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). It was produced by the band with their producer, Nigel Godrich, and was released as a promotional single in the US, Poland and Belgium. Radiohead wrote "How to Disappear Completely" in mid-1997 during the tour for their third album, OK Computer (1997). The title derives from Doug Richmond's 1985 book How to Disappear Completely and Never Be Found. Radiohead first performed it in 1998 during the tour, and an early soundcheck performance appears in their documentary Meeting People Is Easy (1998). "How to Disappear Completely" is an acoustic-based ballad backed by orchestral strings and guitar effects, with elements of ambient music. Radiohead recorded demos in various studios before recording it at their Oxfordshire studio in January 2000. The following month, the strings were recorded and performed by the Orchestra of St John's in a church near the band's studio, arranged by the multi-instrumentalist Jonny Greenwood on an ondes Martenot. "How to Disappear Completely" was included on the special edition of Radiohead: The Best Of (2008). The isolated string track was included on the compilation Kid A Mnesia (2021).