Radiohead are to release a new single Street Spirit (Fade Out) on January 22. It will be backed by three new songs, including Bishop's Robes. Other new B-sides under consideration are Man of War and Subterranean Homesick Alien (Uptight).

Thom Yorke told NME: " Man of War is very melodramatic. Too melodramatic. When we started out, it was just a homage to Bond themes really. I like it. It's pretty much the opposite to everything we're writing."

Of Subterranean Homesick Alien, Yorke said it was written in three minutes. He added: "I'm trying as hard as I can not to try hard. And that's indicative of that song. I think it's just a funny song"

Yorke said he had written a collection of songs for Radiohead's third album, the follow-up to The Bends.

He said: "I've talked to the record company and the managers and stuff and just basically said I don't think we're going to finish it until we finish it. It could take us a good year. That doesn't mean we'll spend a year in a studio, we'll probably only spend a month in the studio, but I'm not going to write anything unless it's coming out."

"The big thing for me is that we could really fall back on just doing another moribund, miserable, morbid and negative record lyrically, but I really don't want to, at all. And I'm deliberately just writing down all the positive things that I hear or see. I'm not able to put them into music yet and I don't want to just force it."

Guitarist Ed O'Brien added: "I think the third album will be celebratory and maybe not so inward-looking, that would be great. I think thinking is a good thing but there are times when you say fuck it. We're allowed to make mistakes".

"Watching REM (who Radiohead supported this summer) was very interesting because they've always been one of those bands who haven't been scared to rehearse the song maybe once and then do it in front of 25,000 people. I think that's really cool and I want us to be able to do that. We go Oh no, I need to rehearse it another two or three times".

"It would be great if we got to that stage, and think, Fuck it, if we fuck up in front of 25,000 people it's not going to make that much difference because people aren't going to hold that against you'. For me, watching REM proves that, because they're human, that's brilliant, that's so cool"

Radiohead, who have just completed a UK tour, are currently touring in Europe. They are likely to tour the UK around March next year.