Better than Radiohead? Alan Rusbridger joins the Radio Eds in the studio. Photograph: Alicia Canter for the Guardian

On the off-chance that your first question is "What were they thinking?", here is what we were thinking: if Radiohead were really going to publish a newspaper alongside the release of their latest CD), shouldn't the Guardian mount a response? If a band could wade so recklessly into the Guardian's area of expertise, could we not wade into theirs? It was immediately decided that the Guardian would put out its own music CD to promote the release of Monday's paper. Whatever radical innovations a bunch of musicians might impose upon newspaper publishing, we could still bring one of the great skills of journalism – doing things really quickly using whoever happens to be around that day – to bear on the lumbering music business.

Listen to the song here.

Within hours of an appeal being launched for musicians among Guardian staff members, our ambitious aims had been trimmed to suit the time frame. There was no way to produce a CD in a day, or time to compose and record an album. It would have to be a stream of just one song – a cover of Radiohead's 1993 hit Creep. But there was no turning back – hired equipment had already begun to arrive.

We may never know how many talented Guardian musicians were simply too busy with work to answer the call, but by lunchtime there were enough bodies and instruments in place to attempt a halting run-through. It was not in the least encouraging.

At 4pm the full band – hastily christened Radioeds – got together for the first time. Our last-minute keyboard draftee – one Alan Rusbridger – was obliged to sight read the sheet music. Lead singer Ed Vulliamy declared himself unfamiliar with both the lyrics and the melody, though he was able to draw on a severe toothache as an emotional touchstone. He may only have heard the song for the first time that morning, but in his vocal one hears a raw howl of angst induced by genuine pain and, quite probably, painkillers.

It is, all in all, a fairly faithful and straightforward rendition of Creep, except for a haunting banjo-and-trombone intro destined to be described as the trick Radiohead missed in their version. After just three live takes – the third being by far the best – the band went their separate ways, citing creative differences. A reunion tour is, at this point, a distant possibility awaiting an unlikely outcry.

As for the recording, you will have to judge for yourself. How good is it compared to, say, Radiohead's newspaper?

The lineup:

Lead vocals: Ed Vulliamy, Guardian and Observer writer

Guitars: Jon Dennis, multimedia production manager; Mark Rice-Oxley, Guardian assistant foreign editor

Bass: Rick Peters, Guardian food and drink subeditor

Banjo: Tim Dowling, Guardian Weekend columnist

Drums: Katrina Dixon, Guardian Guide contributor and subeditor

Trombone: Pascal Wyse, multimedia producer

Vocals: Sarah Russell, Public Sector Portfolio Manager, Guardian News & Media

Keyboard: Alan Rusbridger, editor-in-chief, Guardian News & Media