After a seven-year hiatus, British band Radiohead returns to the stage, including concerts in Germany. Frontman Thom Yorke explained in an interview that the group had "gone a bit off the rails." Personal tragedies and exhaustion led to the break.
Radiohead's last joint concert took place in 2018. The band has not performed live for seven years. Now they announce a return, with shows in Europe in November and December. In Germany, they will play four times at the Uber Arena in Berlin: on December 8, 9, 11, and 12.
Frontman Thom Yorke, 57, discussed the reasons for the long break in an interview with the British "Times." "I think we've gone a bit off the rails, so we had to stop," he said. The concerts had been great, but the band needed to pause "before we crash over the cliff." Yorke's first wife Rachel Owen died of cancer in December 2016; the couple was together for 23 years and has two children. Music helped him process the grief: "I needed something to hold on to." Yet it also hurt: "The music hurt because you're going through trauma." Yorke has been married to actress Dajana Roncione since 2020.
Guitarist Ed O'Brien also described a difficult period. "I enjoyed the concerts but hated the rest. We felt disconnected, damn exhausted," he said about the last tour. His depression peaked in 2021; he told his bandmates he did not want to continue. Positively, he noted: "One of the beautiful things that came out of it was realizing how much I love these guys" – referring to Thom Yorke, Jonny Greenwood, Colin Greenwood, and Phil Selway.