Radiohead's Long-Awaited Return: The Break, The Grief, and The Comeback
Radiohead’s absence from the stage since 2018 has been a long and often painful journey for the band. In an exclusive interview with The Times , frontman Thom Yorke revealed why the band needed to take such a long break after their A Moon Shaped Pool tour. "The wheels came off a bit, so we had to stop," he confessed, reflecting on the burnout and emotional toll they experienced during their last shows.
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Yorke opened up about the personal grief that played a significant role in their decision to pause. His former partner, Dr. Rachel Owen, passed away in 2016 after a battle with cancer, and Yorke admitted that he hadn’t properly processed his loss. "I needed to stop anyway," he said, "because I hadn’t really given myself time to grieve." Music, for him, had been both a solace and a painful reminder, at times physically hurting him as he tried to play through his trauma.
Ed O’Brien, the band’s guitarist, also spoke candidly about the toll the tour took on him. By the end of their A Moon Shaped Pool tour, O’Brien felt completely drained. "I was effectively over Radiohead," he admitted, describing how he enjoyed the performances but struggled with the rest of the experience. It wasn’t until 2021, when he hit rock bottom emotionally, that he realized how much he truly missed the band and their music. "I’ve gone from thinking I can’t see myself doing it again to realizing that, you know, we do have some stellar songs."
This return to the spotlight, however, doesn’t come without controversy. Radiohead has often found themselves at the center of political debates, particularly regarding their 2017 performance in Tel Aviv and their stance on the Israel-Palestine conflict. Yorke discussed the backlash they’ve faced, explaining that while he understands the anger, he feels that the situation is far more complex than it seems. "It’s a purity test, a low-level witch-hunt," he said, referring to the pressures from fans to take sides in the ongoing conflict.
Despite the challenges, Radiohead is gearing up for their first tour in nearly seven years. The band’s upcoming European tour, which kicks off on November 4th in Madrid, will include stops in London, Berlin, Bologna, and Copenhagen. These 20 shows sold out quickly, marking the band’s triumphant return. Yorke admitted that their setlists will be far from rigid, joking that they have too many songs to choose from, which is both a blessing and a challenge.
As they prepare for this next chapter, Yorke remains amazed by how far the band has come, especially after such a lengthy hiatus. "I’m just stunned we got this far," he said. Their comeback promises to be more than just a return to live music; it’s a journey through grief, renewal, and the love of making music together again.
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