Radiohead broke out both “Kid A” and “Talk Show Host” for the first time since 2018 at the Unipol Arena in Bologna, Italy, on Monday evening. They’ve now played 43 different songs across a mere seven concerts.
“Talk Show Host” was recorded during the 1994 sessions for The Bends, and didn’t surface until it was released as the B-side to “Street Spirit (Fade Out)” in January 1996. It wasn’t heard by a mass audience until that October when a remix appeared on the soundtrack to Baz Luhrmann’s Romeo + Juliet. (Thom Yorke wrote “Exit Music (For a Film)” specifically for that movie, but wound up saving it for Ok Computer.)
Most of Radiohead’s B-sides have never been played in concert, but Romeo + Juliet became so popular that they started doing “Talk Show Host” on the OK Computer tour in 1997. They’ve now played it 241 times, more than any other non-album track in their catalog.
“Kid A,” meanwhile, has been in Radiohead’s live rotation since the earliest days of the Kid A tour in June 2000. Songs from that LP have been at the center of Radiohead setlists for the past 25 years, but it’s been slightly deemphasized on this tour in favor of selections from Ok Computer, In Rainbows, and Hail to the Thief.
But they have done six Kid A songs at various points. The sole Amnesiac songs we’ve heard are “You and Whose Army” and “Pyramid Song.” We’re holding out hope for “Hunting Bears,” “Like Spinning Plates,” and “Life In a Glasshouse,” but odds are looking slim.
We’re also hoping to hear at least one Pablo Honey song before this leg of the tour wraps. There’s no need to make it “Creep.” The fans would also be thrilled to get “Blow Out,” “Lurgee,” or “Anyone Can Play Guitar.” There are another 13 chances since they finish up Tuesday in Bologna before heading to London, Copenhagen, and finally Berlin. They’re doing four shows in every market. So far, there’s been no word about gigs in 2026.
From Rolling Stone US
Love Music?
Get your daily dose of everything happening in Australian/New Zealand music and globally.
