Radiohead have surprise-released a new live album comprised of recordings of materials from their 2003 album Hail To The Thief, their last for EMI.
The 12-track album was recorded over a long time period – from their 2003 tour to the end of the In Rainbows tour in 2009 – and is streaming now, with physical copies to follow on October 31. For vinyl fans, there will be a limited edition red vinyl on offer from independent record stores and a cyan edition, which is exclusive to Radiohead’s own W.A.S.T.E store.
The catalyst for the new album, it seems, was when Thom Yorke started going through live recordings from around this period while preparing the arrangements for the Hamlet Hail To The Thief production, which played in Manchester and Stratford-upon-Avon this summer.
In a statement, Yorke said: “I was shocked by the kind of energy behind the way we played, and it really helped me find a way forward. For us, back in the day, the finishing of this record was particularly messy and fraught, we were very proud of it but there was a taste left in our mouths, it was a dark time in so many ways.”
“Anyway, we decided to get these live recordings mixed (it would have been insane to keep them for ourselves) by Ben Baptie, who did an amazing job. It has all been a very cathartic process, we very much hope you enjoy them.”
The live album marks the first Radiohead activity since the band formed a new business entity – a limited liability partnership, back in March - suggesting that they were gearing up for... something. In the past, the band have formed LLPs in preparation for a new album campaign and fans were hopeful that news would soon come through that the band had been in the studio.
The band haven’t released a new album since 2016’s A Moon Shaped Pool and haven’t played live since 2018.
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