# What happened to the Radiohead "High and Dry" video set in a diner? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 14, 2017, 9:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-the-radiohead-high-and-dry-video-set-in-a-diner/782146 "2017-03-14T09:25:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![SlackerInc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slackerinc/32/275_2.png) [@SlackerInc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlackerInc)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2017, 9:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-the-radiohead-high-and-dry-video-set-in-a-diner/782146/1 "2017-03-14T09:25:25Z")
It had kind of a Tarantinoesque vibe to it, with grizzled criminals, a bomb at the end, etc. It is mentioned on Wikipedia: > [@](#): > > Two music videos were created for “High and Dry”, one produced for the American market and another for Britain. The former, directed by Paul Cunningham, stars the band in a diner (Dick’s Restaurant & Cocktails, in San Leandro, California), where other patrons are involved in dramas of their own, which are revealed through the use of flashbacks. A couple and the diner’s cook are involved in an unspecified crime. A businessman is hiding something in his briefcase. In the end, the two dramas are resolved when the guilty parties are betrayed, the cook gives the couple a time bomb and the businessman is ambushed and killed (though the murder is only suggested). > The British version of the video is in black and white, directed by David Mould. It shows the band performing in a desert setting amidst trucks and filming equipment. By the end of the video, it rains on the band, but they continue playing. This was actually the first version of the video produced, but the band expressed dissatisfaction with it, leading to the other video. Only the US version appears on the band’s 1998 video compilation 7 Television Commercials, and both the UK and U.S. versions appear on the Radiohead: The Best Of DVD released in 2008 by EMI. Additionally, the plot is described [on Quora](https://www.quora.com/What-is-the-plot-of-the-video-for-High-and-Dry-by-Radiohead). But good luck trying to find the actual video. I consider myself to have decent Google-fu, but had no luck on Google video search; nor could I find it on YouTube or Vimeo. All I found was the British version (which I had not even been aware of before), plus footage of the band playing the tune in concert, plus of course a lot of people doing covers of the song at home. What gives? ---
**Author:** ![TroutMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troutman/32/6721_2.png) [@TroutMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroutMan)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2017, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-the-radiohead-high-and-dry-video-set-in-a-diner/782146/2 "2017-03-14T13:49:09Z")
It’s on Youtube as part of the [7 Television Commercials](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8BQ0A5oD9Gw) compilation, starting at 18:51. ---
**Author:** ![SlackerInc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slackerinc/32/275_2.png) [@SlackerInc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlackerInc)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2017, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-the-radiohead-high-and-dry-video-set-in-a-diner/782146/3 "2017-03-14T14:15:32Z")
Awesome, thanks! Great find. But don’t you think it’s strange that it took going 19 minutes into a compilation? Why isn’t the individual video anywhere? ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2017, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-the-radiohead-high-and-dry-video-set-in-a-diner/782146/4 "2017-03-14T14:26:45Z")
> [@SlackerInc](#): > > Awesome, thanks! Great find. > > But don’t you think it’s strange that it took going 19 minutes into a compilation? Why isn’t the individual video anywhere? I assume somebody is guarding the rights closely on the video? The first hit I got for “Paul Cunningham High and Dry” was to the video on MTV’s website. Unfortunately, it said the video was removed due to rights issues. Try finding an original recording of a Beatles tune online. It looks like the only studio version/music video of “High and Dry” on Youtube is from the official Radiohead account, so I’m guessing they do police some of their content closely. ---
**Author:** ![SlackerInc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slackerinc/32/275_2.png) [@SlackerInc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlackerInc)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2017, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-the-radiohead-high-and-dry-video-set-in-a-diner/782146/5 "2017-03-14T14:32:07Z")
So either the Wikipedia entry saying they were unhappy with the British version was inaccurate, or they have changed their minds? Because they don’t seem to have a problem with that one being out there. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2017, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-the-radiohead-high-and-dry-video-set-in-a-diner/782146/6 "2017-03-14T14:53:36Z")
> [@SlackerInc](#): > > So either the Wikipedia entry saying they were unhappy with the British version was inaccurate, or they have changed their minds? Because they don’t seem to have a problem with that one being out there. Sure seems like it. Or perhaps there’s some rights issue with the director, Paul Cunningham? (Though I don’t know what rights a director normally retains for a music video shoot.) Or perhaps they want to leave it off Youtube so people buy “Seven Television Commercials”? ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2017, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-the-radiohead-high-and-dry-video-set-in-a-diner/782146/7 "2017-03-14T14:59:11Z")
Although Seven Television Commercials is still on Youtube, so who knows. ---
**Author:** ![SlackerInc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slackerinc/32/275_2.png) [@SlackerInc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlackerInc)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2017, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-the-radiohead-high-and-dry-video-set-in-a-diner/782146/8 "2017-03-14T15:20:59Z")
I saw someone in the YouTube comments say they thought the British version of the video was better, which I cannot see at all. It isn’t just that I knew this one first and like it; the other one is just so boring. So if Thom Yorke et al has the same preference as that commenter, bad call IMO. But then, Yorke has said he doesn’t even like the song to begin with and had his arm twisted to release it, and that’s also a bad call because it’s a great song. Go figure. ---
**Author:** ![Lina4ever](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ac91a4/32.png) [@Lina4ever](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lina4ever)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2019, 6:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-the-radiohead-high-and-dry-video-set-in-a-diner/782146/9 "2019-02-17T06:16:26Z")
I don’t know why it was removed. This b Version is better than eve black and white. I grew up in San Leandro. People who owned Dicks Restaurant are great family friends of ours. We grew up around this place. Hanging out. Truly a gem of a place. Sad to see it go. > **[Private Video - Dailymotion](https://www.dailymotion.com/video/k5Btjk1dfqnUL61ssZP)** > > This video is private. ---
**Author:** ![SlackerInc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slackerinc/32/275_2.png) [@SlackerInc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlackerInc)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2019, 7:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-the-radiohead-high-and-dry-video-set-in-a-diner/782146/10 "2019-02-17T07:12:41Z")
> [@Lina4ever](#): > > I don’t know why it was removed. This b > Version is better than eve black and white. I grew up in San Leandro. People who owned Dicks Restaurant are great family friends of ours. We grew up around this place. Hanging out. Truly a gem of a place. Sad to see it go. > > [https://www.dailymotion.com/video/k5Btjk1dfqnUL61ssZP](https://www.dailymotion.com/video/k5Btjk1dfqnUL61ssZP) That’s neat. Maybe you could ask your friends if they know what happened.