Thomas Edward "Thom" Yorke is lead vocalist and principal songwriter of the alternative rock band Radiohead. He mainly plays guitar and piano, but he has also played drums and bass guitar.
Yorke is considered to be among the most influential figures in the music industry: in 2002, Q Magazine named Yorke the most powerful British musician, and in 2005, Radiohead were ranked #73 in Rolling Stone's "100 Greatest Artists of All Time" list.
Thom received his first guitar when he was seven, inspired by guitarist Brian May with Queen after he saw them perform. By age 11, he had joined his first band and written his first song. He attended the all boys public school Abingdon where he met future band members Ed O'Brien, Phil Selway, Colin Greenwood and Colin's younger brother, Jonny.
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Yorke and his friends formed a band named On A Friday, as Friday was the only day on which the members were allowed to rehearse. Yorke, in this early line up, played guitar and provided vocals and honed his songwriting and lyrical skills.
Yorke, speaking about music's influence on him as a schoolboy, said in an interview, "School was bearable for me because the music department was separate from the rest of the school. It had pianos in tiny booths, and I used to spend a lot of time hanging around there after school."
Yorke, speaking about music's influence on him as a schoolboy, said in an interview, "School was bearable for me because the music department was separate from the rest of the school. It had pianos in tiny booths, and I used to spend a lot of time hanging around there after school."
As his band mates left for college, (and Thom decided to do other things besides more school, On A Friday suspended their playing. They resumed in 1991 as the members were finishing their degree courses. Now relocated to Oxford, they signed to Parlophone and changed their name to Radiohead.
Radiohead first gained notice with the worldwide hit single "Creep," which later appeared on the band's 1993 debut album Pablo Honey. Yorke admitted later that the success had fed his ego; he tried to project himself as a rock star, which included bleaching his hair and wearing extensions. He said, "When I got back to Oxford I was unbearable . . . [A]s soon as you get any success you disappear up your own arse and lost it forever."
By the time their second album was released in 1995, entitled The Bends, through frequent touring and improved musical proficiency the band had picked up a large cult fan base and had begun to receive wider critical acclaim.
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After the album's release, the American group R.E.M. picked Radiohead as its opening act for the European leg of their tour. It turned out to be doubly beneficial. Not only did R.E.M draw huge audiences, but it allowed Thom to become close friends with lead singer Michael Stipe who took Thom under his wing and taught him valuable lessons in "how to be a rock star" - and not self-destruct.
Yorke released his solo album, The Eraser, in 2006. reached number 3 in the UK in its first week and number 2 in the United States, Canada and Australia, as well as number 9 on the Irish charts. The album was on the prestigious Mercury Prize shortlist and was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Alternative Music Album.
Upon release, their next album, OK Computer, was heralded as a landmark album by virtually everyone who reviewed it, establishing Radiohead as one of the leading alternative rock acts of the 1990s.
On February 25th, 2010 Yorke revealed the name of his new band: "Atoms for Peace", and announced a series of U.S. tour dates. Yorke first introduced the band late in 2009. It includes Flea of the Red Hot Chili Peppers on bass, Beck, R.E.M., all-round session drummer Joey Waronker, percussionist Mauro Refosco of the musical collective Forro in the Dark and Radiohead producer Nigel Godrich on keyboards and treatments. Atoms for Peace is a track on Yorke's 2006 solo album, The Eraser.
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