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Radiohead, the English rock band formed in 1985, which is known for their “memed-to-death” sad songs like ‘Creep’ and ‘No Surprises,’ has seemingly confirmed a European tour for 2025. The members, Thom Yorke, Jonny Greenwood, Edward O’Brien, Colin Greenwood, and Philip Selway, have not toured together since 2018. Since then, the band has separated and gone down different avenues in pursuit of expanding their music career so as not just to be known as “those guys who made Creep.”
Thom Yorke in particular has been very active in his career since 2018, just this February releasing a single with Mark Pritchard and scheduling the album in conjunction for May 9, 2025.
The band had been relatively inactive following their last concert in 2018. But in 2024, fans received news that Colin Greenwood was releasing a collection of photographs taken by himself of the band on various tours throughout their 28 years of performing concerts. This book, How To Disappear Completely: A Portrait of Radiohead, was released in October of that year and contained pictures that fans had never seen before. This was the latest big news for Radiohead fans until now.
While there’s no official announcement, Radiohead’s recent activity has made many people come to the conclusion that they are attempting to prepare fans for something big. Radiohead’s management seemingly confirmed a 2025 tour through a ticket donation to a Los Angeles fire relief auction, sparking rumors of a potential tour in multiple territories. However, a spokesperson for Radiohead has since verified that tickets were donated through a company called Blueyed Pictures and that this company does not manage the band and has no affiliation with it. The original listing was removed and replaced by a generic offer of “four premier concert tickets” instead. The band also formed a new limited-liability partnership named “RHEUK25 LLP,” which fans believe may stand for “Radiohead Europe and UK 2025.”
Despite all of the good news for fans from 2024 and 2025, some people speculated that there may have been a rift between the members due to the (not so) recent Israel-Palestine conflict. Radiohead faced controversy in 2017 for performing in Tel Aviv, Israel, during the BDS movement (BDS standing for “Boycott, Divestments, and Sanctions” against Israel). Radiohead as a whole remained silent on the subject, but their individual opinions have become increasingly apparent to some. In a Rolling Stone interview, Yorke stated: “We don’t endorse Netanyahu any more than Trump, but we still play in America. Playing in a country isn’t the same as endorsing the government. Music, art, and academia are about crossing borders, not building them.” While touring solo in October 2024, Yorke was heckled onstage by a pro-Palestinian protester, demanding that Yorke give a statement on the ongoing crisis. Yorke, in return, demanded that the screaming man “Come up here [to the stage] and say that to my face.” He then stopped playing briefly but resumed after security handled the man in the audience. Jonny Greenwood similarly faced controversy after collaborating with Israeli artist Dudu Tassa; however, there were seemingly no political motives behind the collaboration.
Edward O’Brien, however, portrayed a neutral stance. In May of 2021, he made an online statement following an Israeli attack on Palestinian citizens, saying: “I have been and am so deeply saddened by what is going on in Israel and Palestine… social media isn’t the place for this tragedy, but I could not go on without acknowledging it. Standing in solidarity with all those hurt in Palestine and Israel… I stand in solidarity with all the peacemakers in Israel and Palestine. Our thoughts and prayers are with them and their families- all our Brothers and Sisters in Palestine and Israel. Both sides need leaders who are wise, respectful, and have integrity. This is not evident at present. The world needs to help these two sides come together and find peace and a settlement that works.” Many took this as a non-answer because the post was followed by pictures of the time he had spent in Israel during Radiohead’s 2017 Tel Aviv tour. It was clear that he didn’t acknowledge that there was a clear disparity in the violence being acted out as an attempt to hold off giving his real opinions on the conflict. But in June of 2024, O’Brien began to speak out against Israel and in support of Palestine. O’Brien spoke at a public musician conference about whether or not he felt that he had a responsibility as a celebrity to speak out against what is occurring, in which he stated, “I think I really struggled with using social media to speak out about things. I mean, with all of the horrors that are going on there [Palestine], how can I be showing somebody my new guitar? I just can’t do that. What [expletive] is that?…Someone had a go at me and said, “Oh, you should be ashamed. You let me down, I thought you were a good guy. You haven’t posted. You haven’t said ‘free Palestine.” But I had made post- I did say that there needed to be a ceasefire and to bring back the hostages. But even after that, I realized I needed time. We all need time. How do we feel about this? How do we process this? Even from afar- we’re not there. And what I recognized is that I do not want to reduce something so horrific and so, so deep and multidimensional to some soundbite or a post on Instagram. I can’t do that.” With that response and the repeated pro-Palestine sentiments he has shared since, it’s evident that he has changed his mind.
But regardless of the five men’s political affiliations, it’s rumored that they may be touring in the upcoming summer-winter. Although this is only unconfirmed speculation, fans are very hopeful.