

[Lindsay John Kennedy · Rating 4 out of 5]

A little thin but beautiful. A lovely and unique window into the world’s best band. The photography was intimate and candid. I hope Greenwood writes a longer book someday, as the prose sections were wonderful.

[Sungyena · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love how suffused this is with colin’s essence - no need to be in the pics when the shots themselves are so beautifully personal. The behind the scenes doc of radiohead i needed but make it a gorgeous art book.

[Blane · Rating 4 out of 5]

Like the band/ongoing art project to which the author belongs, this book of candid photographs (accompanied by short essays) of life within Radiohead is enigmatic and oblique…pretty much what I expected.

[Paul Tweedle · Rating 4 out of 5]

A short read, given it is mostly excellent photographs, but the little Greenwood writes is evocative and beautiful. I hope he writes a full book about his exploits in Radiohead one day.

[Andrew Abbott · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you for inviting us in. What a great book of photos and memories. I feel like I was there (I was twice).

[Daniel Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

Intimate pictures and a thoughtful essay. What impressed me most was Greenwoods ability to express the experience of the stage, giving new light to his images.

[Miguel Marques · Rating 5 out of 5]

My most biased review till date

[Ari Robinson · Rating 5 out of 5]

So beautiful

[Kristian-Joel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oleks võimatu mul mitte nautida seda raamatut oma lemmikbändist.

[Isaac Greig · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hold up, his writing is this fire?????

[brian annan · Rating 5 out of 5]

a wonderful look into the on and off stage lives of radiohead.
truly candid photography and insightful .

[Adam Parrilli · Rating 4 out of 5]

Terrific first person images and thoughtful, sparingly written topical pieces. Recommended, but likely only needs to be owned by diehards.