Radiohead have announced their first tour in seven years.
The 20-date run of shows will see them play four shows each in five European cities across November and December. The tour kicks off at Madrid’s Movistar Arena for gigs on November 4, 5, 7 and 8, followed by four nights at Bologna’s Unipol Arena on November 14, 15, 17 and 18.
From there, they head to The O2 in London to play on November 21, 22, 24 and 25, followed by four nights at Copenhagen’s Royal Arena on December 1, 2, 4 and 5. The tour comes to a close at Berlin’s Uber Arena on December 8, 9, 11 and 12.
To help get tickets directly to fans and to minimise interception from touts and bots, tickets will only be accessible by pre-registering at the band’s website. Registration opens this Friday (September 5) at 10am, and closes at 10pm BST on Sunday (September 7).
In a statement, Radiohead’s Philip Selway said: “Last year, we got together to rehearse, just for the hell of it. After a seven-year pause, it felt really good to play the songs again and reconnect with a musical identity that has become lodged deep inside all five of us. It also made us want to play some shows together, so we hope you can make it to one of the upcoming dates. For now, it will just be these ones but who knows where this will all lead.”
It’s not yet known whether new music is coming from the band, but last month they released a live album for their 2003 LP Hail To The Thief.
The tour takes place against the backdrop of a call by the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) campaign to boycott the shows due to the band’s perceived “complicit silence” on Gaza. Guitarist Jonny Greenwood has been widely criticised for his continued willingness to perform in Israel despite the country’s military assault on Gaza – last year he played in Tel Aviv with Israeli singer and collaborator Dudu Tassa, who has also previously played as part of a band that entertained members of the Israel Defence Forces.
In May, frontman Thom Yorke issued his own statement on Israel and Gaza, in which he publicly address an incident that took place last year when a pro-Palestine concertgoer at one of his solo live shows shouted at him about Israel’s actions. Yorke and the rest of Radiohead had previously been subject to significant criticism for his and the band’s decision to perform in Israel and ignore the actions of BDS.
BDS posted a new statement to Instagram today (September 3), saying: “Palestinians reiterate our call for the boycott of Radiohead concerts, including its rumoured tour, until the group convincingly distances itself, at a minimum, from Jonny Greenwood’s crossing of our peaceful picket line during Israel’s genocide against Palestinians in Gaza.”
