A fan favourite, Radiohead performed it numerous times over the next two years, before recording it at the Manor Studio in Oxfordshire, England, with producer John Leckie.

"The Bends" has been compared to the work of bands such as Queen, the Beatles, Pixies, the Smiths, and Oasis; the Radiohead singer, Thom Yorke, described it as a "Bowie pastiche".

[2][3] It was written primarily by singer Thom Yorke,[4] while credited to all of the band members,[5] prior to recording their debut album, Pablo Honey (1993).

[7] In March 1993, Radiohead recorded another demo with their live sound engineer, Jim Warren, at Courtyard Studios in Oxfordshire, during the same session that produced "High and Dry".

[12][11] After the Pablo Honey tour ended, they sent the demo to producer John Leckie to work on their then-upcoming second album, The Bends.

[20][21] According to drummer Philip Selway, the song was recorded in a single take: "I wanted to get away from the studio to view a house for rent.

[46] The song is played in the key of E minor in a 44 time signature with a tempo of 90 beats per minute (BPM), while Yorke's vocals span a range of A3 to G5.

[47] "The Bends" begins with sampled sounds before moving to a chord sequence played in unison by the three guitarists: Yorke; Jonny Greenwood; and Ed O'Brien.

[4] "The Bends" lyrics relate to topics including insecurity, loss of identity,[26] social rejection, morbidity, indolence, faithlessness and stasis.

"[13] Scott Wilson of Fact interpreted the line indicating the Sixties as a "sarcastic dig" at other bands' "obsession with another era", such as the lyrics of Oasis' 1994 songs "Live Forever" and "Rock 'n' Roll Star".

"[57] The title "The Bends" references a term used in scuba diving to describe decompression sickness after divers return to the surface quickly.

[59][61] The lyrical themes of "The Bends" were compared to those of songs such as "So You Want to Be a Rock 'n' Roll Star" (1967) by the Byrds, "Pump It Up" (1978) by Elvis Costello and "Serve the Servants" (1993) by Nirvana.

[66] It was included as the second track on the 1995 French reissue of "Creep" and the 1995 US 7-inch vinyl jukebox release of "Fake Plastic Trees".

[70] The single was limited to only 2,000 copies and included live versions of "My Iron Lung"[c] and "Bones",[71] both recorded at the London Forum on 24 March 1995.

[74] The accompanying artwork features a graphic of an inhaler created by Stanley Donwood and Yorke; the latter is credited under the pseudonym "The White Chocolate Farm".

[79] The original 4-track demo of "The Bends" was included on the compilation Long Live Tibet (1997),[68] a charity album organised by Tibet House Trust for Tibetan people,[80] and featuring artists including David Bowie and Björk, and bands such as Pulp, Blur and Kula Shaker alongside Radiohead.

[82][d] The demo lasts four minutes and 50 seconds and features loud guitars in the opening,[84][51] played at a slower tempo than the final studio version, as well as "lifeless" vocals, "slightly" different lyrics and lo-fi production.

[6] Reviewing The Bends in 1995, Patrick Brennan of the Hot Press described the title track as "roaring, soaring and tormented".

[85] Jeremy Helligar of People wrote that it and "Planet Telex" "toss and turn like the best of those big restless Pearl Jam and U2 arena-size anthems.

"[86] Clare Kleinedler of the Santa Cruz Sentinel wrote that the song "reflects the band's reputation for being the gods of freaks and weirdos around the world with York [sic] howling, 'We don't have any real friends'"; Kleinedler appreciated the "seemingly self-pitying line", seeing it as not really self-pity but instead "what defines Radiohead.

"[87] Kevin McKeough of the Chicago Tribune said that "The Bends" and "Black Star" "could have been catchy little rockers" if Radiohead had dispensed with their "grandiose dramatic effects".

[88] The Boston Globe's Jim Sullivan wrote that the song is "full of stops, starts and slides, and Yorke established his voice as one in the English glam tradition of Ian Hunter and David Bowie, keeping company today with Oasis and Suede.

Then the vocals come in, and Yorke's piss-take on jaded rock-star behavior reveals a searing intelligence and contempt for the world that Noel Gallagher never gets at with his songwriting.

"[95] Dean Essner of Consequence wrote: "On 'The Bends', Yorke tells us what it's like to swim with the sharks and then shortly after bake on a crowded beach with the rest of civilization, who are just waiting for something to happen, too.

[56] In 2017, Pitchfork wrote that it "mopes in the mid-'90s zeitgeist's shadow, mooring Britpop's social theatricality in grunge's grandiose alienation.

[134] The band's drummer, Charlie Benante, wrote on the single's notes: "We chose to do this song cause Radiohead are like the Pink Floyd of this era.

"[137] The American jam band, Joe Russo's Almost Dead, performed a cover of the song at the Ritz in Raleigh, North Carolina on 31 October 2015.