Radiohead are set to embark on a UK and European tour later this year, with Colin Greenwood shedding light on their “busking approach” to the setlist.
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The band are due to make their long-awaited return to the stage this November for a run of 20 arena concerts across five cities. It’ll mark their first performances together since 2018.
Kicking off in Madrid, the upcoming trek will also include concerts in Bologna, Copenhagen, Berlin and London. Thom Yorke and co’s return to the UK capital will see them host a four-night residency at The O2 in Greenwich on November 21, 22, 24 and 25.
Now, bassist Colin Greenwood has given a hint as to the setlist for the upcoming shows. Speaking in a new interview on the Adam Buxton Podcast about their live undertaking, he said: “Oh, I think it’s going to be a mix set. I think we’ve like whittled it down to about 70 songs. And me and my brother [guitarist Jonny Greenwood] are not on the setlist committee, we’re not allowed, because we’re too indecisive.”
“So we’ll play anything in any order, at any time. We sort of take a busking attitude to the Radiohead setlist,” he added. “It’s going to be the first time I think we’ve done shows where we haven’t got new material to play as work in progress. But you never know, some stuff might come up or not or whatever, so.”
Greenwood previously revealed last year that Radiohead “did some rehearsals” over the summer. However, he later told NME that “it doesn’t mean a tour is imminent”. He added: “I think we’re still a band where people might want to know what might happen next. We’re very lucky to have that.”
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The band’s most recent live performance was held on August 1, 2018 at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia. It marked the end of their ‘A Moon Shaped Pool’ tour in support of their 2017 album of the same name – which they have yet to follow up.
The band began teasing their 2025 shows earlier this week, when a series of flyers popped up in the cities they’ll be visiting.
This March, it was reported that they had “placed holds in select European cities for a run of residency gigs” this year. This came shortly after Radiohead sparked rumours of new music after forming a new legal entity called RHEUK25 LLP.
Elsewhere, Jonny Greenwood told us that the rehearsals were “fun and natural”, but explained that there were “no plans” for new material. “We’ve [got] lots of individual projects going on at the moment,” he explained.
Frontman Yorke, meanwhile, said around the same time that he “really doesn’t give a fuck” if fans wanted Radiohead to return. The singer, who has been busy with The Smile in recent years, admitted in August that he was “still struggling” to be creative following the COVID-19 pandemic. He was speaking upon the launch of Radiohead’s new exhibition, ‘This Is What You Get’.
In other news, the band have revisited some “archive” recordings from the ‘Hail To The Thief’ era for a new live album. This year, Yorke brought the 2003 record to the stage with his Hamlet Hail To The Thief production.
Meanwhile, the pro-Palestine BDS (Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions) movement has called for a boycott of Radiohead’s 2025 tour. The campaign group have said the group have “yet to apologise” for a show in Tel Aviv in 2017, and has criticised Jonny Greenwood’s past performances with Israeli musician Dudu Tassa.
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