Thom Yorke

Serving as Radiohead's lead vocalist, Thom Yorke lends the ensemble a distinctly human dimension, with his piercing and emphatic delivery offsetting even the ensemble's most detached passages. Apart from occasional pairings with kindred spirits such as PJ Harvey and Björk, he steered clear of solo releases until The Eraser appeared in 2006, an album that extended the electronic experimentation found in Radiohead's most daring work. That same emphasis has shaped his activities beyond the group, including later solo projects, soundtrack contributions, and original scores such as 2018's Suspiria and 2024's Confidenza, along with the formation of Atoms for Peace, which paired him with Flea and Nigel Godrich, and the Smile, which features Jonny Greenwood and Tom Skinner.

Born on October 7, 1968, in Wellingborough, England, Yorke entered the world with a paralyzed left eye that stayed closed until age six. Five operations followed; the final procedure failed and nearly cost him all vision in that eye. Only after wearing an eye patch for a year did he regain partial sight. Because his father sold chemical-engineering instruments, the family relocated frequently, and by his teenage years Yorke had found solace in music, particularly the work of Elvis Costello, Queen, and the Beatles. Once the family settled in Oxford, he attended an all-boys school where he met future Radiohead guitarist Ed O'Brien and bassist Colin Greenwood. There he discovered '80s alternative acts including the Smiths, R.E.M., and the Cure. The foundations of Radiohead took shape when the three friends began jamming with a drum machine, soon replaced by schoolmate Phil Selway on drums, and when Colin Greenwood's younger brother, multi-instrumentalist Jonny Greenwood, joined as well.

Originally called On a Friday, the group adopted the name Radiohead, taken from a song on Talking Heads' True Stories. By late 1991 Parlophone in the U.K. and Capitol in the U.S. had signed them, though the Drill EP attracted little notice. Their 1993 debut album, Pablo Honey, seemed headed for a similar fate until U.S. radio and MTV turned the Nirvana-esque "Creep" into an unexpected hit. The band's audience expanded with 1995's The Bends and especially 1997's OK Computer, which Q magazine named the Greatest Album of All Time shortly after release. Already among the world's leading rock acts, Radiohead sought to distance themselves from mainstream listeners with the abstract Kid A in 2000, yet the album debuted at number one on the U.S. charts without any accompanying single or video.

While Radiohead remained his primary focus throughout the '90s, Yorke contributed guest vocals to several other recordings, among them Drugstore's "El President" from White Magic for Lovers, a cover of Pink Floyd's "Wish You Were Here" with Sparklehorse, UNKLE's "Rabbit in Your Headlights" from Psyence Fiction, Björk's "I've Seen It All" from Selmasongs, and PJ Harvey's "This Mess We're In" from Stories from the Cities. He also performed as a member of the ad hoc supergroup Venus in Furs on the soundtrack to the 1998 film Velvet Goldmine, singing on "2HB," "Ladytron," and "Bitter-Sweet."

In May 2006 Yorke used Radiohead's blog to announce a forthcoming solo album. The Eraser, recorded with extensive help from Radiohead producer Nigel Godrich, appeared on XL that July. It entered the Top Ten in both the U.K. and U.S., earned a nomination for Britain's Mercury Prize, and received a Grammy nomination for Best Alternative Music Album. Roughly a week before its 2007 release, Radiohead surprised listeners by announcing In Rainbows.

Several years later Yorke assembled Atoms for Peace, enlisting Godrich on keyboards and production duties, Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist Flea, drummer Joey Waronker, and percussionist Mauro Refosco. The band played U.S. concerts in 2009 and 2010 before recording Amok, which surfaced in 2013 after Radiohead's surprise release of 2011's King of Limbs. Amok charted strongly worldwide, though members' other commitments delayed any follow-up. Yorke also supplied vocals for tracks by Flying Lotus and Modeselektor and collaborated with Burial, Four Tet, and SBTRKT.

Yorke's second solo album emerged without warning, like its predecessor. After a series of cryptic social-media clues, Tomorrow's Modern Boxes appeared in September 2014, initially offered via BitTorrent and later on vinyl. The eight-song collection again presented concise, restrained yet taut material from the Radiohead frontman. In 2015 he performed with audiovisual artist Tarik Barri and Godrich at Japan's Summer Sonic Festival and the U.K.'s Latitude Festival.

During 2016 Yorke and Radiohead again surprised fans by releasing their ninth album, A Moon Shaped Pool, after posting enigmatic social-media hints connected to the lead singles "Burn the Witch" and "Daydreaming." The band supported the record with an international tour spanning 2016 and 2017. That same year Yorke was announced as composer of his first film score, for Luca Guadagnino's remake of Dario Argento's 1977 horror film Suspiria. He later noted that the writing process drew on aspects of Krautrock and Vangelis' score for Blade Runner. The film and soundtrack reached audiences in late 2018, with the Suspiria album headed by the track "Suspirium."

Yorke's third solo album, ANIMA, arrived in June 2019. Produced by Godrich, the chart-topping, Grammy-nominated set was accompanied by a short film directed by Paul Thomas Anderson. The Not the News Rmx EP followed later that year. A planned 2020 solo tour was canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Yorke remained active with standalone tracks such as "Plasticine Figures," further collaborations with Four Tet and Burial, and a remix for Clark. His most substantial new endeavor surfaced in 2021 when he launched the Smile, a trio completed by Greenwood and drummer Tom Skinner. The band's debut, A Light for Attracting Attention, received widespread critical acclaim upon its 2022 release, and the follow-up, Wall of Eyes, appeared in 2024. Later that year Yorke composed the score for Daniele Luchetti's film Confidenza, featuring the London Contemporary Orchestra and Skinner.