Radiohead, no strangers to surprises, sprang one on fans today by releasing their new album The King of Limbs a day early.
The group were due to release the album - their eighth - tomorrow but brought it forward by a day. "With everything ready on their website, the band decided to bring forward the release by a day as there was no need to wait until the planned date ... to deliver the music," a band statement said.
The band has again bypassed major labels and released the album themselves online. They had a long association with EMI's Parlophone label but opted to go it alone for 2007 album In Rainbows.
A CD and vinyl version of the new album will be available in a few weeks through independent label XL, with a luxury "newspaper" edition box set to follow in May.
The band announced on Monday that the album was complete and ready for release with a message headed simply: "Thank you for waiting".
In a black and white video for the song Lotus Flower, which was posted on YouTube today, frontman Thom Yorke cavorts about in a faintly Steptoe-ish manner.