I have heard so many versions of Creep by Radiohead, from a slightly heavier version from the female-led band First to Eleven to an a capella rendition by VoicePlay, a few dodgy karaoke performances, and a beautifully haunting version performed by Tom Ellis in the hit show Lucifer, but I never thought I would hear it performed by a parrot.
Chloe Alexander is a singer/vlogger/creator on YouTube with around 44 thousand subscribers, who around her vlogs performs her own music and covers. Most recently releasing a new original song called ‘GoodTimes’ (found on all streaming platforms).
A clean and strong voice best seen in her cover of “Think of Me” from The Phantom of the Opera.
She has also put out covers where she is joined by an unlikely backing singer… this being her parrot called Gallagher. The video of this cover has now got over 4.3 million views. Chloe starts the soft melody of ‘Creep’ on her ukulele before she begins to sing a simply beautiful rendition of the iconic track from 1993.
Chloe wrote, “Not like you asked for another quirky bohemian girl singing a cover of Creep on her ukulele, but you got it anyway, ladies and gents! And this time my parrot is singing with me.” Gallagher Greenparrot interjects at random intervals, either joining in at the correct moments or copying the last line like the animal kingdom’s version of a looper pedal.
I won’t pretend to be an expert on the vocal ranges and abilities of a parrot, as much as a full album would be difficult to listen to, just the parrot. As a gimmick and a bit of fun, it is incredible. You won’t quite believe what you’re seeing. The parrot, however, does show some musical abilities, the timings fit the song well, and Gallagher even manages to mimic Chloe’s style, with things like matching the bends in pitch and small parts of vibrato.
This, however, is not the only song to feature Gallagher; the pair has also recorded a duet as it were, of the 1972 folk-rock hit ‘Needle and the Damage Done’ by Neil Young. ‘Creep’ is a hugely popular cover song and the most popular song ever released by Radiohead. Arguably the reason for this is the themes of self-doubt and isolation portrayed through the song, which can be related to by everyone.
Radiohead, however, does not like the song; its skyrocket popularity meant it was played constantly. It was about a darker time in the band’s life which they don’t want to revisit, and there are even reports of “fans” leaving concerts the second that ‘Creep’ finished. Lead singer Thom Yorke responded to a crowd chanting for the song with “f*** off, we’re tired of it.”
The video can be found here and the link to Chloe Alexander’s social pages here, where you can find information on her life, original music, and the activities of Gallagher the singing parrot. If you would like to see more from Chloe Alexander, you can subscribe to her YouTube channel.