Thom Yorke

Photo by exclaim! media

Thom Yorke is best known as the lead singer and songwriter of the British band Radiohead. He is also a solo artist and a frequent collaborator with other musicians, including Bjork and R.E.M. Besides singing, he plays guitar, piano, drums and bass guitar. He has never learned to read music and has said he thinks trying to write notes on a page interferes with the process of creating songs.

Yorke is famous for his quirky style of dancing, his need for privacy and his anger over celebrity status. He is also known for his social and political activism and his opposition to the WTO, IMF and globalization. He is an advocate for animal rights and fair trade. He's actively involved in campaigns to try to reduce carbon emissions.

Yorke started playing guitar at the age of seven. He names as his early musical inspirations Elvis Costello, Queen, and the Beatles. When he was in high school he was influenced by the '80s alternative bands The Smiths, R.E.M., and The Cure. He was never very interested in school, and found it bearable only because of the music program. He spent a lot of his time in the piano rooms after school and found much of his early musical inspiration there. In high school he and his friends had a band called "On a Friday," so named because it was the only day of the week they were able to practice.

Shortly after high school graduation Thom Yorke and his girlfriend were in a car accident that made him afraid of cars and other motorized vehicles. His fear of cars has been a theme in several Radio head songs, such as "Killer Cars," "Airbag," and "Stupid Car."

Yorke began attending university at Exeter in 1988. During his college years he said that R.E.M. and The Pixies changed his life. The band On a Friday met and rehearsed only sporadically for the next few years. In 1991 they changed their name to Radiohead, after a song by the Talking Heads. That year they were signed by Parlophone records in the U.K. and Capitol Records in the U.S. and released the EP Drill which did not make many waves. In 1993 they found success with the single, "Creep" off of their first album, Pablo Honey.

The albums that followed, 1995's The Bends and 1997's OK Computer both did well. Grant Lee made a Rockumentary about the band, following them around as they toured after the release of OK Computer. The documentary, called Meeting People is Easy, showed the exhaustion and strain put on the band by their grueling touring schedule. The documentary was nominated for a Grammy in 2000 for the category "Best Long Form Music Video."

After what the band has referred to as one of their lowest points, they recorded Kid A, a more abstract album that incorporated more electronic elements. Rumor has it that the band hoped to distance themselves from their Top 40 fans with the album, but Kid A entered the U.S. charts at number 1. There was a mixed reaction by both critics and fans for that albums that followed, 2001's Amnesiac and 2003's Hail to the Thief.

Thom Yorke released the solo album The Eraser in 2006 but insisted that he was not launching a solo career. He continues to record with Radiohead.

In 2007 the band released the album In Rainbows. For its initial release the band invited their fans to download it from their website and pay whatever they wanted to for it. It was so popular that their website crashed from all the traffic. The album was a great critical and commercial success.

Thom Yorke lives in Oxford with his longtime girlfriend Rachel Owen and their two children, Noah (b. 2001) and Agnes (b. 2004). He is an ethical vegan and is also concerned about fair trade and environmental issues. Since 2005 he has been a spokesperson for the group Friends of the Earth for their The Big Ask campaign to reduce carbon emissions.

Radiohead made an effort to reduce their energy use during their 2008 tour by selecting venues, transportation and lighting systems that reduced carbon expenditure.

Website

Radiohead Blog

Radiohead "Reckoner" from In Rainbows

Thom Yorke interview about the album Eraser