Radiohead brought their European tour to a close Tuesday night at the Royal Arena in Copenhagen, Denmark, following 20 shows in five cities. They rounded out the set with a soaring rendition of “Karma Police.”
“Thank you very much for coming to see us,” Thom Yorke told the crowd. “Thanks to everyone who came to see us on this tour. We hope you have great, festive holidays. Get home safe. Good night. Thank you.”
The tour marked Radiohead’s first live shows in seven years, their first time touring without a new album to support, their first time playing in the round, and their first time playing with new touring drummer Chris Vatalaro. Prior to the announcement of the shows, some fans genuinely feared that Radiohead had quietly broken up due to the long period of inactivity and the formation of side projects like the Smile. And in a series of interviews with the Times UK shortly before opening night, they did admit to some tensions within the band.
“It wasn’t great on the last round,” said guitarist Ed O’Brien. “I enjoyed the gigs but hated the rest. We felt disconnected, fucking spent. It happens. This has been our whole life — what else is there? Look, success has a funny effect on people — I just didn’t want to do it anymore. And I told them that.”
“I went through a very long dark night of the soul,” O’Brien continued. “I had a deep depression. I hit the bottom in 2021. And one of the things that was lovely coming out of it was realizing how much I love these guys. I met them when I was 17, and I have gone from thinking I can’t see myself doing it again to realizing that, you know, we do have some stellar songs.”
The band rehearsed roughly 70 songs prior to the tour, and they wound up playing 45 of them. Selections from In Rainbows, Ok Computer, Hail to the Thief, The Bends, and Kid A were high in the mix. They did relatively little from A Moon Shaped Pool, Amnesiac, and the King of Limbs. And despite the predictable screams for “Creep,” they never went near Pablo Honey.
Fans in America are anxiously awaiting news of possible dates over here, but there’s yet to be any sort of hint that’s going to happen. The summer might seem like a natural time to come to the States and hit major festivals and outdoor sheds, but bassist Colin Greenwood has signed onto another tour with Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds that will occupy his time throughout June, July, and August. There are also Australian shows in January and February. That opens up windows in the spring and fall, in theory.
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Radiohead fans should also brace for the possibility that this was a European-only affair, and the band is about to head back into hibernation. But they shouldn’t lose faith. These were amazing shows that received near-universal acclaim; they proved they don’t need new material to draw sell-out crowds, and it seems like the band resolved whatever issues they had during the interregnum. They may not play again in 2026, but odds are extremely high that they’ll play again in the near future. Everyone just needs to be patient. (The same exact thing applies to Oasis fans. But you people had 41 shows in 11 countries this year, and have less to complain about.)
From Rolling Stone US
