Since 2003, the bassist has taken his camera to the studio and on stage to capture his bandmates at work. Now, a beautiful new book shares his intimate, delicate pictures of one of Britain’s best-loved groups

• See a picture gallery of Colin Greenwood’s Radiohead photographs

The story of one of Britain’s biggest bands of the past 30 years didn’t begin with rowdy rehearsal rooms or rock’n’roll lore. It started with five school friends in drafty village halls in rural Oxfordshire, paying £1.50 per band member to the keeper of the keys, moving rubber crash mats and plywood chairs to set up their equipment. In barely more than a decade, they were headlining arenas and festivals.

The sweet story of Radiohead’s rise is documented in How to Disappear, a new book by bassist Colin Greenwood, big brother of guitarist Jonny and lifelong friend of singer Thom Yorke, guitarist Ed O’Brien and drummer Phil Selway. Ostensibly a photographic record of their working lives after 2003, when he started taking a camera with him into the studio and on stage, it also includes a beautifully written 10,000-word essay on the experiences they’ve shared.