How to Disappear Completely
"How to Disappear Completely" is a song by the English rock band Radiohead from their fourth studio album, Kid A (2000). Produced by the band with producer Nigel Godrich, it was released as a promotional single in the US, Poland, and Belgium.
Radiohead wrote "How to Disappear Completely" in mid-1997 during the tour of their third album, OK Computer (1997). The title is derived from Doug Richmond's 1985 book How to Disappear Completely and Never Be Found. The band first performed the song in 1998, and an early soundcheck rendition appears in their documentary Meeting People Is Easy (1998).
An acoustic-based ballad, "How to Disappear Completely" is characterised by orchestral strings, guitar effects, and ambient influences. Radiohead developed the song through various demo recordings before finalising it at their Oxfordshire studio in early 2000. The following month, the string arrangement—composed by multi-instrumentalist Jonny Greenwood and featuring the ondes Martenot—was recorded by the Orchestra of St John's at a church near the band's studio.
"How to Disappear Completely" was later included on the special edition of Radiohead: The Best Of (2008) and reissued on Kid A Mnesia (2021), which also featured the song's isolated string track. It has been featured in various works, including the TV series Roswell (1999–2002), the feature film Life as a House (2001), and the documentary The Island President (2011), which explores the presidency of Mohamed Nasheed.
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