Thom Yorke Says Radiohead Took Seven-Year Break Because “The Wheels Came Off A Bit, So We Had To Stop”

In Radiohead‘s only interview before their upcoming tour, frontman Thom Yorke told The Sunday Times why the group has not played live since 2018. “I guess the wheels came off a bit, so we had to stop,” he explained. “There were a lot of elements. The shows felt great but it was, like, let’s halt now before we walk off this cliff.” There were also personal and collective challenges within the Grammy-winning band, including Yorke’s unresolved anguish over the death of his first wife, Rachel Owen, in 2016. “I needed to stop anyway, because I hadn’t really given myself time to grieve,” Yorke revealed to the publication. “[My grief] was coming out in ways that made me think, ‘I need to take this away.’” After a seven-year hiatus, Radiohead will return to the stage with a series of instantly sold-out shows across Europe and the U.K. from November to December 2025, marking their first live performances since the conclusion of 2018’s A Moon Shaped Pool Tour. (NME)