news

welcome to the news page.  please email me if you know of any radiohead-related news or rumors. 
 

 

 

september 8, 1998
After a lack of news updates, this revision has lots of info... so make sure you read it all:

First off, a nice message form Ed concerning the development of the new album:
"Our response is always however long it takes. There is no way we are consciously going to release shit."

Some news on the soundtrack to the film 'Velvet Goldmine' - the new glam rock movie set in London during the early '70s. Thom and Jonny feature in a band named 'The Venus in Furs' covering songs from the film's era along with Bernard Butler plus Paul Kimble and Andy McKay from Roxy Music. Although the band don't feature on screen, the songs will accompany the film and be on the soundtrack. The songs covered by this band are :

"2HB" - Written by Bryan Ferry, Vocal by Thom Yorke
"Sebastian" - Written by Steve Harley, Vocal by Jonathan Rhys Meyers
"Ladytron" - Written by Bryan Ferry, Vocal by Thom Yorke
"Baby's on Fire" - Written by Brian Eno, Vocal by Jonathan Rhys Meyers
"Bitter-Sweet" - Written by Andrew McKay/Bryan Ferry, Vocal by Thom Yorke

In the UK, the film will be opening in London and selected theatres on 25th September, and should be screening nationwide by 9th October, and will be out on Nov 12th in N. America.

An acoustic version of Subterranean Homesick Alien will be on the 'Rare on the Air 4' compilation, taken from the KCRW National Public Radio program "Morning Becomes Eclectic." the compilation will be released in the USA only on Oct 6th.

Those in N. America who get MuchMusic will be able to see "Radiohead: Live from the Belfort Eurockenees" on September 26th at 9:00 pm - a broadcast from a festival last summer. It will probably air on MuchUSA soon (see http://www.muchmusic.com). [thanks vanessa]

The first single off the recently released U.N.K.L.E. LP will be Thom and DJ Shadow's 'Rabbit In Your Headlights', released in the UK on October 12th (unlikely to be released outside the UK).

august 23, 1998
The U.N.K.L.E. LP 'Psyence Fiction' featuring Thom Yorke doing the vocals of 'Rabbit in Your Headlights' is out in Europe this Monday (Japan will already have it, and the USA will get it on 28th Sept).

'Rabbit in Your Headlights' can now be confirmed as being a single release off the album.

More collaboration news - Jonny may be playing keyboards on Bernard Butler's second solo LP. [thanks madflowr]

23/07/98

This week Ed has been talking about the new album. He says that the band will start recording/track selecting in October. Visit the 'unreleased' page for info/audio of the likely contenders.

Ed also remarked about three of the so far unreleased songs:
'I Promise' is now described as a Roy Orbison-style power ballad. 'True Love Waits' is a song much in the vein of Karma Police. 'Motion Picture Soundtrack' is now atmospheric, and involves the whole band.

july 17, 1998
The current release dates for u.n.k.l.e.'s 'Psyence Fiction' LP (containing the DJ Shadow/Thom Yorke collaboration track 'Rabbit in Your Headlights') are : UK - 24 August, Japan - 17 August, USA - 29 September.

MaxK.

july 13, 1998
Parts of Radiohead's performance at the Tibetan Freedom Concert '98 will be broadcast on MuchMusic USA (a cable TV channel) on Wed, July 22, 10pm, 1am, & 9:30am ET, 7pm, 10pm, & 6:30am PT, as well as a different show being on MusiquePlus (another cable TV channel - limited availibility) on Saturday 11 July 8pm (conflicts with previous time I was given. Check your listings). [thanks cathy]

july 7, 1998
The DJ Shadow/Thom Yorke collaboration track 'Rabbit in Your Headlights' (see http://www.underworld.net/radiohead/songs/rabbitinyourheadlights.html for more details) will not be released as a single before the release of the LP which it is on : 'Psyence Fiction' by u.n.k.l.e. People in the UK can buy it on 24th August, and those in Japan can get it a week earlier on 17th August. For those in the UK, the track is picking up limited airplay. Jo Whiley seems to be playing it on her lunchtime show every Monday.

For those of you who want a copy of 'Wish You Were Here', the Pink Floyd song covered by Sparklehorse featuring a few seconds of Thom's vocals, then it features as a B-side on the CD version of the quite brilliant new Sparklehorse single 'Painbirds', out now in a limited release.

Ed O'Brien was the only one who weathered Glastonbury '98 this year. Read a short interview with him at http://www.underworld.net/radiohead/news.htm

Musique Plus in N. America will be airing 120 minutes of the Tibetan Freedom Concert on July 11th, this Saturdy at 9pm EST. It may have interviews as well as just concert footage.

july 4, 1998
There's gonna be a lack of news this summer, not because I can't be bothered to update, but because nothin's happening due to the band's break...

Just to warn you in advance.

june 24, 1998
Thom's collaboration with DJ Shadow on a track 'Rabbit in Your Headlights' will be part of a forthcoming U.N.K.L.E. album 'Psyence Fiction'. It is doubtful that the track will be released as a single from the album. Promotional copies of the track (backed by other tracks from the album) will be released to the press on Monday, so expect it to be heard on radio stations (Radio One has already played it) frequently. The current release date for the LP to the public is 24th August.

 

june 14, 1998
As many of you know, the annual Tibetan Freedom Concert was hit with tradegy last night.  Here is the official statement from www.tibet98.com:
 
The first day of this year's Tibetan Freedom Concert was halted at approximately 3:40 PM EST today, following performances by Money Mark, Mutabaruka, Live, Dave Matthews, KRS-One, Herbie Hancock & The Headhunters, and speakers Palden Gyatso and Wei Jingshen.

Four concert-goers were transported to D.C. General Hospital after suffering injuries due to a sudden electrical storm. Two suffered minor injuries, and two remain hospitalized. The condition of the latter two is unknown at press time. All the families of the injured concert-goers have been notified.

Tracy Chapman, Sonic Youth, R.E.M., Radiohead and Beck were forced to cancel their performances.
While Chapman and Beck were unable to re-schedule, Sonic Youth, R.E.M. and Radiohead will perform on the second day of the concert (Sunday, June 14th).

Concert Spokesperson Erin Potts has issued the following statement: "Our thoughts and best wishes are with the injured concertgoers. The Tibetan monks and nuns in attendance began praying for them immediately. We would like to thank the D.C. Fire and Police Departments, the paramedics, security and the entire concert staff for their quick and efficient response. 

Radiohead didn't let their fans down. They had a surprise gig for the first 800 people who showed up with saturday's ticket stubs at the 9:30 Club in Washington D.C.  Rumor has it that Pulp opened up with 3 or 4 songs.  Radiohead were joined by R.E.M.'s Michael Stipe on Lucky, in which Michael sang the lead vocals.

Radiohead returned to RFK Stadium and played to the eager crowd.  Michael joined them again for Lucky. I will include the setlists later.

Thom joined R.E.M. during their set. He sang Be Mine and also provided Patti Smith's part in E-Bow the Letter.

Both bands will be part of the march on the capitol lawn on Monday.

In keeping with the spirit of the event,   the crowd was extraordinarily respectful and cooperative."

june 10, 1998
As many of you know, Radiohead has pretty much ended their campaign for OK COMPUTER.  No more singles, no more videos.  The only scheduled appearance they have is the Tibetan Freedom Concert this weekend (June 13 & 14) in Washington DC.  The show is sold out, but there will be a live webcast.  For more info on that, check out www.tibet98.com.
the line-up for the show is listed below. 

Saturday, June 13, 1998 
Opening: Monks & Nuns  
Money Mark  
Mutabaruka  
Wei Jingsheng (speaker)  
Live  
Chaksam-Pa  
Patti Smith  
KRS-One  
Palden Gyatso (speaker)  
Dave Matthews  
Herbie Hancock and Guru  
 with the Headhunters  
Tracy Chapman  
Sonic Youth  
Drepung Loseling Monks  
R.E.M.  
Beck  
Radiohead  
Closing: Monks & Nuns

Sunday, June 14, 1998 
Opening: Monks & Nuns  
Buffalo Daughter  
Sean Lennon  
Xiao Qiang (speaker)  
Pulp  
Luscious Jackson  
Nawang Khechog  
Blues Traveler  
Palden Gyatso (speaker)  
Wyclef Jean  
Kraftwerk  
The Wallflowers  
A Tribe Called Quest  
Drepung Loseling Monks  
The Verve  
Beastie Boys  
Pearl Jam  
Closing: Monks & Nuns

As previously reported at NME.com, the documentary was filmed over the past year, with 'No Surprises'
video director Grant Gee tracking Radiohead as they toured the world in support of 'OK Computer'. No release date for the movie has been set yet. Speaking to NME last week, Ed O'Brien said the film was now being edited and that a "low-key" premiere
was being planned. He said: "It's coming on really well. We went down last week and saw some of the rushes. Grant's got about eight hours' worth of stuff and it's got to be condensed, obviously. It's very honest, but it's not a rockumentary, that's the last thing we wanted it to be because that would be so Spinal Tap."
Ed said the main thrust of the film was to convey the strange life of a rock group on the road, so they
gave the director free rein. "I mean, you make a record within the confines of the five of you, and whoever
else, then after that, you go out and tour this record and that's when it gets bizarre, then it's the rock'n'roll
circus thing. It's not normality and it's not real. It's his slant on that and I think it's going to be quite
interesting."
Ed scotched widespread stories there would be a new Radiohead album before the end of this year,
although he admitted that they have been recording in the back of the tourbus while they toured the last
album.
He said: "We demoed stuff and things like that. But basically, I think an album has to be recorded over a
certain period of time. So we'll start work on it properly in November."

OK COMPUTER has gone platinum in the US.

The 7 Television Commercials will be released the United States on June 30.

Radiohead picked up two awards at the Ivor Novello Awards last month:
BEST CONTEMPORARY SONG - Karma Police
BEST SONG MUSICALLY AND LYRICALLY - Paranoid Android

You can read all about Phil's involvement with the charity group, The Samaritans, by clicking here.

For those of you who never saw the Drugstore video featuring thom for El Presidente, Streamland has it.

june 6, 1998

Thanks to Deirdre Antes for sending me this news:-

"I have some Radiohead-related info which others may be interested in hearing about, regarding the National Day of Action for Tibet last Monday on Capitol Hill (at which Thom played an acoustic version of Street Spirit).

C-SPAN network broadcasted the rally twice on that day, including Thom's, REM's, and Perry Farrell's performances, and speeches by Sean Lennon and Adam Yauch (of the Beastie Boys, of course). Videotapes of the broadcast can be purchased for $49.95, plus a processing fee, from the Public Affairs Video Archive at http://www.pava.purdue.edu or +1 (800) CSPAN-98 (toll-free in the US). Ask for program number 107451, "The National Day of Action for Tibet".

Keep in mind when shelling out this much cash that the rally was 2 1/2 hours long and Thom only does one song at the *very* end of the rally. However, I was in the front row for the performance, and it was great: the rally itself was very moving, and I think that true fans might be interested in learning more about this important issue which means so much to the band. The rally has also been broadcast online at http://www.tibet98.com, so keep an eye on that, too.

Also, heard a rumor at the Tibetan Freedom Concert that HBO will be showing special on the event sometime in the next two months."

april 29, 1998

Last Sunday's 120 Minutes interview with Thom went extremely well.  Thom looked tired and almost bored but smiled a lot.  He looked relieved that they were now done with touring for a while.  He mentioned that he took a vacation a while back to Venice but was followed everywhere which annoyed him.  Matt Pinfield brought up the Avengers Soundtrack in which Radiohead were to include a track called Big Boots.  Thom stated that they scratched the idea after not feeling comfortable with the recording session.  "No we ditched it...because we were so messed up and we went in, tried to do the track, but we just couldn't do it.  It was actually a really difficult period of time.  We had a five week
break and all the shit was coming to the surface.  It was all a bit weird..I mean we went in and tried to do this old track that we had... and it just wasn't happening at all. It was a real low point after it."
Hopefully we'll get to hear that song soon.  He also mentioned about the possible collaboration with Massive Attack later this year and the single that he and DJ Shadow did for the upcoming James Lavelle U.N.K.L.E. project due later this summer.

The upcoming film, Velvet Goldmine, in which Michael Stipe produced, will be released sometime this fall.  The soundtrack includes 33 tracks, best of which a super-band by the name of The Venus in Furs have contributed.  The lineup for this band includes Thom and Jonny from Radiohead, Bernard Butler, Andy Mackay from Roxy Music, and Grant Lee Buffalo's Paul Kimble.  The songs they put together are covers which include: 2HB, Ladytron, Baby's on Fire, Gimme Danger, Tumbling Down, and Bittersweet.
This is from Spin Magazine Online:

Teenage Fanclub, Radiohead, Sonic Youth Do '70s N.Y.
Details about the Michael Stipe-produced soundtrack to Todd Haynes' upcoming glam rock biopic Velvet Goldmine are surfacing. Though the flick isn't likely to be competing with the aliens and giant Japanese monsters for box office this summer, glam fans can look forward to a slew of classics from the era (from Roxy Music, T. Rex, Brian Eno, and Lou Reed), inspired covers, plus some new songs by the likes of Grant Lee Buffalo and Shudder to Think. Among the highlights: Teenage Fanclub and Elastica's Donna Matthews (who has a role in the flick) cover The New York Dolls' "Personality Crisis" and two supergroups doing two Stooges faves: The Venus in Furs (featuring Thom Yorke and Johnny Greenwood of Radiohead) take on "Gimme Danger" while The Wylde Rattz (featuring Mike Watt and members of Sonic Youth) revive "T.V. Eye."

Okay.  Sources close to Green Plastic Radiohead have said that the upcoming episode of Space Ghost Coast to Coast featuring Thom as guest won't be aired until this August.  thanks to kathy hay
The show airs Saturday nights at midnight on the Cartoon Network.
Spin Online also has this to say:

Thom Yorke vs. Space Ghost
Sources at Capitol Records, have confirmed that Radiohead singer Thom Yorke will indeed appear as a guest on the popular Cartoon Network talkshow, Space Ghost, though the air date is still "months away." Yorke recently shot his segment and now the animation wizards are building an episode around him. We wonder if he'll use his appearance as a forum for further dissing Microsoft boss Bill Gates (whom Yorke has called "the most paranoid man on the planet").

Radiohead banned in China!
Yes it's true along with all the other acts performing at this year's Tibetan Freedom Concert in Washington DC June 13 and 14.
from the ABC Radio Networks Rockwire:
The Chinese government issued a statement yesterday attacking the bands that intend to perform at this summer's Tibetan Freedom Concert in Washington D.C. A spokesperson for the Chinese Embassy in London stated that "Western artists have no right to intervene in the internal affairs of our country. Any of those performers who do will not be permitted entry to China, including Tibet, and their works will never be welcome in our country."
The tickets for this concert go onsale May 2 at 9am EST.  For more info and the complete lineup of bands go to www.tibet98.com.

april 24, 1998

In the magazine, "Making Music", Radiohead was named Best Aritst by fellow British musicians.  They were awarded Best Act and Best Live Act.  Thom was named Best Singer and Ok Computer was given Best Album.

april 23, 1998

Well the US tour is over and done with.  Don't expect anymore tour dates from them.  They are scheduled to play at the third annual Tibetan Freedom Concert in Washington DC on June 13 and 14.  Tickets for this mammoth concert are going on sale May 2 at your local TicketMaster outlets.  For more info on this and the whole "Free Tibet" thing, visit www.tibet98.com.

What is this?  This year's Glastonbury Festival seems to have a band by the name of "On A Friday" on the bill.  For those of you just joining us, "On A Friday" was the name Radiohead had before signing their record deal.  Keep in mind folks, this is just a rumor... don't get crazy yet.

As reported earlier, Thom is supposedly a guest on Cartoon Network's Space Ghost Coast to Coast which airs Friday nights at midnight.  No date has been announced for the show's airing, but it is said that the show was taped last Saturday.

Radiohead has been nominated for two Ivor Norvello Awards (the UK's most important songwritting awards.)  Karma Police is nominated for Best Contemporary Song while Paranoid Android is nominated for Best Song Musically and Lyrically.

TAKEN FROM GREEN PLASTIC RADIOHEAD and RADIOHEAD INJEKTILO

Copyright � 1998 inclusive, Nicholas H. Dodd

[email protected]

CD NOW

UPCOMING TELEVISION AND RADIO APPEARANCES Space Ghost Coast to Coast Cartoon Network with Thom August 1998 ABC TV In Concert June 19, 1998 2am Est.
UPCOMING RELEASES Seven Television Commercials Home Video June 30, 1998 US Rabbit in Your Headlights DJ Shadow & Thom collaborative single Summer 1998 Velvet Goldmine Soundtrack featuring Thom and Jonny Fall 1998 Meeting People is Easy tour documentary home video December 1998

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