:Thom Yorke#Collaborations

Yorke was born on 7 October 1968 in Wellingborough, Northamptonshire. He was born with a paralysed left eye, and underwent five eye operations by the age of six.Randall, p. 19 According to Yorke, the last surgery was "botched", giving him a drooping eyelid.{{cite news |last=McLean |first=Craig |date=18 June 2006 |title=All messed up |work=The Observer |location=London |url=http://observer.guardian.co.uk/omm/story/0,,1795948,00.html |url-status=dead |access-date=26 March 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080723180139/http://observer.guardian.co.uk/omm/story/0,,1795948,00.html |archive-date=23 July 2008}} He decided against further surgery: "I decided I liked the fact that it wasn't the same, and I've liked it ever since. And when people say stuff I kind of thought it was a badge of pride, and still do."{{Cite web |date=2009 |title=Ten things we learned from Thom Yorke's Desert Island Discs |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/b7zfNZjlKBK3r8s9t9ldhx/ten-things-we-learned-from-thom-yorkes-desert-island-discs |access-date=23 September 2019 |website= |publisher=BBC |language=en-GB}}

The family moved frequently. Shortly after Yorke's birth, his father, a nuclear physicist and later a chemical equipment salesman, was hired by a firm in Scotland. The family lived in Lundin Links in Fife{{Cite web|date=8 September 1997|title=Music Radiohead, Caird Hall, Dundee|url=https://www.heraldscotland.com/news/12292750.music-radiohead-caird-hall-dundee/|access-date=2021-01-14|website=HeraldScotland|language=en}}{{Cite web|last=Alexander|first=Michael|date=17 November 2017|title=Radiohead drummer Philip Selway bringing solo work to Fife|url=https://www.thecourier.co.uk/fp/lifestyle/541957/radiohead-drummer-philip-selway-brings-solo-work-fife/|access-date=2021-01-14|website=The Courier|language=en-GB}} until Yorke was seven, and he moved from school to school.Randall, p. 21 They settled in Oxfordshire in 1978, where Yorke attended primary school in Standlake.{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jF_fCgAAQBAJ&q=thom+yorke+standlake&pg=PA68|title=Radiohead and the Global Movement for Change "Pragmatism Not Idealism"|last=Rose|first=Phil|publisher=Fairleigh Dickinson University Press|year=2015|isbn=978-1-61147-861-7|location=Madison, New Jersey|pages=68}}

Yorke said he knew he would become a rock star after seeing the Queen guitarist Brian May on television for the first time at the age of eight.{{Cite magazine |last=Fricke |first=David |author-link=David Fricke |date=2 August 2001 |title=Radiohead: Making Music That Matters |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/radiohead-making-music-that-matters-84574/ |access-date=6 January 2019 |magazine=Rolling Stone |language=en-US}} He initially wanted to be a guitarist rather than a singer, but had no one else to sing the songs he was writing.{{Cite magazine |last=Gordon |first=Jason Thomas |date=2023-09-08 |title=The songs that make Thom Yorke cry |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/thom-yorke-neil-young-bob-dylan-makes-him-cry-1234819196/ |access-date=2023-09-08 |magazine=Rolling Stone |language=en-US}} He received his first guitar as a child.{{cite web|title=Thom Yorke reveals Brian May inspiration, Kraftwerk banned from China, Bieber blows out Frank Ocean ... Music News Daily |publisher=Q Magazine |date=2 April 2013 |url=http://news.qthemusic.com/2013/04/thom_yorke_reveals_brian_may_i.html |access-date=27 September 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130606044451/http://news.qthemusic.com/2013/04/thom_yorke_reveals_brian_may_i.html |archive-date=6 June 2013 }} At 10, he made his own guitar, inspired by May's homemade Red Special.{{cite web |url=http://www.wnyc.org/deprecated/story/278417-thom-yorke/transcript/ |title=Here's The Thing with Alec Baldwin: interview with Thom Yorke |work=WNYC |access-date=22 June 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150621023101/http://www.wnyc.org/deprecated/story/278417-thom-yorke/transcript/ |archive-date=21 June 2015}} By 11, he had joined his first band and written his first song.Randall, p. 23 Seeing Siouxsie Sioux in concert at the Apollo in 1985 inspired him to become a performer; Yorke said he had never seen anyone "captivate an audience like she did".{{cite web|last=Everitt|first=Matt|date=11 June 2017|title=The First Time With... Thom Yorke|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/p07gyff3|access-date=2 February 2021|publisher=BBC Sounds|quote=I didn't really think that until I saw Siouxsie and the Banshees at the Apollo [...] That one completely blew my mind [...] I'd never seen anyone manage to captivate an audience like she did. [...] They were amazing to watch. [...] It was an amazing show.|time=6:14}}

Yorke attended the boys' private school Abingdon in Oxfordshire. He felt out of place, and got into physical fights with other students. He found sanctuary in the music and art departments, and wrote music for a school production of A Midsummer Night's Dream.{{cite news|last=Marzorati|first=Gerald|date=1 October 2000|title=The post-rock band|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2000/10/01/magazine/the-post-rock-band.html|access-date=28 July 2008|issn=0362-4331}} At school, he performed a vocal recital of a Schubert piece, which helped him find the confidence to become a singer. He also had classical guitar lessons with his future bandmate Colin Greenwood.{{Cite web |last=Graham |first=Jane |date=2024-10-20 |title=Colin Greenwood: 'I never let Jonny forget it was me that got him into Radiohead' |url=https://www.bigissue.com/culture/music/colin-greenwood-interview-radiohead-jonny-music/ |access-date=2024-10-20 |website=The Big Issue |language=en-US}} Terence Gilmore-James, the Abingdon director of music, recalled Yorke as "forlorn and a little isolated" thanks to his unusual appearance, but talkative and opinionated. He said Yorke was "not a great musician", unlike his future bandmate Jonny Greenwood, but a "thinker and experimenter".{{Cite news |date=13 September 2008 |title=What were today's celebrities like as children? |url=https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2008/sep/13/celebrity.television |access-date=14 April 2019 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}} Yorke later credited the support of Gilmore-James and the head of the art department for his success.

File:Abingdon school.JPG

In sixth form at Abingdon, Yorke played with a punk band, TNT, but left when he was dissatisfied with their progress.{{Cite journal |last=Gilbert |first=Pat |date=November 1996 |title=Radiohead |journal=Record Collector}} He began playing with Colin Greenwood, Ed O'Brien and Philip Selway, joined later by Colin's younger brother, Jonny. In 1985, they formed a band, On a Friday, named after the only day they were allowed to practice. According to Selway, while each member contributed songs in the band's early period, Yorke emerged as the main songwriter.{{Cite web |last=Randall |first=Mac |date=9 June 2023 |title=Philip Selway: Tidal Backstory |url=https://tidal.com/magazine/article/philip-selway-backstory/1-91629 |access-date=15 June 2023 |website=Tidal}}

After leaving Abingdon, Yorke took a gap year and tried to become a professional musician. He held several jobs, including a period selling suits and working in an architect's office, and made a demo tape. He was also involved in a serious car accident that influenced the lyrics of later songs, including the Bends B-side "Killer Cars" (1995) and "Airbag" from OK Computer (1997).Randall, p. 38–39 In the late 1980s, Yorke made a solo album, Dearest, which O'Brien described as similar to the Jesus and Mary Chain, with delay and reverb effects.

On the strength of their first demo, On a Friday were offered a record deal by Island Records, but the members decided they were not ready and wanted to go to university first. Yorke had wanted to apply to St John's to read English at the University of Oxford, but, he said, "I was told I couldn't even apply – I was too thick. Oxford University would have eaten me up and spat me out. It's too rigorous."{{cite web |last=Noakes |first=Tim |date=12 February 2013 |title=Splitting atoms with Thom Yorke |url=http://www.dazeddigital.com/music/article/15601/1/splitting-atoms-thom-yorke |access-date=26 April 2015 |website=Dazed}} He also considered studying music, but could not read sheet music.

In late 1988, Yorke left Oxford to attend the University of Exeter, where he achieved a 2:1 in English and art. On a Friday entered hiatus aside from rehearsals during breaks.Randall, p. 43 At Exeter, Yorke performed experimental music with a classical ensemble,{{cite web |date=15 July 2015 |title=Thom Yorke Performs Experimental Music in Rare 1990 Footage |url=https://pitchfork.com/news/60409-thom-yorke-performs-experimental-music-in-rare-1990-footage/ |access-date=16 July 2015 |website=Pitchfork}} played in a techno group called Flickernoise,{{cite web |last=Smith |first=Andrew |date=1 October 2000 |title=Sound and fury |url=https://www.theguardian.com/theobserver/2000/oct/01/life1.lifemagazine |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131110180556/http://www.theguardian.com/theobserver/2000/oct/01/life1.lifemagazine |archive-date=10 November 2013 |access-date=19 May 2007 |website=The Observer |df=dmy-all}} and played with the band Headless Chickens, performing songs including future Radiohead material.{{cite web |last=Minsker |first=Evan |date=13 July 2015 |title=Rare footage surfaces of Thom Yorke performing "High and Dry" with pre-Radiohead band |url=https://pitchfork.com/news/60375-rare-footage-surfaces-of-thom-yorke-performing-high-and-dry-with-pre-radiohead-band/ |access-date=16 July 2015 |website=Pitchfork}} He also met Stanley Donwood, who would become Radiohead's cover artist, and his future wife, Rachel Owen.Randall, p. 52{{Cite news |last1=Narwan |first1=Gurpreet |last2=Karim |first2=Fariha |date=24 December 2016 |title=Marriage secret of Radiohead star and the woman he lost to cancer |newspaper=The Times |url=http://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/marriage-secret-of-radiohead-star-and-the-woman-he-lost-to-cancer-97pt6lkql |access-date=27 December 2016}} According to Yorke, his paintings at Exeter were "shit"; he was rejected by his classmates and "went AWOL for three months".{{Cite web |last=Trendell |first=Andrew |date=2024-01-19 |title=The Smile dismiss The Beatles' influence and share advice for struggling creatives |url=https://www.nme.com/news/music/the-smile-interview-the-beatles-abbey-road-advice-creative-thom-yorke-jonny-greenwood-3573942 |access-date=2024-01-19 |website=NME |language=en-GB}} Yorke credited his art school education for preparing him creatively for his later work.

On a Friday resumed activity in 1991 as most of the members were finishing their degrees. Ronan Munro, the editor of the Oxford music magazine Curfew, gave the band their first interview while they were sharing a house in Oxford. He recalled: "Thom wasn't like anyone I'd interviewed before ... He was like 'This is going to happen... Failure is not an option.' ... He wasn't some ranting diva or a megalomaniac, but he was so focused on what he wanted to do."{{cite news |date=13 March 2016 |title=Radiohead, Foals and 25 years of discovering Oxford music |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-oxfordshire-33176717 |access-date=14 March 2016 |work= |publisher=BBC News |language=en-GB}}

In 1991, when Yorke was 22, On a Friday signed to EMI and changed their name to Radiohead. They gained notice with their debut single, "Creep", which appeared on their 1993 debut album, Pablo Honey.{{cite magazine |date= |title=Radiohead: Artist Chart History |url={{BillboardURLbyName|artist=radiohead|chart=all}} |access-date=9 November 2007 |magazine=Billboard}} Yorke grew tired of "Creep" after it became a hit, and told Rolling Stone in 1993: "It's like it's not our song any more ... It feels like we're doing a cover."{{Cite magazine |last=Kenny |first=Glenn |date=16 September 1993 |title=Radiohead Arrive: Meet the English Rock Crew Behind 'Creep' |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/radiohead-arrive-meet-the-english-rock-crew-behind-creep-188776/ |access-date=15 October 2020 |magazine=Rolling Stone}}{{cite magazine |last=Runtagh |first=Jordan |date=22 February 2018 |title=Radiohead's Pablo Honey: 10 things you didn't know |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/radioheads-pablo-honey-10-things-you-didnt-know-201729/ |magazine=Rolling Stone |language=en-US |access-date=23 May 2019}}

According to Yorke, around this time he "hit the self-destruct button pretty quickly". He tried to project himself as a rock star and drank heavily, often becoming too drunk to perform.Randall, p.87 Yorke said: "When I got back to Oxford I was unbearable ... As soon as you get any success you disappear up your own arse."Randall, p. 120 Years later, Yorke said he had found it difficult to cope with Radiohead's success: "I got angry ... I got more control-freakery. I put my hands on the steering wheel and I was white-knuckled, and I didn't care who I hurt or what I said." He later apologised to his bandmates for his behaviour.{{Cite news |last=Mohdin |first=Aamna |date=2019-09-22 |title=Thom Yorke opens up about pain of ex-partner's death |language=en-GB |work=The Observer |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2019/sep/22/thom-yorke-ex-partners-death-desert-island-discs-rachel-owen |access-date=2023-05-06 |issn=0029-7712}}

Paul Q Kolderie, the co-producer of Pablo Honey, observed that Yorke's songwriting improved dramatically after Pablo Honey.{{cite web |last=Monroe |first=Jazz |date=13 March 2019 |title=Radiohead's The Bends: inside the anti-capitalist, anti-cynicism classic |url=https://www.nme.com/features/radioheads-the-bends-at-20-the-story-of-an-anti-capitalist-anti-cynicism-classic-36 |access-date=20 September 2019 |website=NME}} O'Brien later said: "After all that touring on Pablo Honey ... the songs that Thom was writing were so much better. Over a period of a year and a half, suddenly, bang."{{cite web |last=McLean |first=Craig |date=6 February 2020 |title=Radiohead guitarist Ed O'Brien steps up |url=https://theface.com/music/radiohead-guitarist-ed-obrien-album-shangri-la-interview-thom-yorke |access-date=2020-02-08 |website=The Face |language=en-gb}}

Recording Radiohead's second album, The Bends (1995), was stressful, as they felt pressured to release a follow-up to "Creep".{{Cite magazine|last1=Irvin|first1=Jim|last2=Hoskyns|first2=Barney|date=July 1997|title=We Have Lift-Off!|magazine=Mojo|issue=45}} Yorke in particular struggled. According to the band's co-manager, Chris Hufford, "Thom became totally confused about what he wanted to do, what he was doing in a band and in his life, and that turned into a mistrust of everybody else." Yorke said he had a "profound fear of having so much to prove". The Bends was engineered by Nigel Godrich, who became one of Yorke's longest-running collaborators.{{Cite web |last=McKinnon |first=Matthew |date=24 July 2006 |title=Everything in its right place |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/entertainment/everything-in-its-right-place-1.587693 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170717224907/http://www.cbc.ca/news/entertainment/everything-in-its-right-place-1.587693 |archive-date=17 July 2017 |access-date=3 March 2018 |website=CBC}}

The Bends received acclaim and brought Radiohead wider international attention.{{cite news|last=Sullivan|first=Caroline|date=May 1997|title=Aching Heads|newspaper=The Guardian|url=http://citizeninsane.eu/s1997-05-1xGuardian.htm|url-status=dead|access-date=23 August 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151016233036/http://citizeninsane.eu/s1997-05-1xGuardian.htm|archive-date=16 October 2015}} It influenced a generation of British and Irish alternative rock acts;{{cite web |date=29 March 2017 |title=The 50 Best Britpop Albums |url=http://pitchfork.com/features/lists-and-guides/10045-the-50-best-britpop-albums/?page=5 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170602164010/http://pitchfork.com/features/lists-and-guides/10045-the-50-best-britpop-albums/?page=5 |archive-date=2 June 2017 |access-date=30 May 2017 |website=Pitchfork}}{{Cite news |last=Power |first=Ed |date=12 March 2020 |title=Why Radiohead's The Bends is the worst great album of all time |language=en |newspaper=The Irish Times |url=https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/music/why-radiohead-s-the-bends-is-the-worst-great-album-of-all-time-1.4199850 |access-date=2020-09-09}} The Observer wrote that it popularised an "angst-laden falsetto" which "eventually coalesced into an entire decade of sound".{{cite news |date=16 July 2006 |title=The 50 albums that changed music |newspaper=The Observer |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2006/jul/16/popandrock.shopping |url-status=live |access-date=15 October 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141008194254/http://www.theguardian.com/music/2006/jul/16/popandrock.shopping |archive-date=8 October 2014}} The American rock band R.E.M., a major influence on Radiohead, picked them as their support act for their European tour.Randall, p. 177 Yorke befriended the singer, Michael Stipe, who gave him advice about how to deal with fame.Randall, p. 178 Yorke joined R.E.M. to perform their song "E-Bow the Letter" on several occasions from 1998 to 2004.{{Cite web |last=Monroe |first=Jazz |date=27 September 2018 |title=Listen to R.E.M. and Thom Yorke's Version of "E-Bow the Letter" {{!}} Pitchfork |url=https://pitchfork.com/news/listen-to-rem-and-thom-yorkes-version-of-e-bow-the-letter/ |access-date=27 September 2018 |website=Pitchfork |language=en}}

File:Thom Yorke 1998.jpgDuring the production of Radiohead's third album, OK Computer (1997), the members had differing opinions and equal production roles, with Yorke having "the loudest voice", according to O'Brien.Randall, p. 195 OK Computer achieved acclaim and strong sales, establishing Radiohead as one of the leading rock acts of the 1990s.{{cite news |last=Zoric |first=Lauren |date=22 September 2000 |title=I think I'm meant to be dead ... |work=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/friday_review/story/0,,371289,00.html |access-date=18 May 2007}}

Yorke struggled with the attention the success brought him, and the stress of the OK Computer tour. Colin Greenwood described the "hundred-yard stare" in Yorke's eyes when performing, and said "he absolutely did not want to be there... You hate having to put your friend through that experience."{{Cite journal |last=Klosterman |first=Chuck |author-link=Chuck Klosterman |date=July 2023 |title=No more knives |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=N0HASap-qBoC&dq=no%20more%20knives&pg=PA64 |journal=Spin}} Yorke said later:

{{blockquote|When I was a kid, I always assumed that [fame] was going to answer something – fill a gap. And it does the absolute opposite. It happens with everybody. I was so driven for so long, like a fucking animal, and then I woke up one day and someone had given me a little gold plate for OK Computer and I couldn't deal with it for ages.}}

{{anchor|Collaborations}}In 1997, Yorke provided backing vocals for a cover of the 1975 Pink Floyd song "Wish You Were Here" with Sparklehorse.{{Cite web |last=Scheim |first=Benjamin |date=6 May 2016 |title=The history of Thom Yorke on other people's songs |url=https://pitchfork.com/thepitch/1139-the-history-of-thom-yorke-on-other-peoples-songs/ |access-date=19 July 2019 |website=Pitchfork |language=en}} The following year, he duetted on "El President" with Isabel Monteiro of Drugstore, and sang on the Unkle track "Rabbit in Your Headlights", a collaboration with DJ Shadow. Pitchfork cited "Rabbit in Your Headlights" as a "turning point" for Yorke, foreshadowing his work in experimental electronic music.

For the soundtrack of the 1998 film Velvet Goldmine, Yorke, Jonny Greenwood, Andy Mackay of Roxy Music and Bernard Butler of Suede formed a band, the Venus in Furs, to cover Roxy Music songs. In 2016, Pitchfork wrote that Yorke "weirdly comes off as the weak link", with understated vocals that did not resemble the Roxy Music singer Bryan Ferry.

File:Thom yorke radiohead2.jpg

Following the OK Computer tour, Yorke suffered a mental breakdown and found it impossible to write new music.{{cite journal |last=Cavanagh |first=David |author-link=David Cavanagh |date=October 2000 |title=I can see the monsters |journal=Q |pages=96–104}} He experienced imposter syndrome, and became self-critical and over-analytical.{{Cite news |last=Marchese |first=David |date=2019-10-28 |title=How Thom Yorke learned to stop worrying and (mostly) love rock stardom |url=https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/10/28/magazine/thom-yorke-radiohead-interview.html,%20https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/10/28/magazine/thom-yorke-radiohead-interview.html |access-date=2023-07-19 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}} He was approached to score the 1999 film Fight Club, but declined as he was recovering from stress.{{Cite web |date=3 October 2018 |title=Thom Yorke on writing the score for Suspiria |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/radio/play/p06mtlwb |access-date=4 October 2018 |website=BBC Radio 6 Music |language=en-GB}}

Around this period, acts influenced by Radiohead emerged, such as Travis and Coldplay. Yorke resented them, feeling they had copied him.{{Cite magazine |last=Greene |first=Andy |date=2017-06-16 |title=Radiohead's OK Computer: an oral history |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/radioheads-ok-computer-an-oral-history-196156/ |magazine=Rolling Stone |language=en-US |access-date=2022-07-25}} He said in 2006: "I was really, really upset about it, and I tried my absolute best not to be, but yeah, it was kind of like— that sort of thing of missing the point completely."{{Cite web |last=Plagenhoef |first=Scott |date=16 August 2006 |title=Thom Yorke |url=https://pitchfork.com/features/interview/6402-thom-yorke/ |access-date=2022-07-25 |website=Pitchfork |language=en}} Godrich felt Yorke was oversensitive and told him he did not invent "guys singing in falsetto with an acoustic guitar". He saw Yorke's resentment as "a byproduct of being so focused on what he wanted to do that he figures he's the only person that's ever had that idea".

To recuperate, Yorke moved to Cornwall and spent time walking the cliffs, writing and drawing. He restricted his songwriting to piano; the first song he wrote was "Everything in Its Right Place". During this period, Yorke listened almost exclusively to the electronic music of artists such as Aphex Twin and Autechre, saying: "It was refreshing because the music was all structures and had no human voices in it. But I felt just as emotional about it as I'd ever felt about guitar music." Yorke gradually relaxed and came to enjoy his work again.

Radiohead took Yorke's electronic influences to their next albums Kid A (2000) and Amnesiac (2001), processing vocals, obscuring lyrics, and using electronic instruments such as synthesisers, drum machines and samplers. The albums divided listeners, but were commercially successful and later attracted acclaim. Kid A was named the best album of the decade by Rolling Stone and Pitchfork.{{Cite magazine |date=18 July 2011 |title=100 Best Albums of the 2000s |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/100-best-albums-of-the-2000s-153375/ |magazine=Rolling Stone}}{{Cite web |title=The 200 Best Albums of the 2000s - Page 2 |url=https://pitchfork.com/features/lists-and-guides/7710-the-top-200-albums-of-the-2000s-20-1/?page=2 |website=Pitchfork| date=2 October 2009 }}

In 2000, Yorke contributed vocals to three tracks on the PJ Harvey album Stories from the City, Stories from the Sea, and duetted with Björk on her song "I've Seen It All" from her soundtrack album Selmasongs. In 2002, Yorke performed at the Bridge School Benefit, a charity concert organised by the Canadian songwriter Neil Young, one of Yorke's influences. His set included a cover of Young's 1970 song "After the Gold Rush", performed on the piano Young wrote it on.{{Cite magazine |last=Greene |first=Andy |date=2013-02-12 |title=Flashback: Thom Yorke unplugs in 2002 |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/flashback-thom-yorke-unplugs-at-2002-bridge-school-benefit-46628/ |access-date=2022-01-15 |magazine=Rolling Stone |language=en-US}}

Radiohead released their sixth album, Hail to the Thief, a blend of rock and electronic music, in 2003. Yorke wrote many of its lyrics in response to the war on terror and the resurgence of right-wing politics in the west after the turn of the millennium,{{Cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/bitter-prophet-thom-yorke-on-hail-to-the-thief-87869/|title=Bitter Prophet: Thom Yorke on Hail to the Thief|last=Fricke|first=David|date=26 July 2006|magazine=Rolling Stone|access-date=24 August 2018|language=en-US}} and his shifting worldview after becoming a father.{{cite web|url=https://www.spin.com/2003/06/fitter-happier-radiohead-return/|title=Fitter Happier: Radiohead Return|author=Chuck Klosterman|date=29 June 2003|work=Spin|access-date=18 February 2012}} Yorke and Jonny Greenwood contributed to the 2004 Band Aid 20 single "Do They Know It's Christmas?", produced by Godrich.{{cite web |last=Godrich |first=Nigel |author-link=Nigel Godrich |date=29 November 2009 |title=Flashback: making Band Aid 20 |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2009/nov/01/last-waltz-dylan-the-band |access-date=2 May 2015 |website=The Guardian}}

Yorke recorded his debut solo album, The Eraser, during Radiohead's 2004 hiatus. It comprises electronics songs recorded and edited with computers. Yorke, who formed Radiohead while the members were in school, said he was curious to try working alone. He stressed that Radiohead were not splitting up and that the album was made "with their blessing".{{cite web |last=Lapatine |first=Scott |date=13 May 2006 |title=Eraserhead: Thom Yorke Goes Solo |url=https://www.stereogum.com/2602/eraserhead_thom_yorke_goes_solo/news/ |access-date=3 May 2015 |website=Stereogum}} According to Jonny Greenwood, Radiohead were happy for Yorke to make the album.{{cite news |last=Paytress |first=Mark |date=February 2008 |title=CHASING RAIN_BOWS |pages=75–85 |work=Mojo}}

The Eraser was released in 2006 on the independent label XL Recordings, backed by the singles "Harrowdown Hill", which reached number 23 in the UK Singles Chart,{{Cite web |title=Harrowdown Hill {{!}} Full Official Chart History |url=https://www.officialcharts.com/search/singles/harrowdown-hill/ |access-date=2021-08-22 |website=UK Singles Chart |language=en}} and "Analyse".{{cite web |title=Harrowdown Hill |url=http://www.officialcharts.com/search/singles/harrowdown-hill/ |access-date=15 March 2018 |publisher=UK Singles Chart}} It reached the top ten in the UK, Ireland, United States, Canada and Australia, and was nominated for the 2006 Mercury Prize{{cite web |date=5 September 2006 |title=Arctic Monkeys win 2006 Mercury Music Prize |url=https://www.nme.com/news/nme/24216 |access-date=10 June 2009 |work=NME}} and the 2007 Grammy Award for Best Alternative Music Album.{{cite news |last=Pareles |first=Jon |date=9 January 1992 |title=Grammy Short List: Many For a Few |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1992/01/09/arts/grammy-short-list-many-for-a-few.html?pagewanted=1 |access-date=30 April 2010}} It was followed by a B-sides compilation, Spitting Feathers,{{Cite web |title=Spitting Feathers - Thom Yorke {{!}} Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards {{!}} AllMusic |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/spitting-feathers-mw0000457704 |access-date=3 May 2015 |website=AllMusic}} and a remix album by various artists, The Eraser Rmxs.{{Cite web |last=Dombal |first=Ryan |date=23 January 2009 |title=Thom Yorke: The Eraser Rmxs |url=https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/12612-the-eraser-rmxs/ |access-date=2 May 2015 |website=Pitchfork}} In 2005, Yorke performed on the pilot episode of the music television program From the Basement, created by Godrich.{{Cite web |last=Torres |first=Eric |date=2021-04-14 |title=Radiohead unearth Thom Yorke's 2005 From the Basement concert |url=https://pitchfork.com/news/radiohead-unearth-thom-yorkes-2005-from-the-basement-concert-watch/ |access-date=2025-06-16 |website=Pitchfork |language=en-US}}

In 2007, Radiohead independently released their seventh album, In Rainbows, as a pay-what-you-want download, the first for a major act. The release made headlines worldwide and sparked debate about the implications for the music industry.{{cite news |author=Pareles |first=Jon |author-link=Jon Pareles |date=9 December 2007 |title=Pay What You Want for This Article |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/09/arts/music/09pare.html?ex=1354856400&en=ec2f1c29937292be&ei=5090&partner=rssuserland&emc=rss&pagewanted=all |access-date=30 December 2007 |work=The New York Times}} Yorke described it as a statement of Radiohead's belief in the value of music and a "contract of faith" between musicians and audiences. In the same year, Yorke sang on the Modeselektor track "The White Flash" from the album Happy Birthday!. Pitchfork likened it to The Eraser and wrote that Yorke's vocals "work so perfectly that it feels like this is his band". Yorke also sang backing vocals on Björk's 2008 charity single "Náttúra".

File:Thom Yorke Glastonbury Festival 2010.jpg]]In 2009, Yorke released a cover of the Miracle Legion song "All for the Best" with his brother, Andy, for the compilation Ciao My Shining Star: The Songs of Mark Mulcahy.{{Cite magazine |last=Kreps |first=Daniel |date=2009-09-18 |title=Video debut: Thom Yorke covers Mark Mulcahy's 'All for the Best' |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/video-debut-thom-yorke-covers-mark-mulcahys-all-for-the-best-2-255273/ |access-date=2024-11-09 |magazine=Rolling Stone |language=en-US}} In July, he performed solo at the Latitude Festival in Suffolk{{cite web |date=19 July 2009 |title=Thom Yorke debuts new song at Latitude festival – video |url=https://www.nme.com/news/music/radiohead-411-1312210 |access-date=25 January 2022 |website=NME}} and released a double-A-side single, "FeelingPulledApartByHorses/TheHollowEarth".{{cite web |last=Lindsay |first=Andrew |title=Thom Yorke confirms new single |url=http://stereokill.net/2009/09/04/thom-yorke-confirms-new-single/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091212014815/http://stereokill.net/2009/09/04/thom-yorke-confirms-new-single/ |archive-date=12 December 2009 |access-date=17 October 2011 |publisher=Stereokill.net}} He also contributed the track "Hearing Damage" to the Twilight Saga: New Moon film soundtrack.{{Citation |last=Kelly |first=Zach |title=Listen to 'Hearing Damage' by Thom Yorke |date=16 October 2009 |work=Pitchfork |url=https://pitchfork.com/reviews/tracks/11565-hearing-damage/ |access-date=27 December 2018 |language=en}}

That year, Yorke formed a new band, Atoms for Peace, to perform songs from The Eraser.{{cite web |last=Lea |first=Tom |date=28 January 2013 |title=A New Career in a New Town: Radiohead's Thom Yorke and Nigel Godrich open Pandora's Box and run Amok as Atoms for Peace |url=http://www.factmag.com/2013/01/28/atoms-for-peace-thom-yorke-interview/ |access-date=2 May 2015 |website=Fact}} Alongside Yorke, the band comprises Godrich on keyboards and guitar, the bassist Flea of the Red Hot Chili Peppers, the drummer Joey Waronker and the percussionist Mauro Refosco of Forro in the Dark. Yorke said: "God love 'em but I've been playing with [Radiohead] since I was 16, and to do this was quite a trip ... It felt like we'd knocked a hole in a wall, and we should just fucking go through it."

Atoms for Peace performed eight North American shows in 2010.{{cite magazine |date=5 November 2012 |title=Q&A: Thom Yorke on Atoms for Peace's 'Mechanistic' New Album |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/blogs/alternate-take/q-a-thom-yorke-on-atoms-for-peaces-mechanistic-new-album-20121105 |url-status=dead |magazine=Rolling Stone |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121107122735/http://www.rollingstone.com/music/blogs/alternate-take/q-a-thom-yorke-on-atoms-for-peaces-mechanistic-new-album-20121105 |archive-date=7 November 2012 |access-date=18 February 2013}} They went unnamed for early performances, billed as "Thom Yorke" or "??????".{{Cite web |last=Singh |first=Amrit |date=25 February 2010 |title=Thom Yorke names his ???? band Atoms for Peace, announces tour dates |url=https://www.stereogum.com/278731/thom-yorke-names-his-band-announces-tour-dates/news/ |access-date=12 April 2016 |website=Stereogum}} In February, Yorke performed a benefit concert at the Cambridge Corn Exchange for the British Green Party. In June, he performed a surprise set at Glastonbury Festival with Jonny Greenwood, performing Eraser and Radiohead songs.{{cite web |last=Fitzmaurice |first=Larry |date=25 June 2010 |title=Thom Yorke and Jonny Greenwood play surprise Glastonbury set |url=https://pitchfork.com/news/39283-thom-yorke-and-jonny-greenwood-play-surprise-glastonbury-set/ |access-date=3 January 2015 |website=Pitchfork}}

Yorke created two remixes of the 2010 single "Gazzillion Ear" by the rapper MF Doom. The second remix went unreleased until 2021, after MF Doom's death.{{Cite web |last=Ruiz |first=Matthew Ismael |date=2021-08-12 |title=Thom Yorke remixes MF Doom's 'Gazzillion Ear': Listen |url=https://pitchfork.com/news/thom-yorke-remixes-mf-dooms-gazzillion-ear-listen/ |access-date=2021-08-12 |website=Pitchfork |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |last=Patrin |first=Nate |date=7 January 2010 |title=Doom: Gazzillion Ear EP |url=https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/13800-gazzillion-ear-ep/#:~:text=It's%20also%20split%20up,%20giving,a%20moment%20sabotages%20the%20momentum. |access-date=2025-03-13 |website=Pitchfork |language=en-US}} Yorke provided vocals for "...And the World Laughs with You" from the Flying Lotus album Cosmogramma, and for "Shipwreck" and "This" on the Modeselektor album Monkeytown, both released in 2010.{{cite web |last=Patrin |first=Nate |date=3 October 2011 |title=Modeselektor: Monkeytown |url=https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/15867-modeselektor-monkeytown/ |access-date=28 April 2015 |website=Pitchfork}} He joined Modeselektor to perform "Shipwreck" at Coachella in April 2012.{{Cite web |last=Stevens |first=Jenny |date=2012-04-23 |title=Radiohead's Thom Yorke joins Modeselektor onstage at Coachella |url=https://www.nme.com/news/music/thom-yorke-37-1276194 |access-date=2025-03-07 |website=NME |language=en-GB}} Along with Damien Rice and Philip Glass, he contributed to the soundtrack for the 2010 documentary When the Dragon Swallowed the Sun.{{cite web |last1=Bailey |first1=Rachel |date=11 January 2010 |title=Thom Yorke Contributes to Documentary Soundtrack, Remixes Liars as Radiohead Returns to Studio |url=https://www.pastemagazine.com/articles/2010/01/thom-yorke-contributes-to-documentary-soundtrack-n.html |access-date=15 March 2018 |website=Paste |archive-date=15 March 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180315133956/https://www.pastemagazine.com/articles/2010/01/thom-yorke-contributes-to-documentary-soundtrack-n.html |url-status=dead }}

File:Melt Festival 2013 - Atoms For Peace-6.jpg in 2013|alt=]]In 2011, Radiohead released their eighth album, The King of Limbs, which Yorke described as "an expression of physical movements and wildness".{{Cite episode|title='Everything In Its Right Place' interview outtake: "Another outtake from my @Radiohead interview on @npratc with Thom and Ed. What's The King of Limbs about?"|url=http://tvider.com/view/66328|access-date=7 October 2011|series=All Things Considered|network=NPR|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111010004818/http://tvider.com/view/66328|archive-date=10 October 2011}} Yorke sought to move further from conventional recording methods.{{Cite magazine |last=Fricke |first=David |author-link=David Fricke |date=26 April 2012 |title=Radiohead reconnect |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/radiohead-reconnect-20120426 |url-status=live |magazine=Rolling Stone |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160317233858/http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/radiohead-reconnect-20120426 |archive-date=17 March 2016 |access-date=11 April 2016}} The music video for "Lotus Flower", featuring Yorke's erratic dancing, became an internet meme.{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/music/reviews/wd4z|title=Review of Radiohead — The King of Limbs|date=18 February 2011|author=Mike Diver|work=BBC|access-date=20 March 2012}} By 2011, Radiohead had sold more than 30 million albums.{{Cite web |last=Jonathan |first=Emma |date=3 May 2011 |title=BBC Worldwide takes exclusive Radiohead performance to the world |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/bbcworldwide/worldwidestories/pressreleases/2011/05_may/radiohead.shtml |access-date=2023-11-30 |website=BBC |language=en-GB}}

In the same year, Yorke collaborated with the electronic artists Burial and Four Tet on "Ego" and "Mirror",{{Cite web |last=Monroe |first=Jazz |date=2 December 2020 |title=Thom Yorke, Burial, and Four Tet Reportedly Release New Song |url=https://pitchfork.com/news/thom-yorke-burial-and-four-tet-reportedly-release-new-song/ |access-date=2 December 2020 |website=Pitchfork |language=en-us}} and he and Greenwood collaborated with MF Doom on "Retarded Fren".{{cite web |last=Pelly |first=Jenn |date=November 2011 |title=Hear Thom Yorke, Jonny Greenwood, and Doom: 'Retarded Fren' |url=https://pitchfork.com/news/44495-hear-thom-yorke-jonny-greenwood-and-doom-retarded-fren/ |access-date=28 April 2015 |website=Pitchfork}} In 2012, Yorke contributed music to a show by the fashion label Rag & Bone,{{cite magazine |author=Nika |first=Colleen |title=Thom Yorke's Rag and Bone Soundtrack Emerges Online |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/blogs/thread-count/thom-yorkes-rag-and-bone-soundtrack-emerges-online-20120106 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120108221802/http://www.rollingstone.com/music/blogs/thread-count/thom-yorkes-rag-and-bone-soundtrack-emerges-online-20120106 |archive-date=8 January 2012 |access-date=16 September 2012 |magazine=Rolling Stone}} and sang on "Electric Candyman" on the Flying Lotus album Until the Quiet Comes. He also remixed the single "Hold On" by the electronic musician Sbtrkt, under the name Sisi BakBak. His identity was not confirmed until September 2014.{{cite web |last=Pelly |first=John |date=2 September 2014 |title=Thom Yorke Confirms That He Was Sisi BakBak, Mysterious SBTRKT Remixer |url=https://pitchfork.com/news/56534-thom-yorke-confirms-that-he-was-sisi-bakbak-mysterious-sbtrkt-remixer/ |access-date=9 September 2014 |website=Pitchfork |publisher=}}

In February 2013, Atoms for Peace released an album, Amok,{{cite news |last=Petridis |first=Alexis |date=21 February 2013 |title=Atoms for Peace: Amok – review |work=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2013/feb/21/atoms-for-peace-amok-review |access-date=1 January 2014}} followed by a tour of Europe, the US and Japan.{{cite web |date=18 March 2013 |title=Atoms for Peace Announce U.S. and Japanese Dates |url=https://pitchfork.com/news/49991-atoms-for-peace-announce-us-and-japanese-dates/ |access-date=13 November 2015 |website=Pitchfork |language=en-US}} Amok received generally positive reviews,{{cite web |title=Reviews for Amok by Atoms for Peace |url=https://www.metacritic.com/music/amok/atoms-for-peace |access-date=February 22, 2013 |publisher=Metacritic}} though some critics felt it was too similar to Yorke's solo work.{{Cite web |last=Liedel |first=Kevin |date=22 February 2013 |title=Review: Atoms for Peace, Amok |url=https://www.slantmagazine.com/music/atoms-for-peace-amok/ |access-date=2021-06-02 |website=Slant |language=en-US}}{{cite web |last=Tan |first=Irving |date=Feb 21, 2013 |title=Album Review - Atoms for Peace: Amok |url=https://www.sputnikmusic.com/review/55208/Atoms-for-Peace-Amok/ |access-date=22 February 2013 |publisher=Sputnikmusic}}{{cite web |last=Berman |first=Stuart |date=February 25, 2013 |title=Atoms for Peace: AMOK |url=https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/17632-atoms-for-peace-amok/ |access-date=February 25, 2013 |work=Pitchfork}} That year, Yorke and Jonny Greenwood contributed music to The UK Gold, a documentary about tax avoidance. The soundtrack, described by Rolling Stone as a series of "minimalist soundscapes", was released free in February 2015 through the online music platform SoundCloud.{{cite magazine |last=Kreps |first=Daniel |date=25 February 2015 |title=Listen to Thom Yorke's Minimalist 'UK Gold' Score Contributions |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/listen-to-thom-yorkes-minimalist-uk-gold-score-contributions-20150225 |access-date=25 February 2015 |magazine=Rolling Stone}}

Yorke released his second solo album, Tomorrow's Modern Boxes, via BitTorrent on 26 September 2014. It became the most torrented album of 2014 (excluding piracy),{{cite web |last=Daly |first=Rhian |date=27 December 2014 |title=Thom Yorke tops list of most legally downloaded artists on BitTorrent in 2014 |url=https://www.nme.com/news/thom-yorke/81927 |access-date=27 December 2014 |website=NME}} with more than a million downloads in its first six days.{{cite web |last=Young |first=Alex |date=3 October 2014 |title=Thom Yorke's new solo album receives one million downloads in six days |url=https://consequence.net/2014/10/thom-yorkes-new-solo-album-sells-one-million-copies-in-six-days/ |access-date=3 October 2014 |publisher=Consequence of Sound}} Yorke and Godrich hoped to use the BitTorrent release to hand "some control of internet commerce back to people who are creating the work".{{cite web |last1=Gordon |first1=Jeremy |date=26 September 2014 |title=Thom Yorke announces new album Tomorrow's Modern Boxes |url=https://pitchfork.com/news/56876-thom-yorke-announces-new-album-tomorrows-modern-boxes |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140926232956/http://pitchfork.com/news/56876-thom-yorke-announces-new-album-tomorrows-modern-boxes/ |archive-date=26 September 2014 |access-date=26 September 2014 |website=Pitchfork}} In December 2014, Yorke released the album on the online music platform Bandcamp along with a new track, "Youwouldn'tlikemewhenI'mangry".{{cite web |date=26 December 2014 |title=Thom Yorke – "Youwouldn'tlikemewhenI'mangry" - Stereogum |url=https://www.stereogum.com/1726529/thom-yorke-you-wouldnt-like-me-when-im-angry/mp3s/ |access-date=29 December 2014 |work=Stereogum}}

In 2015, Yorke contributed a soundtrack, Subterranea, to an installation of Radiohead artwork, The Panic Office, in Sydney, Australia. The soundtrack was composed of field recordings made in the English countryside and played on speakers at different heights with different frequency ranges. The radio station Triple J described it as similar to the ambient sections of Tomorrow's Modern Boxes, with some digitally spoken sections similar to "Fitter Happier" from OK Computer. The music was not released.{{cite web |title=Thom Yorke produces new music for Australian exhibition of Radiohead artwork |url=http://www.abc.net.au/triplej/musicnews/s4240562.htm |access-date=22 May 2015 |website=Triple J}} In July 2015, Yorke joined the band Portishead at the Latitude Festival to perform their song "The Rip".{{cite web |date=18 July 2015 |title=Thom Yorke Joins Portishead On Stage at Latitude Festival |url=https://pitchfork.com/news/60435-thom-yorke-joins-portishead-on-stage-at-latitude-festival/ |access-date=21 July 2015 |website=Pitchfork}}

Yorke composed music for a 2015 production of Harold Pinter's 1971 play Old Times by the Roundabout Theater Company in New York City. The director described the music as "primeval, unusual ... The sort of neurosis within [Yorke's] music certainly has elucidated elements of the compulsive repetition of the play."{{cite web |last=Chow |first=Andrew R. |date=12 August 2015 |title=Thom Yorke Is Set to Compose Music for a Pinter Play on Broadway |url=http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/08/12/thom-yorke-is-set-to-compose-music-for-a-pinter-play-on-broadway/?smid=nytimesarts&_r=2 |access-date=12 August 2015 |website=New York Times}} That year, Yorke performed with Godrich and the audiovisual artist Tarik Barri at the Latitude Festival in the UK and Summer Sonic in Japan.{{cite web |last=Camp |first=Zoe |date=8 June 2015 |title=Thom Yorke announces Tomorrow's Modern Boxes concert in Japan |url=https://pitchfork.com/news/59863-thom-yorke-announces-tomorrows-modern-boxes-concert-in-japan/ |access-date=8 June 2015 |website=Pitchfork}}

Radiohead released their ninth album, A Moon Shaped Pool, on 8 May 2016.{{cite web |date=8 May 2016 |title=Radiohead Release New Album A Moon Shaped Pool |url=https://pitchfork.com/news/65334-radiohead-release-new-album-a-moon-shaped-pool/ |access-date=9 May 2016 |website=Pitchfork}} Several critics felt its lyrics were coloured by Yorke's separation from his partner, Rachel Owen. Spencer Kornhaber of the Atlantic wrote that A Moon Shaped Pool "makes the most sense when heard as a document of a wrenching chapter for one human being".{{Cite news |last=Kornhaber |first=Spencer |date=11 May 2016 |title=A Moon Shaped Pool is Radiohead's breakup with pop |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2016/05/radiohead-moon-shaped-pool-review-sculpture-strange-leap/482076/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170214183620/https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2016/05/radiohead-moon-shaped-pool-review-sculpture-strange-leap/482076/ |archive-date=14 February 2017 |access-date=14 February 2017 |newspaper=The Atlantic |language=en-US |df=dmy-all}} Yorke contributed vocals and appeared in the video for "Beautiful People" from Mark Pritchard's 2016 album Under the Sun.{{cite web |date=2 March 2016 |title=Mark Pritchard Enlists Thom Yorke, Linda Perhacs, More for New Album, Shares 'Sad Alron' Video |url=https://pitchfork.com/news/63897-mark-pritchard-enlists-thom-yorke-linda-perhacs-more-for-new-album-shares-sad-alron-video/ |access-date=2 March 2016 |website=Pitchfork |language=}}{{Cite news |last=Gibsone |first=Harriet |date=1 September 2016 |title=Watch Mark Pritchard and Thom Yorke's Beautiful People |language=en-GB |newspaper=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2016/sep/01/watch-mark-pritchard-thom-yorke-beautiful-people-video-guardian-exclusive |access-date=1 September 2016 |issn=0261-3077}} In August 2017, Yorke and Jonny Greenwood performed a benefit concert in the Marche, Italy, to help restoration efforts following the August 2016 Central Italy earthquake.{{Cite web |last=Monroe |first=Jazz |date=20 June 2017 |title=Radiohead announce Italian earthquake benefit show |url=https://pitchfork.com/news/radiohead-announce-italian-earthquake-benefit-show/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170822182651/http://pitchfork.com/news/radiohead-announce-italian-earthquake-benefit-show/ |archive-date=22 August 2017 |access-date=22 August 2017 |website=Pitchfork}}

Yorke's first feature film soundtrack, Suspiria, composed for the 2018 horror film, was released on 26 October 2018 by XL.{{Cite news |last=Murray |first=Robin |date=3 October 2018 |title=Listen: Thom Yorke - 'Has Ended' |language=en |work=Clash Magazine |url=https://www.clashmusic.com/news/listen-thom-yorke-has-ended |access-date=3 October 2018}} It was Yorke's first project since The Bends not to feature production from his longtime collaborator Nigel Godrich;{{Cite magazine |last=Kreps |first=Daniel |date=2023-11-13 |title=Radiohead Side Project the Smile Return With New Album 'Wall of Eyes' |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/the-smile-new-album-wall-of-eyes-paul-thomas-anderson-video-1234875865/ |access-date=2023-11-14 |magazine=Rolling Stone |language=en-US}} instead, he produced it with Sam Petts-Davies. It features the London Contemporary Orchestra and Choir, and Yorke's son, Noah, on drums.{{Cite news |last=Young |first=Alex |date=4 September 2018 |title=Thom Yorke details Suspiria soundtrack, shares "Suspirium": Stream |language=en-US |work=Consequence of Sound |url=https://consequence.net/2018/09/thom-yorke-suspiria-details/ |access-date=4 September 2018}} Yorke cited inspiration from the 1982 Blade Runner soundtrack{{Cite web |last=Yoo |first=Noah |date=3 September 2018 |title=Thom Yorke Details New Suspiria Soundtrack, Shares New Song: Listen |url=https://pitchfork.com/news/thom-yorke-details-new-suspiria-soundtrack-shares-new-song-listen/ |access-date=3 September 2018 |website=Pitchfork |language=en}} and music from Suspiria's 1977 Berlin setting, such as krautrock.{{Cite magazine |last=Kreps |first=Daniel |date=1 September 2018 |title=Thom Yorke Talks 'Suspiria' Score at Venice Film Festival |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/thom-yorke-talks-suspiria-score-at-venice-film-festival-718444/ |magazine=Rolling Stone |language=en-US |access-date=3 September 2018}} The lyrics do not follow the film narrative and were influenced by discourse surrounding President Donald Trump and Brexit.{{Cite news |date=3 October 2018 |title=Thom Yorke says Tory government are treating UK 'like lemmings running off a cliff' |language=en-US |work=NME |url=https://www.nme.com/news/music/thom-yorke-says-tory-government-treating-uk-like-lemmings-running-off-cliff-2386203 |access-date=5 October 2018}} "Suspirium" was nominated for Best Song Written for Visual Media at the 2020 Grammy Awards.{{Cite web |date=20 November 2019 |title=Grammy Nominations 2020: See the Full List of Nominees Here |url=https://pitchfork.com/news/grammy-nominations-2020-see-full-list-of-nominees-here/ |access-date=20 November 2019 |website=Pitchfork |language=en}}

Yorke performed two shows in 2017, and toured Europe and the US in 2018.{{Cite web |date=19 March 2018 |title=Thom Yorke Announces Tour {{!}} Pitchfork |url=https://pitchfork.com/news/thom-yorke-announces-tour/ |access-date=23 March 2018 |website=pitchfork.com |language=en}}{{Cite web |title=Thom Yorke Announces USA Tour |url=http://www.musicnewsnet.com/2018/08/thom-yorke-announces-usa-tour.html |access-date=14 August 2018 |website=Music News Net |archive-date=14 August 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180814001630/http://www.musicnewsnet.com/2018/08/thom-yorke-announces-usa-tour.html |url-status=dead }} That year, he and the artist Tarik Barri created an audiovisual exhibition, "City Rats", commissioned by the Institute for Sound and Music in Berlin.{{Cite web |last=Britton |first=Luke Morgan |date=19 April 2018 |title=Thom Yorke previews atmospheric new music from art installation |url=https://www.nme.com/news/music/thom-yorke-previews-new-music-city-rats-art-installation-2296918 |access-date=26 June 2019 |website=NME |language=en-US}} I See You, a limited-edition zine edited by Yorke with Crack Magazine, was published in September 2018, with profits donated to Greenpeace.{{Cite web |title=I See You: A zine by Crack Magazine curated by Thom Yorke |url=https://crackmagazine.net/product/news/i-see-you-a-zine-by-crack-magazine-curated-by-thom-yorke/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190822173501/https://crackmagazine.net/product/news/i-see-you-a-zine-by-crack-magazine-curated-by-thom-yorke/ |archive-date=22 August 2019 |access-date=22 August 2019 |website=Crack}} Yorke contributed music to the 2018 short film "Why Can't We Get Along?" for Rag & Bone.{{Cite web |date=2 February 2018 |title=Thom Yorke Soundtracks Short Film With New Music |url=https://pitchfork.com/news/thom-yorke-soundtracks-short-film-with-new-music-watch/ |access-date=3 February 2018 |website=Pitchfork |language=}}

On 29 March 2019, Yorke was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Radiohead.{{Cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/radiohead-janet-jackson-stevie-nicks-rock-roll-hall-of-fame-2019-class-767917/|title=Radiohead, Janet Jackson, Stevie Nicks Lead Rock and Roll Hall of Fame 2019 Class|last=Greene|first=Andy|date=13 December 2018|magazine=Rolling Stone|language=en-US|access-date=13 December 2018}} He did not attend the induction ceremony, citing cultural differences between the UK and the US and his negative experience of the Brit Awards, "which is like this sort of drunken car crash that you don't want to get involved with".{{Cite magazine |last=Kreps |first=Daniel |date=2019-01-09 |title=Thom Yorke says he won't attend Radiohead's Rock Hall induction |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/thom-yorke-radiohead-rock-hall-induction-776808/ |access-date=2022-03-10 |magazine=Rolling Stone |language=en-US}}

Yorke's third solo album, Anima, was released on 27 June 2019.{{cite web |last1=Bloom |first1=Madison |date=20 June 2019 |title=Thom Yorke announces new album Anima |url=https://pitchfork.com/news/thom-yorke-announces-new-album-anima/ |access-date=20 June 2019 |website=Pitchfork}} It became Yorke's first number-one album on the Billboard Dance/Electronic Albums chart.{{Cite magazine|url=https://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/chart-beat/8525755/thom-yorke-first-no-1-top-dance-electronic-albums-chart|title=Thom Yorke Earns First No. 1 on Top Dance/Electronic Albums Chart with 'Anima'|last=Murray|first=Gordon|date=1 August 2019|magazine=Billboard|language=en|access-date=3 August 2019}} At the 2020 Grammy Awards, it was nominated for Best Alternative Music Album and Best Boxed or Special Limited Edition Package. Philip Sherburne of Pitchfork wrote that it was Yorke's most ambitious and assured solo album and the first that felt complete without Radiohead.{{cite web |last=Sherburne |first=Philip |author-link=Philip Sherburne |date=27 June 2019 |title=Thom Yorke: Anima |url=https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/thom-yorke-anima/ |access-date=27 June 2019 |work=Pitchfork}} The album was accompanied by a short film directed by Paul Thomas Anderson, which was nominated for the Grammy for Best Music Film. In August, Yorke released Not the News Rmx EP, comprising an extended version of the Anima track "Not the News" plus remixes by various artists.{{Cite web |last=Matozzo |first=Marissa |date=August 2019 |title=Thom Yorke Announces Remix EP Not the News |url=https://www.pastemagazine.com/articles/2019/08/thom-yorke-announces-remixed-ep-release.html |access-date=2 August 2019 |website=Paste Magazine |language=en}} A solo tour set to begin in March 2020 was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.{{Cite web |last=Strauss |first=Matthew |date=4 February 2021 |title=Thom Yorke cancels US tour |url=https://pitchfork.com/news/thom-yorke-cancels-us-tour/ |access-date=2021-03-25 |website=Pitchfork |language=en-us}}

For the 2019 film Motherless Brooklyn, Yorke wrote "Daily Battles", with horns by his Atoms for Peace bandmate Flea. The director, Edward Norton, enlisted the jazz musician Wynton Marsalis to rearrange the song as a ballad reminiscent of 1950s Miles Davis.{{Cite magazine |last=Kreps |first=Daniel |date=29 July 2019 |title=Edward Norton on How Thom Yorke Helped Shape New Film 'Motherless Brooklyn' |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/edward-norton-thom-yorke-motherless-brooklyn-daily-battles-863783/ |magazine=Rolling Stone |language=en-US |access-date=29 July 2019}} It was shortlisted for Best Original Song at the 92nd Academy Awards.{{Cite web |last=Bloom |first=Madison |date=16 December 2019 |title=Oscars 2020: Beyoncé, Thom Yorke, Randy Newman Make Best Original Song Nominees Shortlist |url=https://pitchfork.com/news/oscars-2020-beyonce-thom-yorke-randy-newman-make-best-original-song-nominees-shortlist/ |access-date=16 December 2019 |website=Pitchfork |language=en}} Yorke's first classical composition, "Don't Fear the Light", written for the piano duo Katia and Marielle Labeque, debuted in April 2019.{{Cite web |last=Monroe |first=Jazz |date=8 April 2019 |title=Thom Yorke's contemporary classical debut is a daring triumph: live review |url=https://pitchfork.com/thepitch/thom-yorkes-contemporary-classical-debut-is-a-daring-triumph-live-review/ |access-date=10 April 2019 |website=Pitchfork |language=en}}

In April 2020, Yorke performed a new song from his home, "Plasticine Figures", for The Tonight Show.{{Cite web |last=Richards |first=Will |date=30 April 2020 |title=Watch Thom Yorke debut new song 'Plasticine Figures' on The Tonight Show |url=https://www.nme.com/news/music/thom-yorke-to-debut-new-song-plasticine-figures-on-fallon-tonight-2656517 |access-date=30 April 2020 |website=NME |language=en-GB}} In the same year, he collaborated with Four Tet and Burial again on "Her Revolution" and "His Rope", and remixed "Isolation Theme" by the electronic musician Clark.{{Cite web |last=Monroe |first=Jazz |date=2020-09-16 |title=Thom Yorke Remixes Clark's "Isolation Theme" |url=https://pitchfork.com/news/thom-yorke-remixes-clarks-isolation-theme-listen/ |access-date=2023-01-24 |website=Pitchfork |language=en-US}} Yorke said his remix mirrored the COVID-19 lockdowns, "entering a new type of silence".

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In March 2021, Yorke contributed music to shows by the Japanese fashion designer Jun Takahashi, including a remixed version of "Creep".{{Cite web |last=Yoo |first=Noah |date=20 March 2021 |title=Thom Yorke Remixes "Creep" for Japanese Fashion Show: Watch |url=https://pitchfork.com/news/thom-yorke-remixes-creep-for-japanese-fashion-show-watch/ |access-date=2021-03-20 |website=Pitchfork |language=en-us}} In May, Yorke debuted a new band, the Smile, with Jonny Greenwood and the jazz drummer Tom Skinner, produced by Godrich.{{Cite web|date=2021-05-22|title=Radiohead's Thom Yorke and Jonny Greenwood form new project, the Smile|url=http://www.theguardian.com/music/2021/may/22/radioheads-thom-yorke-and-jonny-greenwood-form-new-project-the-smile|access-date=2021-05-22|website=The Guardian|language=en}} Greenwood said the project was a way for him and Yorke to work together during the COVID-19 lockdowns.{{Cite web|date=2021-09-03|title=Jonny Greenwood on writing the soundtrack for new Princess Diana biopic Spencer|url=https://www.nme.com/news/music/jonny-greenwood-spencer-soundtrack-interview-radiohead-new-album-the-smile-3036092|access-date=2021-09-03|website=NME|language=en-GB}} The Smile made their surprise debut in a performance streamed by Glastonbury Festival on May 22, with Yorke singing and playing guitar, bass, Moog synthesiser and Rhodes piano.{{Cite web |last=Hussey |first=Allison |title=A Look at Thom Yorke and Jonny Greenwood's Debut as the Smile at Glastonbury 2021 Livestream |url=https://pitchfork.com/news/a-look-at-thom-yorke-and-jonny-greenwoods-debut-as-the-smile-at-glastonbury-2021-livestream/ |access-date=2021-05-23 |website=Pitchfork |date=23 May 2021 |language=en-US}} The Guardian critic Alexis Petridis said the Smile "sound like a simultaneously more skeletal and knottier version of Radiohead", exploring more progressive rock influences with unusual time signatures, complex riffs and "hard-driving" motorik psychedelia.{{Cite web|last=Petridis|first=Alexis|author-link=Alexis Petridis|date=2021-05-23|title=Live at Worthy Farm review – beautiful music marred by technical meltdown|url=http://www.theguardian.com/music/2021/may/23/live-at-worthy-farm-review-glastonburys-dodgy-pyramid-scheme-has-stunning-music|access-date=2021-05-23|website=The Guardian|language=en}}

In October 2021, Yorke performed a Smile song, "Free in the Knowledge", at the Letters Live event at the Royal Albert Hall, London.{{Cite web |last=Strauss |first=Matthew |date=2021-12-20 |title=Watch Thom Yorke play the Smile's 'Free in the Knowledge' |url=https://pitchfork.com/news/watch-thom-yorke-play-the-smile-free-in-the-knowledge/ |access-date=2021-12-20 |website=Pitchfork |language=en-US}} In the same month, Yorke and the Radiohead cover artist, Stanley Donwood, curated an exhibition of Kid A artwork and lyrics at Christie's headquarters in London, ahead of a reissued package of the Kid A and Amnesia albums, Kid A Mnesia.{{Cite web |date=2021-09-22 |title=Radiohead's Thom Yorke is co-curating a Kid A artwork exhibition |url=https://www.nme.com/news/music/radioheads-thom-yorke-is-co-curating-a-kid-a-artwork-exhibition-3051877 |access-date=2021-10-16 |website=NME |language=en-GB}} The pair also contributed lyrics and artwork to Kid A Mnesia Exhibition, a free digital experience for PlayStation 5, macOS and Windows.{{Cite news |last=Stanton |first=Rich |date=2021-11-18 |title=Radiohead's freaky-looking Kid A Mnesiac exhibition-game-thing is out (and free!) |language=en |work=PC Gamer |url=https://www.pcgamer.com/radioheads-freaky-looking-kid-a-mnesiac-exhibition-game-thing-is-out-and-free/ |access-date=2021-11-20}}

On 9 April 2022, Yorke performed a solo concert at the Zeltbühne festival in Zermatt, Switzerland, playing songs from across his career.{{Cite web |last=Brodsky |first=Rachel |date=2022-04-09 |title=Watch Thom Yorke perform Radiohead's "Bodysnatchers" acoustic for the first time |url=https://www.stereogum.com/2182915/thom-yorke-radiohead-bodysnatchers-acoustic-switzerland/news/ |access-date=2022-04-09 |website=Stereogum |language=en}} In May, the Smile released their debut album, A Light for Attracting Attention, and began a European tour.{{Cite web |last=Lavin, Will |date=April 20, 2022 |title=The Smile announce debut album A Light for Attracting Attention |url=https://www.nme.com/news/music/the-smile-announce-debut-album-a-light-for-attracting-attention-3208653 |access-date=April 20, 2022 |website=NME}} Yorke wrote two songs, "5.17" and "That's How Horses Are", for the sixth series of the television drama Peaky Blinders, broadcast in 2022.{{Cite web |last=Corcoran |first=Nina |date=2022-03-13 |title=Thom Yorke releases new solo song '5.17': Listen |url=https://pitchfork.com/news/thom-yorke-releases-new-solo-song-517-listen/ |access-date=2022-03-13 |website=Pitchfork |language=en-US}} He executive-produced Sus Dog (2023), the tenth album by Clark, contributing vocals and bass and acting as a mentor for Clark's vocals.{{Cite web |last=Condon |first=Dan |date=2023-01-24 |title=Thom Yorke is the 'backseat driver' on the new LP from UK producer Clark |url=https://www.abc.net.au/doublej/music-reads/music-news/clark-thom-yorke-sus-dog/101886930 |access-date=2023-01-24 |website=Double J |language=en-AU}}

In September 2023, Yorke and Donwood exhibited a selection of artwork, The Crow Flies, in London. The paintings, based on Islamic pirate maps and 1960s US military topographic charts, began as work for A Light For Attracting Attention.{{Cite web |last=Lindert |first=Hattie |date=2023-08-02 |title=Thom Yorke and Stanley Donwood Announce Art Exhibition The Crow Flies Part One |url=https://pitchfork.com/news/thom-yorke-and-stanley-donwood-announce-art-exhibition-the-crow-flies-part-one/ |access-date=2023-08-03 |website=Pitchfork |language=en-US}} The Smile toured internationally between 2022 and 2024.{{Cite web |last=Richards |first=Will |date=2022-05-18 |title=The Smile debut new song 'Friend Of A Friend' as they kick off European tour |url=https://www.nme.com/news/music/the-smile-debut-new-song-friend-of-a-friend-as-they-kick-off-european-tour-3228250 |access-date=2022-05-18 |website=NME |language=en-GB}} In 2024, they released the albums Wall of Eyes and Cutouts, recorded simultaneously.{{Cite web |last=Vito |first=Jo |date=2024-08-28 |title=The Smile announce new album Cutouts, release two songs |url=https://consequence.net/2024/08/the-smile-new-album-cutouts-zero-foreign-spies-zero-sumsum-stream/ |access-date=2024-08-28 |website=Consequence |language=en-US}}

Yorke composed the score for the 2024 film Confidenza by the Italian filmmaker Daniele Luchetti. It features the London Contemporary Orchestra and a jazz ensemble including Yorke's Smile bandmate Tom Skinner. On 22 April, Yorke released two tracks from the soundtrack, "Knife Edge" and "Prize Giving". The soundtrack was released on 26 April.{{Cite web |last=Harrison |first=Scoop |date=2024-04-22 |title=Thom Yorke previews Confidenza film score with two tracks |url=https://consequence.net/2024/04/thom-yorke-confidenza-score-knife-edge-prize-giving/ |access-date=2024-04-22 |website=Consequence |language=en-US}} Yorke produced "Stepdaughter", a song written and performed by his wife, Dajana Roncione, and released in November 2024. It was written for the Italian film Eterno Visionario, directed by Michele Placido and starring Roncione.{{Cite web |last=LaPierre |first=Megan |date=7 November 2024 |title=Thom Yorke's Wife Dajana Roncione Just Released a Song |url=https://exclaim.ca/music/article/thom-yorke-s-wife-dajana-roncione-just-released-a-song |access-date=2024-11-14 |website=Exclaim! |language=en}}{{Cite web |date=2024-11-06 |title=Alex Infascelli torna ai video musicali con il singolo di Dajana Roncione prodotto da Thom Yorke: l'anteprima |url=https://www.repubblica.it/spettacoli/2024/11/07/video/alex_infascelli_torna_ai_video_musicali_con_il_singolo_di_dajana_roncione_prodotto_da_thom_yorke_lanteprima-423602151/ |access-date=2024-11-07 |website=la Repubblica |language=it}}{{Cite web |last=Roncione |first=Dajana |date=2024-11-07 |title=Dajana Roncione: con Pirandello e Thom Yorke «ho smesso di avere paura» |url=https://www.rollingstone.it/cinema-tv/anteprime-cinema-tv/dajana-roncione-con-pirandello-e-thom-yorke-ho-smesso-di-avere-paura/950041/?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR2MSblCDXFIesgb-yFHsArWczo8A9Yd1b7mVpFX5d0is3OhG0obrQUcDAU_aem_B08HVinOst4skY0HteI99A |access-date=2024-11-07 |website=Rolling Stone Italia |language=it-IT}} In October, Yorke began the Everything tour of New Zealand, Australia, Singapore and Japan, performing songs from across his career.{{Cite web |last=Harrison |first=Scoop |date=2024-06-02 |title=Thom Yorke announces rare solo tour in 2024 |url=https://consequence.net/2024/06/thom-yorke-solo-tour-2024/ |access-date=2024-06-03 |website=Consequence |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |last=Ragusa |first=Paolo |date=2024-10-23 |title=Thom Yorke debuts new song at solo tour kick-off: setlist |url=https://consequence.net/2024/10/thom-yorke-solo-tour-kickoff-new-zealand-video-setlist/ |access-date=2024-10-23 |website=Consequence |language=en-US}}

Yorke reworked Hail to the Thief for Hamlet Hail to the Thief, a stage production of Hamlet that opened at Aviva Studios, Manchester, in April 2025.{{Cite news |last=Wiegand |first=Chris |date=2024-09-25 |title=Hamlet Hail to the Thief: Thom Yorke revisits Radiohead album for Shakespeare show |url=https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2024/sep/26/hamlet-hail-to-the-thief-thom-yorke-radiohead-shakespeare-manchester |access-date=2024-09-25 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}} It is directed by Christine Jones and Steven Hoggett and scheduled to run at Aviva Studios, Manchester, from April to May 2025, followed by the Royal Shakespeare Theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon in June. Yorke said Hail to the Thief "chimes with the underlying grief and paranoia" of Hamlet.{{Cite news |last=Wiegand |first=Chris |date=2024-09-25 |title=Hamlet Hail to the Thief: Thom Yorke revisits Radiohead album for Shakespeare show |url=https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2024/sep/26/hamlet-hail-to-the-thief-thom-yorke-radiohead-shakespeare-manchester |access-date=2024-09-25 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}

Yorke collaborated again with the electronic musician Mark Pritchard to create the album Tall Tales, released through Warp Records on 9 May, 2025. The project began during the COVID-19 lockdowns, with Pritchard and Yorke exchanging recordings online.{{Cite web |last=Breihan |first=Tom |date=2025-03-11 |title=Mark Pritchard & Thom Yorke announce new album Tall Tales: hear 'This Conversation Is Missing Your Voice' |url=https://www.stereogum.com/2299870/mark-pritchard-thom-yorke-announce-new-album-tall-tales-hear-this-conversation-is-missing-your-voice/music/ |access-date=2025-03-11 |website=Stereogum |language=en}}{{cite magazine |last1=Hiatt |first1=Brian |date=11 March 2025 |title=Inside Thom Yorke's amazing new album with producer Mark Pritchard |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/thom-yorke-new-album-mark-pritchard-interview-1235293063/ |access-date=11 March 2025 |magazine=Rolling Stone}} In May, Yorke contributed the song "Dialing In" to the Apple TV+ series Smoke.{{Cite web |last=Bloom |first=Madison |date=2025-05-28 |title=Listen to Thom Yorke's new song 'Dialing In' |url=https://pitchfork.com/news/radiohead-and-the-smile-thom-yorke-releases-new-song-dialing-in-for-apple-tv-series-smoke-listen/ |access-date=2025-05-28 |website=Pitchfork |language=en-US}} It was formerly titled "Gawpers" and performed by Yorke with Katia and Marielle Labeque in 2019. This Is What You Get, an exhibition of Yorke and Donwood's Radiohead artwork, is due to run from August 2025 to January 2026 at the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford.{{Cite web |date=2024-11-21 |title=Radiohead album covers to go on show at Oxford museum |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c0k8y54442xo |access-date=2025-04-02 |website=BBC News |language=en-GB}}

File:Thom Yorke 2013.jpg

Yorke writes the first versions of most Radiohead songs, after which they are developed harmonically by Jonny Greenwood before the other band members develop their parts.{{cite news|url=https://www.newyorker.com/archive/2001/08/20/010820fa_FACT1|title=The Searchers: Radiohead's unquiet revolution|last=Ross|first=Alex|date=20 August 2001|newspaper=The New Yorker|access-date=22 February 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080214053947/http://www.therestisnoise.com/2004/04/mahler_1.html|archive-date=14 February 2008}} According to Yorke, Greenwood is "more impatient" and eager to move to the next idea, whereas he enjoys editing and perfecting songs.{{Cite news |last=Newstead |first=Al |date=2024-10-21 |title=Thom Yorke loves working with the Smile and doesn't care if you want Radiohead to reform |url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-10-21/thom-yorke-the-smile-interview-cutouts-australian-solo-tour/104490320 |access-date=2024-10-21 |publisher=ABC News |language=en-AU}}

Yorke's solo work comprises mainly electronic music.{{Cite web |last=Cush |first=Andy |date=2 July 2019 |title=Thom Yorke Fully Realizes His Electronic Vision on the Bleak, Beautiful ANIMA |url=https://www.spin.com/2019/07/thom-yorke-anima-review/ |access-date=6 July 2019 |website=Spin}} Stereogum characterised it as "largely interior", "frigid" and "beat-driven", unlike the "wide-open horizons" of Radiohead songs,{{Cite web |last=DeVille |first=Chris |date=3 October 2019 |title=Thom Yorke's live show might change your perspective on his solo work |url=https://www.stereogum.com/2060195/thom-yorke-concert-review/franchises/sounding-board/ |access-date=5 October 2019 |website=Stereogum}} while Rolling Stone wrote: "Radiohead's music sounds like it's written to bring people in, while Yorke's electronic-leaning solo work ... is prone to keep the listener at an icy distance."{{cite news |last1=Jennings |first1=James |date=3 November 2024 |title=Thom Yorke: solo tour proves that Radiohead is his best work |url=https://au.rollingstone.com/music/music-live-reviews/thom-yorke-sydney-australia-tour-live-review-68614/ |access-date=25 February 2025 |work=Rolling Stone Australia |language=en-AU}}

Yorke has worked with the producer Nigel Godrich on most of his projects, including Radiohead, Atoms for Peace, the first Smile record and most of his solo work.{{cite magazine |last=Vozick-Levinson |first=Simon |date=23 April 2013 |title=Thom Yorke and Nigel Godrich on Atoms for Peace, the state of dance music and what's next for Radiohead |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/q-a-thom-yorke-and-nigel-godrich-on-atoms-for-peace-the-state-of-dance-music-and-whats-next-for-radiohead-20130423?page=2 |magazine=Rolling Stone |access-date=8 June 2013}} He credits Godrich with helping edit his work, identifying which parts need improvement and which have potential. He said they sometimes had arguments that last for days, but that they always resolve their differences, and likened him to a brother. Godrich said the pair were "very productive together and that's a really precious and important thing and it changes within the context of whatever we're doing".{{Cite web |last=Doherty |first=Niall |date=2022-07-27 |title=Lost in music: Nigel Godrich |url=https://thenewcue.substack.com/p/the-new-cue-191-july-27-lost-in-music |url-access=subscription |access-date=2022-07-27 |website=The New Cue |language=en-GB}}

Yorke said the nature of being a creative person was "to retain a beginner's mind. The search is the point. The flailing around is the point. The process is the point."{{Cite web |last1=Donwood |first1=Stanley |author-link=Stanley Donwood |last2=Yorke |first2=Thom |date=2021-11-04 |title='We had a fierce anger and suspicion': Thom Yorke and Stanley Donwood on Radiohead's Kid A and Amnesiac |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2021/nov/04/thom-yorke-and-stanley-donwood-kid-a-amnesiac-art |access-date=2022-03-13 |website=The Guardian |language=en}} He said he used to be more controlling in the studio, but learnt to be more relaxed and open to new ideas. He likened the creative process to surfing: "You can sit out there on a board for ages waiting for the right wave to come along. You can't get angry about it. You know it will happen eventually and you start to understand the waiting itself might be part of it."

Yorke is a multi-instrumentalist, and plays instruments including guitar, piano, bass and drums. He played drums for performances of the 2007 Radiohead song "Bangers and Mash".{{cite web |date=9 April 2008 |title=Radiohead video: Thom Yorke playing drums |url=http://www.musicradar.com/news/drums/radiohead-video-thom-yorke-playing-drums-147218 |access-date=26 April 2015 |website=MusicRadar}} With the Smile, Yorke has used a Fender Mustang bass with a fingerstyle technique.{{Cite web |last=Michael |first=Astley-Brown |date=2022-01-31 |title=The Smile just played their first-ever public gigs – here are six things we learned about the Radiohead offshoot |url=https://www.guitarworld.com/features/the-smile-first-public-gigs |access-date=2022-02-02 |website=Guitar World |language=en}} Yorke uses electronic instruments such as synthesisers, drum machines and sequencers, and electronic techniques including programming, sampling and looping. In 2015, he said: "Really I just enjoy writing words sitting at a piano. I tend to lose interest in the drum machine."{{Cite news|last=Yin-Wong|first=Flora|date=22 January 2013|title=Uni of Yorke Class 2: Pearson Sound, Caribou, RYAT|language=en|work=Dazed|url=http://www.dazeddigital.com/music/article/15462/1/uni-of-yorke-class-2-pearson-sound-caribou-ryat|access-date=3 January 2018}} According to Godrich, "Thom will sit down and make some crazy, fractured cheese-grater-on-head mayhem on a computer, but at some point he always gets his guitar out to check he can actually play it."{{Cite web |date=20 March 2020 |title='Our reference was 'Saturday Night' by Whigfield!' Ultraísta interviewed |url=https://www.clashmusic.com/features/our-reference-was-saturday-night-by-whigfield-ultra%C3%ADsta-interviewed |access-date=2022-05-13 |website=Clash Magazine |language=en |archive-date=13 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220513114538/https://www.clashmusic.com/features/our-reference-was-saturday-night-by-whigfield-ultra%C3%ADsta-interviewed |url-status=dead }}

Unlike Greenwood, Yorke does not read sheet music.{{cite web|url=http://www.followmearound.com/presscuttings.php?year=2001&cutting=121|title=Happy now?|date=June 2001|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120206154836/https://www.followmearound.com/presscuttings.php?year=2001&cutting=121|archive-date=6 February 2012|url-status=dead|access-date=21 February 2009}} He said: "You can't express the rhythms properly like that. It's a very ineffective way of doing it, so I've never really bothered picking it up."{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2006/07/02/arts/music/02pare.html|title=With Radiohead, and Alone, the Sweet Malaise of Thom Yorke|last=Pareles|first=Jon|date=2 July 2006|access-date=27 September 2008|work=The New York Times}} Explaining why he declined an invitation to play piano on the song "Mr. Bellamy" on Paul McCartney's album Memory Almost Full (2007), Yorke said: "The piano playing involved two hands doing things separately. I don't have that skill available. I said to him, 'I strum piano, that's it.'"{{Cite web|last=McLean|first=Craig|date=2007-12-09|title=Radiohead: Caught in the flash, part 3|url=http://www.theguardian.com/music/2007/dec/09/popandrock.radiohead4|access-date=2022-01-16|website=The Guardian|language=en}}

Yorke has one of the widest vocal ranges in popular music.{{Cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/music/music-news/10848713/Axl-Rose-has-a-larger-vocal-range-than-Mariah-Carey.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220111/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/music/music-news/10848713/Axl-Rose-has-a-larger-vocal-range-than-Mariah-Carey.html |archive-date=11 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|title=Axl Rose has a larger vocal range than Mariah Carey|last=Vincent|first=Alice|date=22 May 2015|work=The Telegraph|access-date=24 August 2018|language=en-GB|issn=0307-1235}}{{cbignore}} He is known for his falsetto, which Paste described as "sweet", "cautious" and "haunting".{{cite web |last=Larsen |first=Luke |date=22 September 2011 |title=11 Amazing Falsetto Vocalists |url=https://www.pastemagazine.com/music/11-amazing-falsetto-vocalists |access-date=26 April 2015 |website=Paste}} Rolling Stone described his voice as a "broad, emotive sweep" with a "high, keening sound".{{cite magazine |date=3 December 2010 |title=100 Greatest Singers of All Time |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/lists/100-greatest-singers-of-all-time-19691231/thom-yorke-20101202 |magazine=Rolling Stone |access-date=21 February 2009}} The Guardian described it as "instrument-like" and "spectral", and wrote that it "transcends the egocentric posturing of the indie rock singer stereotype". The music journalist Robert Christgau wrote that Yorke's voice has "a pained, transported intensity, pure up top with hints of hysterical grit below ... Fraught and self-involved with no time for jokes, not asexual but otherwise occupied, and never ever common, this is the idealised voice of a pretentious college boy ... Like it or not the voice is remarkable."{{Cite web|last=Christgau|first=Robert|author-link=Robert Christgau|date=8 July 2003|title=No Hope Radio: Radiohead's Hail to the Thief|url=https://www.robertchristgau.com/xg/rock/radiohead-03.php|access-date=2021-10-05}}

Yorke often manipulates his voice with software and effects, transforming it into a "disembodied instrument". For example, on "Everything in Its Right Place" (2000), his vocals are treated to create a "glitching, stuttering collage".{{Cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2011/mar/09/whats-that-sound-kaoss-pad|title=Hey, what's that sound: Kaoss Pad|last=McNamee|first=David|date=9 March 2011|website=The Guardian|language=en|access-date=22 August 2018}} Pitchfork wrote in 2016 that, over the decades, Yorke's voice had evolved from "semi-interesting alt-rocker" to "left-field art-rock demigod" to "electronic grand wizard". In 2006, Yorke said: "It annoys me how pretty my voice is. That sounds incredibly immodest, but it annoys me how polite it can sound when perhaps what I'm singing is deeply acidic." He said he keeps vocals in mind whenever he builds music, no matter the genre, and that he found it difficult to listen to dance music without imagining a voice. In 2023, Yorke said that his vocal range had dropped with age and that he now found "Creep" difficult to sing.

In 2005, readers of Blender and MTV2 voted Yorke the 18th-greatest singer of all time. In 2010, Rolling Stone ranked him the 66th-greatest and wrote that he was one of the most influential singers of his generation, influencing bands such as Muse, Coldplay, Travis and Elbow. In their updated 2023 list, Rolling Stone ranked Yorke the 34th-greatest singer, praising his "genuine edge of alienation".{{Cite magazine |date=2023-01-01 |title=The 200 Greatest Singers of All Time |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/best-singers-all-time-1234642307/ |access-date=2023-01-04 |magazine=Rolling Stone |language=en-US}}

Yorke's early lyrics were personal, but he found that "tortured" lyrics became tired. He said his lyrics were not "some deep heartfelt thing"; instead, he likened them to a collage assembled from images and external sources such as television.{{Cite news |last=Hunter-Tilney |first=Ludovic |date=2023-08-30 |title=A Thom Yorke painting: yours for a song |work=Financial Times |url=https://www.ft.com/content/353d0eb7-db21-4741-9fef-0232efaa369a |access-date=2023-09-01}} From Kid A, he experimented with cutting up words and phrases and assembling them at random. He sometimes chooses words for their sounds rather than meanings, such as the title phrase of "Myxomatosis" or the repeated phrase "the rain drops" on "Sit Down. Stand Up". A 2021 study found that Yorke had among the largest vocabularies of pop singers, based on the number of different words used in each song.{{Cite web |last=Kent-Smith |first=Jasmine |date=2021-08-03 |title=Thom Yorke and Björk among singers with biggest vocabularies, new study finds |url=https://crackmagazine.net/2021/08/thom-yorke-and-bjork-among-singers-with-biggest-vocabularies-new-study-finds/ |access-date=2021-08-04 |website=Crack}}

Yorke deliberately uses cliches, idioms and other common expressions,{{Cite magazine|last=Kearney|first=Ryan|date=2016-05-31|title=The Radiohead Racket|magazine=The New Republic|url=https://newrepublic.com/article/133773/radiohead-racket|access-date=2021-08-04|issn=0028-6583}} inspired by the American artist Barbara Kruger. For example, according to the Pitchfork writer Rob Mitchum, the Kid A lyrics feature "hum-drum observations twisted into panic attacks".{{cite web |last=Rob |first=Mitchum |date=25 August 2009 |title=Radiohead: Kid A: Special Collectors Edition |url=https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/13385-kid-a-special-collectors-edition/ |access-date=4 June 2015 |website=Pitchfork}} Another Pitchfork writer, Jayson Greene, said the approach suggested "a mind consumed by meaningless data".{{cite web |last=Greene |first=Jayson |date=11 May 2016 |title=Radiohead: A Moon Shaped Pool album review |url=https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/21907-a-moon-shaped-pool/ |access-date=11 May 2016 |website=Pitchfork}} Yorke said he hoped to capture the everyday experience of trying to make emotional sense of words and images,{{cite web |last=Adams |first=Tim |date=23 February 2013 |title=Thom Yorke: 'If I can't enjoy this now, when do I start?' |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2013/feb/23/thom-yorke-radiohead-interview |access-date=26 April 2015 |website=The Guardian}} and that "lyrics should be a series of windows opening rather than shutting, which is incredibly hard to do". Colin Greenwood described Yorke's lyrics as "a running commentary on what's happening in the world ... like a shutter snapping in succession".{{Cite journal |last=Klosterman |first=Chuck |date=July 2023 |title=No more knives |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=N0HASap-qBoC&dq=no%20more%20knives&pg=PA64 |journal=Spin}}

The New Republic writer Ryan Kearney speculated that Yorke's use of common expressions, which he described as "Radioheadisms", was an attempt "to sap our common tongue of meaning and expose the vapidity of everyday discourse". Kearney felt the approach had become a crutch for Yorke, creating a "senseless mush". He wrote in 2016 that he was "the most overrated lyricist in music today", and that fans, critics and academics had "taken the bait and delivered one overwrought interpretation after another".

Yorke said his lyrics were motivated by anger, expressing his political and environmental concerns and written as "a constant response to doublethink".{{cite web|date=15 August 2006|title=Thom Yorke|url=https://www.pastemagazine.com/articles/2006/08/thom-yorke.html|access-date=4 May 2015}} The lyrics of the 2003 Radiohead album Hail to the Thief dealt with what Yorke called the "ignorance and intolerance and panic and stupidity" following the 2000 election of US President George W. Bush and the unfolding war on terror.{{cite web|title=Recording 'Hail to the Thief' in Los Angeles|url=http://www.xfm.co.uk/article.asp?id=3561|access-date=22 February 2012|publisher=Xfm London}} Yorke wrote his 2006 single "Harrowdown Hill" about David Kelly, the British weapons expert and whistleblower.{{Cite news|last=Powers|first=Ann|date=28 June 2006|title=Thom Yorke, free agent|newspaper=Los Angeles Times|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2006-jun-28-et-yorke28-story.html|access-date=3 May 2015|issn=0458-3035}} In a 2008 television performance of "House of Cards", Yorke dedicated the "denial, denial" refrain to Bush for rejecting the Kyoto Protocol, an international treaty to reduce greenhouse gases.{{cite web|last=Gregory|first=Jason|title=Thom Yorke Criticises George Bush In Special TV Appearance {{!}} Gigwise|url=http://www.gigwise.com/news/42650/thom-yorke-criticises-george-bush-in-special-tv-appearance|access-date=25 August 2015|website=gigwise.com}} The 2011 single "The Daily Mail" attacks the right-wing Daily Mail newspaper.{{Cite news |date=14 December 2011 |title=Radiohead take festive pop at the Daily Mail |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/news/radiohead-take-festive-pop-at-the-daily-mail-6276644.html |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220507/https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/news/radiohead-take-festive-pop-at-the-daily-mail-6276644.html |archive-date=7 May 2022 |access-date=19 April 2018 |work=The Independent |language=en-GB}}{{cbignore}}

Many of Yorke's lyrics express paranoia. The Guardian critic Alexis Petridis described "what you might call the Yorke worldview: that life is a waking nightmare and everything is completely and perhaps irreparably screwed".{{Cite web |last=Alexis |first=Petridis |author-link=Alexis Petridis |date=2019-06-27 |title=Thom Yorke: Anima review – angst, anguish, paranoia and … jokes? |url=http://www.theguardian.com/music/2019/jun/27/thom-yorke-amina-review |access-date=2021-12-31 |website=The Guardian |language=en}} In a 2015 interview with the activist and writer George Monbiot, Yorke said: "In the 60s, you could write songs that were like calls to arms, and it would work ... It's much harder to do that now. If I was going to write a protest song about climate change in 2015, it would be shit. It's not like one song or one piece of art or one book is going to change someone's mind."{{Cite web |last=Hillyard |first=Kim |date=2015-11-24 |title=Thom Yorke: 'If I was going to write a protest song about climate change in 2015, it would be shit' |url=https://www.nme.com/news/music/thom-yorke-8-1192226 |access-date=2024-02-15 |website=NME |language=en-GB}} Working on Radiohead's ninth album, A Moon Shaped Pool, Yorke worried that political songs alienated some listeners, but decided it was better than writing "another lovey-dovey song about nothing".{{Cite web|last=Everitt|first=Matt|author-link=Matt Everitt|date=11 March 2017|title=The First Time with Thom Yorke|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b08tvyt5|access-date=1 September 2018|website=BBC Radio 6 Music|language=en-GB}}

Greene wrote that Yorke's lyrics on A Moon Shaped Pool were less cynical, conveying wonder and amazement. Many critics felt the lyrics might address Yorke's separation from Rachel Owen, his partner of more than 20 years.{{cite web |last=Larson |first=Jeremy D. |date=9 May 2016 |title=Radiohead's A Moon Shaped Pool: The 5 Most Important Things To Know |url=https://pitchfork.com/thepitch/1140-radioheads-a-moon-shaped-pool-the-5-most-important-things-to-know |access-date=9 May 2016 |website=Pitchfork |publisher=}}{{cite news |last=Pareles |first=Jon |author-link=Jon Pareles |date=8 May 2016 |title=In Radiohead's 'A Moon Shaped Pool', Patient Perfectionism |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/09/arts/music/radiohead-a-moon-shaped-pool-review.html |access-date=8 May 2016 |work=The New York Times}}{{cite web |last=Joffe |first=Justin |date=9 May 2016 |title=Radiohead Swims in Gorgeous Despondency on 'A Moon Shaped Pool' |url=http://observer.com/2016/05/radiohead-swim-in-gorgeous-despondency-on-a-moon-shaped-pool/ |access-date=9 May 2016 |work=New York Observer}}{{cite web |last=Vozick-Levinson |first=Simon |date=10 May 2016 |title=Dancing in the Moonlight with Radiohead |url=http://www.mtv.com/news/2879149/radiohead-moon-shaped-pool-review/ |archive-url=https://archive.today/20160603171412/http://www.mtv.com/news/2879149/radiohead-moon-shaped-pool-review/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=3 June 2016 |access-date=10 May 2016 |publisher=MTV}} Yorke denied writing biographically, saying he instead writes "spasmodic" lyrics based on imagery.{{Cite news |last=Dean |first=Jonathan |date=7 July 2019 |title=Thom Yorke interview: the Radiohead frontman on his new solo album, Anima, why he struggles if he can't make music, and Billie Eilish |url=https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/thom-yorke-interview-radiohead-anima-billie-eilish-2wnwqmxdw |access-date=8 July 2019 |work=The Sunday Times |language=en |issn=0140-0460}}

Yorke often incorporates dance into his performances, described by the Sunday Times as his "on-stage signature". He began dancing on stage after Radiohead released Kid A in 2000, as many songs did not require him to play guitar. The New York Times contrasted Yorke's "tortured" 1990s appearance with his later "looser", more comfortable performances. Yorke said he enjoyed "messing around with the idea of being the rock star or the uptight [1990s] guy. I can choose to do something completely different and be stupid or jump around."

Yorke's dancing features in music videos for songs such as "Lotus Flower"{{Cite web|last=Young|first=Alex|date=18 February 2011|title=Watch: Radiohead – "Lotus Flower"|url=https://consequence.net/2011/02/watch-radiohead-lotus-flower/|access-date=19 December 2018|website=Consequence of Sound|language=en}} and "Ingenue",{{cite web |author=Snapes, Laura |date=28 February 2013 |title=Watch Thom Yorke Dance in Atoms for Peace's Video for 'Ingenue' |url=https://pitchfork.com/news/49731-watch-thom-yorke-dance-in-atoms-for-peaces-video-for-ingenue/ |access-date=28 February 2013 |website=Pitchfork |publisher=}} and the short film Anima.{{Cite web|date=27 June 2019|title=Thom Yorke's 'ANIMA' Short Film With Paul Thomas Anderson: Stream on Netflix|url=https://www.spin.com/2019/06/thom-yorke-anima-short-film-paul-thomas-anderson-netflix-watch/|access-date=8 July 2019|website=Spin}} Critics have described it as "erratic", "flailing"{{Cite web|author=Kevin Jagernauth|date=18 February 2011|title=Watch: Video For Radiohead's 'Lotus Flower' Turns Thom Yorke's Spastic Dancing Into Art|url=http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/watch_video_for_radioheads_lotus_flower_turns_thom_yorkes_spastic_dancing_i|access-date=20 March 2012|publisher=Indiewire}} and unconventional.{{Cite magazine|date=2011-07-14|title=Readers Poll: The Best Dancing Musicians|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/rolling-stone-readers-pick-their-10-favorite-dancing-musicians-18885/|access-date=2020-12-27|magazine=Rolling Stone|language=en-US}} In 2011, Rolling Stone readers voted Yorke their 10th-favourite dancing musician.

As a child, Yorke's favourite artists included Queen, R.E.M., Siouxsie and the Banshees, Joy Division and Bob Dylan.{{cite web |date=22 July 2013 |title=WTF with Marc Maron - Thom Yorke Interview [from 35 minutes] |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SGcnpP6JNXs&t=2120s |url-status=live |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211212/SGcnpP6JNXs |archive-date=2021-12-12 |access-date=26 April 2015 |publisher=Marc Maron via youtube}}{{cbignore}}
{{cite web |last=Solomon |first=Dan |date=22 July 2013 |title=12 Things We Learned From Thom Yorke's 'WTF With Marc Maron' Podcast |url=http://www.mtv.com/news/2699162/thom-yorke-marc-maron-wtf/ |access-date=26 April 2015 |website=MTV |archive-date=22 February 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160222173015/http://www.mtv.com/news/2699162/thom-yorke-marc-maron-wtf/ |url-status=dead }} He initially attempted to emulate singers including Michael Stipe, Morrissey and David Sylvian. He also wrote that Mark Mulcahy of Miracle Legion had affected him "a great deal" at this time: "It was the voice of someone who was only truly happy when he was singing ... It changed the way I thought about songs and singing."{{cite web|last=Yorke|first=Thom|year=2000|title=Questions and Answers|url=http://www.spinwithagrin.com/answer.asp?show=all|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080421220719/http://www.spinwithagrin.com/answer.asp?show=all|archive-date=21 April 2008|access-date=16 September 2012|work=Spin With a Grin|publisher=Radiohead, SpinWithaGrin.com}}

When he was 16, Yorke sent a demo to a music magazine, who wrote that he sounded like Neil Young. Unfamiliar with Young, Yorke purchased his 1970 album After the Gold Rush, which gave him the confidence to reveal "softness and naiveté" in vocals. Yorke also credited Young as a lyrical influence.{{cite web |date=22 February 2013 |title=Positively Charged: Thom Yorke's 20 Biggest Influences |url=http://www.spin.com/2013/02/thom-yorke-radiohead-amok-atoms-for-peace-influences/ |access-date=26 April 2015 |work=Spin}} He said: "It was his attitude toward the way he laid songs down. It's always about laying down whatever is in your head at the time and staying completely true to that, no matter what it is."{{Cite magazine |last=Greene |first=Andy |date=2 August 2016 |title=Flashback: Radiohead Cover Neil Young's 'On the Beach' |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/flashback-radiohead-cover-neil-youngs-on-the-beach-250240/ |access-date=20 August 2018 |magazine=Rolling Stone |language=en-US}} Yorke said Jeff Buckley gave him the confidence to use falsetto and be vulnerable in his singing,{{Cite magazine |last=Dalton |first=Stephen |date=September 1997 |title=The dour and the glory |magazine=Vox |issue=}} while the 1986 album Blood & Chocolate by Elvis Costello and the Attractions changed how he approached recording and writing music and lyrics.{{Cite magazine |last=Paphides |first=Peter |date=5 November 1997 |title=Radio daze |magazine=Time Out |location=London}}

Yorke cited the Pixies,{{cite news|title=Pixies dust Coachella music fest with magic|date=4 May 2004|url=http://www.seattlepi.com/ae/music/article/Pixies-dust-Coachella-music-fest-with-magic-1143820.php|access-date=17 July 2008|newspaper=Seattle Post-Intelligencer}} Björk and PJ Harvey as artists who "changed his life",{{Cite magazine|date=February 2013|title=Splitting Atoms|magazine=Dazed}} and in 2006 he told Pitchfork that Radiohead had "ripped off R.E.M. blind for years". He cited Stipe as his favourite lyricist: "I loved the way he would take an emotion and then take a step back from it and in doing so make it so much more powerful." The chorus of "How to Disappear Completely" from Kid A was inspired by Stipe, who advised Yorke to relieve tour stress by repeating to himself: "I'm not here, this isn't happening."{{cite magazine|date=12 October 2011|title='How To Disappear Completely' - Readers' Poll: The 10 Best Radiohead Songs|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/pictures/readers-poll-the-10-best-radiohead-songs-20111012/10-how-to-disappear-completely-0823981|access-date=8 March 2015|magazine=Rolling Stone}} Yorke cited the Red Hot Chili Peppers guitarist John Frusciante as an influence on his guitar playing on In Rainbows,{{Cite web |date=28 January 2008 |title=Radiohead on In Rainbows |url=http://www.xfm.co.uk/artists/radiohead/interviews/in-rainbows/ |access-date=30 January 2015 |website=XFM |archive-date=21 June 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150621102640/http://www.xfm.co.uk/artists/radiohead/interviews/in-rainbows/ |url-status=dead }} and Scott Walker as an influence on his vocals and lyrics.{{Cite news|last=Beaumont-Thomas|first=Ben|date=25 March 2019|title=Scott Walker, experimental pop hero, dies aged 76|language=en-GB|work=The Guardian|url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2019/mar/25/scott-walker-experimental-pop-hero-dies-aged-76|access-date=25 March 2019|issn=0261-3077}} Yorke admired how the Beastie Boys worked independently despite being signed to a major record label, and was influenced by their activism, such as their Tibetan Freedom Concerts.{{Cite web |last=Oremiatzki |first=Yohav |date=2015-11-21 |title=Thom Yorke and George Monbiot : "We have to prepare for the inevitable failure of COP21" |url=https://www.telerama.fr/monde/thom-yorke-and-george-monbiot-we-have-to-prepare-for-the-inevitable-failure-of-cop21,134497.php |access-date=2024-03-04 |website=Télérama |language=}}

Beginning with Kid A, Radiohead incorporated influences from electronic artists such as Aphex Twin and Autechre. In 2013, Yorke cited Aphex Twin as his biggest influence, saying: "Aphex opened up another world that didn't involve my fucking electric guitar ... I hated all the music that was around Radiohead at the time, it was completely fucking meaningless. I hated the Britpop thing and what was happening in America, but Aphex was totally beautiful."{{Cite web |date=2013-01-21 |title=Uni of Yorke Class 1: FlyLo, the Gaslamp Killer & FaltyDL |url=https://www.dazeddigital.com/music/article/15435/1/uni-of-yorke-class-1-flylo-the-gaslamp-killer-faltydl |access-date=2024-06-11 |website=Dazed |language=en}} He cited the 1962 live album The Complete Town Hall Concert by the jazz musician Charles Mingus as another formative influence during this period.{{cite web |last=Zoric |first=Lauren |date=1 October 2000 |title=Fitter, Happier, More Productive |url=http://www.followmearound.com/presscuttings.php?year=2000&cutting=91 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20160309014557/http://followmearound.com/presscuttings.php?cutting=91&year=2000 |archivedate=9 March 2016 |access-date=19 May 2007 |website=Juice}}

File:Thom Yorke and Stanley Donwood The Universal Sigh 2011.jpg (left) and Yorke promoting The King of Limbs in 2011]]Since the EP My Iron Lung (1994), Yorke has created artwork for Radiohead and his other projects with Stanley Donwood. The pair met as art students at the University of Exeter. Donwood said his first impression of Yorke was that he was "mouthy", "pissed off" and "someone I could work with".{{Cite web |last=McLean |first=Craig |date=2006-06-18 |title=Interview with Radiohead's Thom Yorke |url=http://www.theguardian.com/music/2006/jun/18/9 |access-date=2022-01-17 |website=The Guardian |language=en}} Whereas Donwood described himself as having a tendency towards "detailing and perfectionism", he said Yorke is "completely opposed, fucking everything up ... I do something, then he fucks it up, then I fuck up what he's done ... and we keep doing that until we're happy with the result. It's a competition to see who 'wins' the painting, which one of us takes possession of it in an artistic way."{{Cite news |date=3 January 2017 |title=Stanley Donwood on creating album art for Radiohead |language=en-GB |newspaper=Creative Review |url=https://www.creativereview.co.uk/stanley-donwood-radiohead/ |access-date=4 January 2017}} Yorke is credited for artwork alongside Donwood as the White Chocolate Farm, Tchock, Dr. Tchock and similar abbreviations.{{cite web |date=7 October 2010 |title=42 Things You Didn't Know About Thom Yorke (And 10 Things You Didn't Know About Kid A) |url=http://flavorwire.com/122738/42-things-you-didnt-know-about-thom-yorke-and-10-things-you-didnt-know-about-kid-a |access-date=1 September 2015}} The artist Tarik Barri provides live visuals for Yorke's solo and multimedia projects and shows with Atoms for Peace.{{Cite news |date=8 February 2018 |title=Thom Yorke to Be Featured in "Immersive" Audiovisual Sound Installation in Berlin |work=Spin |url=https://www.spin.com/2018/02/thom-yorke-installation-berlin-hexadome/ |access-date=9 February 2018}}

Yorke has been critical of the music industry. Following Radiohead's tour of America in 1993, he became disenchanted with being "right at the sharp end of the sexy, sassy, MTV eye-candy lifestyle" he felt he was helping sell.{{cite web |last=Reynolds |first=Simon |date=July 2001 |title=Walking on thin ice |url=https://www.rocksbackpages.com/Library/Article/radiohead-walking-on-thin-ice |url-access=subscription |access-date=10 March 2024 |work=The Wire}} After a 1995 Melody Maker article suggested that Yorke would kill himself like the Nirvana singer Kurt Cobain, Yorke developed an aversion to the British music press.{{cite magazine|last=Ross|first=Alex|author-link=Alex Rossi (journalist)|date=21 August 2001|title=The Searchers: Radiohead's unquiet revolution|magazine=The New Yorker|url=https://www.therestisnoise.com/2004/04/mahler_1.html|url-status=dead|access-date=14 June 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070525102645/http://www.therestisnoise.com/2004/04/mahler_1.html|archive-date=25 May 2007}} In November 1995, NME covered an incident in which Yorke became sick and collapsed on stage at a show in Munich, and titled the story "Thommy's temper tantrum". Yorke said it was the most hurtful thing anyone had written about him, and refused to give interviews to NME for five years.{{Cite web |last=Dalton |first=Stephen |date=2016-03-18 |title=Radiohead: 'We were spitting and fighting and crying…' |url=https://www.uncut.co.uk/features/radiohead-we-were-spitting-and-fighting-and-crying-73254/ |access-date=2023-07-01 |website=Uncut |language=en-GB}}

The 1998 documentary Meeting People Is Easy portrays Yorke's disaffection with the music industry and press during Radiohead's OK Computer tour.{{Citation |last=Randall |first=Mac |title=The Golden Age of Radiohead |date=1 April 1998 |url=https://www.guitarworld.com/radiohead-interview-golden-age-radiohead |magazine=Guitar World |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170903205835/http://www.guitarworld.com/radiohead-interview-golden-age-radiohead |archive-date=3 September 2017}} After Radiohead's fourth album, Kid A (2000), was leaked via the peer-to-peer filesharing software Napster weeks before release, Yorke told Time he felt Napster "encourages enthusiasm for music in a way that the music industry has long forgotten to do. I think anybody sticking two fingers up at the whole fucking thing is wonderful as far as I'm concerned."{{cite news|work = Time Europe|last = Farley|first = Christopher John|date = 23 October 2000|url = http://www.time.com/time/europe/magazine/2000/1023/radiohead.html|title = Radioactive|volume = 156|issue = 17|access-date = 22 March 2007|url-status = dead|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110311074531/http://www.time.com/time/europe/magazine/2000/1023/radiohead.html|archive-date = 11 March 2011}} In 2001, Yorke criticised the American live music industry, describing it as a monopoly controlled by Clear Channel Entertainment and Ticketmaster.{{cite web |last=Kot |first=Greg |date=31 July 2001 |title=It's difficult justifying being a rock band |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-2001-07-31-0107310006-story.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131212061753/http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2001-07-31/features/0107310006_1_pink-floyd-amnesiac-thom-yorke |archive-date=12 December 2013 |access-date=27 March 2012 |work=Chicago Tribune |df=dmy-all}}

With Radiohead and his solo work, Yorke has pioneered alternative release platforms. After Radiohead's record contract with EMI ended with the release of Hail to the Thief (2003), Yorke told Time: "I like the people at our record company, but the time is at hand when you have to ask why anyone needs one. And, yes, it probably would give us some perverse pleasure to say 'Fuck you' to this decaying business model."{{cite magazine |url = http://www.time.com/time/arts/article/0,8599,1666973,00.html|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20071004205009/http://www.time.com/time/arts/article/0,8599,1666973,00.html|url-status = dead|archive-date = 4 October 2007|title = Radiohead Says: Pay What You Want|access-date = 16 October 2007|author = Tyrangiel, Josh|date = 1 October 2007|magazine = Time}} In 2006, he called major record labels "stupid little boys' games – especially really high up".{{cite web |url = https://pitchfork.com/features/interviews/6402-thom-yorke/|title = Interview: Thom Yorke|access-date = 6 April 2007|author = Plagenhoef, Scott|date = 16 August 2006|work = Pitchfork}}

Radiohead independently released their 2007 album In Rainbows as a download for which listeners could choose their price. Yorke said the "most exciting" part of the release was the removal of the barrier between artist and audience.{{cite news |author=Dredge |first=Stuart |date=7 October 2013 |title=Thom Yorke calls Spotify 'the last desperate fart of a dying corpse' |url=https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2013/oct/07/spotify-thom-yorke-dying-corpse |access-date=7 October 2013 |newspaper=The Guardian}} However, in 2013, Yorke told the Guardian he feared the In Rainbows release had instead played into the hands of content providers such as Apple and Google: "They have to keep commodifying things to keep the share price up, but in doing so they have made all content, including music and newspapers, worthless, in order to make their billions. And this is what we want?" In 2015, he criticised YouTube for "seizing control" of contributor content, likening it to Nazis looting art during World War II.

In 2013, Yorke and Godrich made statements criticising the music streaming service Spotify, and removed Atoms for Peace and Yorke's solo music from the service.{{cite news |date=15 July 2013 |title=Thom Yorke pulls albums from Spotify |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-23313445 |access-date=5 December 2013 |newspaper=BBC News}} In a series of tweets, Yorke wrote: "Make no mistake, new artists you discover on Spotify will not get paid. Meanwhile, shareholders will shortly be rolling in it ... New artists get paid fuck-all with this model." Yorke called Spotify "the last gasp of the old industry", accusing it of only benefiting major record labels with large back catalogues, and encouraged artists to build their own "direct connections" with audiences instead.

Brian Message, a partner at Radiohead's management company,{{Cite web |last=Marshall |first=Alex |date=15 April 2016 |title=Radiohead have not yet decided whether to stream new album, says man from their management firm |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2016/apr/15/radiohead-new-album-spotify-brian-message-thom-yorke |access-date=18 January 2017 |website=The Guardian}} disagreed with Yorke, noting that Spotify pays 70 percent of its revenue back to the music industry. He said that "Thom's issue was that the pipe has become so jammed ... We encourage all of our artists to take a long-term approach ... Plan for the long term, understand that it's a tough game."{{Cite web |last=McGoogan |first=Cara |date=16 October 2015 |title=Brian Message: Apple Music won't be bigger than YouTube |url=https://www.wired.co.uk/article/brian-message-spotify-radiohead-wired-2015 |access-date=18 January 2017 |website=Wired }} Yorke and Atoms for Peace's music was re-added to Spotify in December 2017.{{cite web |last=Rossignol |first=Derrick |date=8 December 2017 |title=Thom Yorke's solo albums are finally streaming on Spotify, which he famously hates |url=http://uproxx.com/music/thom-yorke-spotify-streaming/ |access-date=10 December 2017 |website=Uproxx |publisher=Uproxx Media Group}}

For Yorke's second solo album, Tomorrow's Modern Boxes (2014), released via BitTorrent, he and Godrich expressed their hope to "hand some control of internet back to people who are creating the work ... bypassing the self-elected gatekeepers". Asked if the release had been a success, Yorke said: "No, not exactly ... I wanted to show that, in theory, today one could follow the entire chain of record production, from start to finish, on his own. But in practice it is very different. We cannot be burdened with all of the responsibilities of the record label."{{cite web |author=Young, Alex |date=30 November 2015 |title=Thom Yorke likens YouTube to Nazi Germany: "They steal art" |url=https://consequence.net/2015/11/thom-yorke-likens-youtube-to-nazi-germany-they-steal-art/ |access-date=28 December 2015 |website=Consequence of Sound |publisher=}}

In 2000, during the recording of Kid A, Yorke became "obsessed" with the Worldwatch Institute website, "which was full of scary statistics about icecaps melting and weather patterns changing".{{cite web |last=Yorke |first=Thom |date=23 March 2008 |title=Thom Yorke: why I'm a climate optimist |url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/blog/2008/mar/20/thomyorke |access-date=26 April 2015 |website=The Guardian |publisher=}} He said he became involved in the movement to halt climate change after having children and "waking up every night just terrified".{{cite web |last=Grey |first=Louise |date=11 November 2011 |title=Thom Yorke on board the Rainbow Warrior 3 |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/earth/earthnews/8885069/Thom-Yorke-on-board-the-Rainbow-Warrior-3.html |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220111/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/earth/earthnews/8885069/Thom-Yorke-on-board-the-Rainbow-Warrior-3.html |archive-date=11 January 2022 |access-date=27 April 2015 |website=The Telegraph}}{{cbignore}}

In 2003, Yorke became a spokesperson for the environmental organisation Friends of the Earth and their Big Ask Campaign. He said this was a difficult decision, as it would expose him to personal attacks, and that journalists had harassed his friends and family for personal details. In an article for the Guardian, Yorke wrote that he initially felt he would be a poor match as his touring consumed a large amount of energy. However, Friends of the Earth persuaded him that this was ideal as they did not want to "present a holier-than-thou message". He accepted that he would be criticised for his support.

In 2006, Yorke and Jonny Greenwood performed at the Big Ask Live, a 2006 benefit concert to persuade the British government to enact a new law on climate change. That year, Yorke refused an invitation from Friends of the Earth to meet the prime minister, Tony Blair. Yorke said that Blair had "no environmental credentials" and that his spin doctors would manipulate the meeting.{{cite news |last=Adam |first=David |date=22 March 2006 |title=Radiohead singer snubs Blair climate talks |url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2006/mar/22/greenpolitics.politicsandthearts |access-date=17 July 2008 |work=The Guardian |location=London}} He told the Guardian that Blair's advisers had wanted to vet him and that Friends of the Earth would lose access if he said "the wrong thing", which he equated to blackmail. Yorke also found it unacceptable to be photographed with Blair because of his involvement in the Iraq War.

In 2008, Radiohead commissioned a study to reduce the carbon expended on tour. Based on the findings, they chose to play at venues supported by public transport, made deals with trucking companies to reduce emissions, used new low-energy LED lighting and encouraged festivals to offer reusable plastics.{{cite news|url=http://www.treehugger.com/files/2008/06/radiohead-daydream-festival-led-lighting.php|title=Radiohead Pushes Festivals Like Daydream to Go Green|last=Scholtus|first=Petz|date=18 June 2008|access-date=21 February 2009|publisher=Treehugger|archive-date=4 February 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090204040009/http://www.treehugger.com/files/2008/06/radiohead-daydream-festival-led-lighting.php|url-status=dead}} That year, Yorke guest-edited a special climate change edition of Observer Magazine and wrote: "Unlike pessimists such as James Lovelock, I don't believe we are all doomed ... You should never give up hope."

In 2009, Yorke performed via Skype at the premier of the environmentalist documentary The Age of Stupid,{{cite web |last=Singh |first=Amrit |date=18 December 2009 |title=Thom Yorke Crashes Copenhagen Climate Summit |url=https://www.stereogum.com/106511/thom_yorke_crashes_copenhagen_climate_summit/video/ |access-date=26 April 2015 |website=Stereogum |publisher=}} and gained access to the COP 15 climate change talks in Copenhagen by posing as a journalist.{{cite news |date=17 December 2009 |title=Radiohead's Yorke sneaks into Copenhagen climate talks |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/8419641.stm |access-date=11 January 2010 |publisher=BBC News}} In 2010, he performed a benefit concert at the Cambridge Corn Exchange for the British Green Party{{cite web |last=Scott |first=Colothan |date=26 February 2010 |title=Thom yorke mesmerises cambridge corn exchange |url=http://www.gigwise.com/news/54902/thom-yorke-mesmerises-cambridge-corn-exchange |access-date=3 January 2015 |website=Gigwise |publisher=}} and supported the 10:10 campaign for climate change mitigation.{{cite web |last=Katz |first=Ian |date=31 December 2009 |title=Why the 10:10 campaign is even more important after Copenhagen |url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2009/dec/31/10-10-copenhagen |access-date=26 April 2015 |website=The Guardian}} The following year, he joined the maiden voyage of Rainbow Warrior III, a yacht used by Greenpeace to monitor damage to the environment.

Yorke endorsed the Green Party candidate Caroline Lucas at the 2015 UK general election.{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2015/apr/24/celebrities-sign-statement-support-caroline-lucas-not-green-party|title=Celebrities sign statement of support for Caroline Lucas – but not the Greens|last=Elgot|first=Jessica|date=24 April 2015|work=The Guardian|access-date=23 July 2015|location=London}} That December, he performed at the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Paris at a benefit concert in aid of 350.org, an environmental organisation raising awareness about climate change.{{cite web|url=http://350.org/were-rocking-with-thom-yorke-patti-smith-more-in-paris/|title=We're Rocking with Thom Yorke, Patti Smith (& more) in Paris|date=13 July 2015|access-date=19 July 2015}} His performance was included on the live album Pathway to Paris, released in July 2016.{{cite web |date=22 July 2016 |title=Watch Thom Yorke's "Bloom" Performance From New Pathway to Paris Live Album |url=https://pitchfork.com/news/66998-watch-thom-yorkes-bloom-performance-from-new-pathway-to-paris-live-album/ |access-date=23 July 2016 |website=Pitchfork}} Yorke contributed an electronic track, "Hands Off the Antarctic", to a 2018 Greenpeace campaign.{{Cite magazine |last=Grow |first=Kory |date=16 October 2018 |title=Hear Thom Yorke's chilly new song for Greenpeace |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/hear-thom-yorkes-chilly-new-song-for-greenpeace-738750/ |access-date=17 October 2018 |magazine=Rolling Stone |language=en-US}}

In 1999, Yorke travelled to the G8 summit to support the Jubilee 2000 movement calling for cancellation of third-world debt.{{cite web |title=U2, Radiohead, Perry Farrell Ask World Leaders To Wipe Out Third World Debt |url=http://www.mtv.com/news/1428868/u2-radiohead-perry-farrell-ask-world-leaders-to-wipe-out-third-world-debt/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150518110719/http://www.mtv.com/news/1428868/u2-radiohead-perry-farrell-ask-world-leaders-to-wipe-out-third-world-debt/ |archive-date=18 May 2015 |access-date=26 April 2015 |website=MTV News}} In a 2003 Guardian article criticising the World Trade Organization, he wrote: "The west is creating an extremely dangerous economic, environmental and humanitarian time bomb. We are living beyond our means."{{cite web |last=Yorke |first=Thom |date=8 September 2003 |title=Opinion: Thom Yorke on fair trade |url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2003/sep/08/fairtrade.wto6 |access-date=2 May 2015 |website=The Guardian}} In 2005, he performed at an all-night vigil for the Trade Justice Movement, calling for a better trade deal for poor countries.{{Cite news |date=2005-04-18 |title=U.K. artists take part in all-night trade protest |url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/uk-artists-take-part-in-all-night-trade-protest/article978996/ |access-date=2022-01-15 |work=The Globe and Mail |language=en-CA}}

The music video for the 2007 Radiohead song "All I Need" was produced with MTV EXIT, an initiative to raise awareness of human trafficking and modern slavery.{{cite web |author=Montgomery |first=James |date=30 April 2008 |title=Radiohead join forces with MTV's campaign against human trafficking for 'All I Need' video |url=http://www.mtv.com/news/1586579/radiohead-join-forces-with-mtvs-campaign-against-human-trafficking-for-all-i-need-video/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150212123827/http://www.mtv.com/news/1586579/radiohead-join-forces-with-mtvs-campaign-against-human-trafficking-for-all-i-need-video/ |archive-date=12 February 2015 |access-date=25 July 2014 |work=MTV |publisher=Viacom Media Networks}} Yorke said he saw slavery as a "political stability issue", and that it was important for people in the west to "understand the consequences of our economic activity".

In 2011, alongside Robert Del Naja of Massive Attack and Tim Goldsworthy of Unkle, Yorke played a secret DJ set for a group of Occupy activists in the abandoned offices of the investment bank UBS.{{Cite web |date=8 February 2012 |title=Occupy 2012 |url=https://www.dazeddigital.com/artsandculture/article/12575/1/occupy-2012 |access-date=14 September 2020 |website=Dazed |language=en}} In 2015, Yorke released a statement accusing the British government of "siphoning money through our tax havens for the global super rich, while now preaching that we the people must pay our taxes and suffer austerity".{{Cite news |date=2015-02-11 |title=Thom Yorke asks: 'Who does our government work for?' |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2015/feb/11/thom-yorke-asks-who-does-our-government-work-for#:~:text=He%20adds:%20%E2%80%9CNow%20is%20the,does%20our%20government%20work%20for?%E2%80%9D |access-date=2025-03-14 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}

In April 2017, more than 50 prominent figures, including the musicians Roger Waters and Thurston Moore, the rights activist Desmond Tutu and the filmmaker Ken Loach, signed a petition urging Radiohead to cancel a performance in Tel Aviv as part of Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions, a cultural boycott of Israel.{{Cite magazine |date=5 June 2017 |title=Read Roger Waters' response to Thom Yorke over Israel controversy |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/roger-waters-responds-to-thom-yorke-over-israel-controversy-w485780 |access-date=7 June 2017 |magazine=Rolling Stone}} A week before the Tel Aviv performance, a Radiohead concert in Glasgow was attended by pro-Palestine protestors waving flags and signs. Yorke responded with anger on stage.{{Cite web |last=Young |first=Alex |date=2017-07-08 |title=Palestinian activists disrupt Radiohead concert in Scotland |url=https://consequence.net/2017/07/palestinian-activists-disrupt-radiohead-concert-in-scotland/ |access-date=2024-06-03 |website=Consequence |language=en-US}}

In a Rolling Stone interview, Yorke said of the criticism: "I just can't understand why going to play a rock show or going to lecture at a university [is a problem to them] ... It's really upsetting that artists I respect think we are not capable of making a moral decision ourselves after all these years. They talk down to us and I just find it mind-boggling that they think they have the right to do that."{{Cite magazine |date=2017-06-02 |title=Thom Yorke breaks silence on Israel controversy |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/thom-yorke-breaks-silence-on-israel-controversy-126675/ |access-date=2024-11-07 |magazine=Rolling Stone |language=en-US}} Yorke said that the petitioners had not contacted him. This was disputed by Waters, who wrote in an open letter in Rolling Stone that he had attempted to contact Yorke several times.{{Cite magazine |date=2017-06-05 |title=Read Roger Waters' response to Thom Yorke over Israel controversy |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/read-roger-waters-response-to-thom-yorke-over-radiohead-israel-controversy-198319/ |access-date=2022-04-15 |magazine=Rolling Stone |language=en-US}} In a statement, Yorke responded: "We don't endorse Netanyahu any more than Trump, but we still play in America. Playing in a country isn't the same as endorsing the government. Music, art and academia is about crossing borders not building them, about open minds not closed ones, about shared humanity, dialogue and freedom of expression."{{Cite news |last=Beaumont-Thomas |first=Ben |date=12 July 2017 |title=Radiohead's Thom Yorke responds as Ken Loach criticises Israel gig |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2017/jul/12/thom-yorke-radiohead-ken-loach-criticises-israel-gig |access-date=15 July 2017 |work=The Guardian |issn=0261-3077}}

At a solo concert in Melbourne in October 2024, Yorke was heckled by a pro-Palestinian protester for his lack of condemnation for Israel's attacks on Gaza.{{Cite web |last=Dunworth |first=Liberty |date=2024-10-30 |title=Watch Thom Yorke clash on stage with Pro-Palestinian protester at solo Melbourne show |url=https://www.nme.com/news/music/thom-yorke-clash-onstage-pro-palestinian-protester-melbourne-show-3808026 |access-date=2024-11-01 |website=NME |language=en-GB}} Yorke challenged him to make a statement onstage and left the stage when he continued to heckle. He returned to perform the final song, "Karma Police".{{Cite news |last=Jefferson |first=Dee |date=2024-10-31 |title=Thom Yorke walks off stage after being heckled by pro-Palestine protester at Melbourne concert |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2024/oct/31/thom-yorke-walks-off-stage-after-being-heckled-by-pro-palestine-heckler-at-melbourne-concert |access-date=2024-10-31 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}{{Cite web |last=Ritchie |first=Hannah |date=2024-10-31 |title=Radiohead singer Thom Yorke walks off stage as fan shouts Gaza protests |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c5yrv2zyd22o |access-date=2024-11-01 |website= |publisher=BBC News |language=en-GB}} Yorke wrote later that it "didn't really seem like the best moment to discuss the unfolding humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza".

In May 2025, Yorke released a statement condemning the Israeli government and Hamas's attacks. He wrote that he was "in shock that my supposed silence was somehow being taken as complicity" and that he did not support "any form of extremism or dehumanisation". He also condemned the calls for artists to release statements on the subject, saying it was "a dangerous illusion to believe reposting, or one or two line messages are meaningful, especially if it is to condemn your fellow human beings".{{Cite web |last=Strauss |first=Matthew |date=2025-05-30 |title=Radiohead's Thom Yorke releases statement on Israel and Gaza |url=https://pitchfork.com/news/radiohead-thom-yorke-releases-statement-on-israel-and-gaza/ |access-date=2025-05-30 |website=Pitchfork |language=en-US}} The American comedian and musician Reggie Watts criticised Yorke's statement, writing that it "centres his hurt feelings and frames his fans' demands for him to speak up as a 'social media witch hunt{{' "}}, and hoped that Yorke would "reflect and decentre himself" from public outcry against the Gaza genocide.{{cite web |last1=Molley |first1=Laura |title=Reggie Watts hits back at Thom Yorke's comments on Palestine and "social media witch-hunts" |url=https://www.nme.com/news/music/reggie-watts-hits-back-at-thom-yorkes-comments-on-palestine-and-social-media-witch-hunts-3866317 |website=NME |access-date=31 May 2025 |date=31 May 2025}}

In September 2004, Yorke was a key speaker at a Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament rally outside the RAF Fylingdales air base in Yorkshire, protesting Blair's support of the Bush administration's plans for the "Star Wars" missile defence system.{{Cite web |date=2004-09-27 |title=Thom Yorke leads "Star Wars" protest |url=https://www.nme.com/news/music/radiohead-687-1368226 |access-date=2021-06-01 |website=NME |language=en-GB}} Yorke and musicians including Plan B, Bryan Ferry and Mark Ronson appeared in the music video for the 2010 charity single "2 Minute Silence", which comprises two minutes of silence. The single commemorates Remembrance Day, with all proceeds to the Royal British Legion.{{Cite news |last=Michaels |first=Sean |date=2010-11-11 |title=Remembrance Day single brings two-minute silence to charts |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2010/nov/11/remembrance-day-single-silence |access-date=2025-01-24 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}

To celebrate the 2008 election of US president Barack Obama, Yorke released a remixed version of his single "Harrowdown Hill" as a free download.{{Cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/thom-yorke-celebrates-obama-victory-with-free-track-110856/|title=Thom Yorke Celebrates Obama Victory With Free Track|last=Kreps|first=Daniel|date=6 November 2008|magazine=Rolling Stone|access-date=21 July 2018|language=en-US}} In June 2016, following the Orlando nightclub shooting in Florida, Yorke was one of nearly 200 music industry figures to sign an open letter published in Billboard urging the United States Congress to impose stricter gun control.{{cite web |last=Maine |first=Samantha |date=23 June 2016 |title=Thom Yorke, Paul McCartney and more lobby congress on gun control {{!}} NME.COM |url=https://www.nme.com/news/music/various-artists-190-1197393 |access-date=30 June 2016 |website=NME |language=en-GB}}{{cite magazine |title=An Open Letter to Congress from the Music Industry |url=https://www.billboard.com/open-letter/ |access-date=30 June 2016 |magazine=Billboard |language=en-US}}

After the election of Donald Trump in 2016, Yorke tweeted lyrics from Radiohead's single "Burn the Witch", interpreted as a criticism of Trump's policies.{{Cite news|url=https://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/rock/7573278/radiohead-thom-yorke-reaction-to-donald-trump-election-burn-the-witch|title=Radiohead's Thom Yorke Had The Perfect Reaction To Donald Trump's Election Victory|newspaper=Billboard|access-date=22 January 2017}}{{Cite news|url=https://consequence.net/2016/11/thom-yorke-uses-radioheads-burn-the-witch-to-comment-on-the-ill-fated-2016-election/|title=Thom Yorke uses Radiohead's "Burn the Witch" to comment on the ill-fated 2016 election|date=9 November 2016|newspaper=Consequence of Sound|access-date=22 January 2017|language=en-US}} He opposed Brexit,{{Cite web |last=Murray |first=Robin |date=8 February 2019 |title=Thom Yorke on Brexit: 'Stop the bus... now' |url=https://www.clashmusic.com/news/thom-yorke-on-brexit-stop-the-bus-now |access-date=8 February 2019 |website=Clash |language=en}} and in March 2019 joined the People's Vote march calling for a second referendum.{{Cite web |last=Skinner |first=Tom |date=23 March 2019 |title=Thom Yorke, Years & Years, Fatboy Slim and more take part in Brexit People's Vote March |url=https://www.nme.com/news/music/thom-yorke-years-years-fatboy-slim-and-more-take-part-in-brexit-peoples-vote-march-2465950 |access-date=23 March 2019 |website=NME |language=en-US}} In 2024, Yorke was one of 10,500 creative professionals who signed a statement warning against the unlicensed use of copyrighted work in AI training.{{Cite news |last=Milmo |first=Dan |date=2024-10-22 |title=Thom Yorke and Julianne Moore join thousands of creatives in AI warning |url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2024/oct/22/thom-yorke-and-julianne-moore-join-thousands-of-creatives-in-ai-warning |access-date=2024-10-22 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}

Yorke is a vegetarian. In a 2005 film for the animal rights foundation Animal Aid, he said: "Society deems it necessary to create this level of suffering in order for [people] to eat food that they don't need ... You should at least be aware of what you're doing rather than assuming that that's your right as a human being to do it."{{cite web |date=1 May 2005 |title=Thom Yorke of Radiohead on why veggie is best |url=http://www.animalaid.org.uk/h/n/NEWS/news_veggie/ALL/791// |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150523170219/http://www.animalaid.org.uk/h/n/NEWS/news_veggie/ALL/791// |archive-date=23 May 2015 |access-date=23 May 2015 |website=Animal Aid}}

For 23 years, Yorke was in a relationship with the artist and lecturer Rachel Owen, whom he met while studying at the University of Exeter. In 2012, Rolling Stone reported that Owen and Yorke were unmarried. However, The Times later found that they had married in a secret ceremony in Oxfordshire in May 2003. Their son, Noah, was born in 2001, and their daughter, Agnes, in 2004.

In August 2015, Yorke and Owen announced that they had separated amicably.{{cite web |date=15 August 2015 |title=Thom Yorke and Rachel Owen announce separation |url=https://www.nme.com/news/thom-yorke/87598 |access-date=18 August 2015 |website=NME }} Owen died from cancer on 18 December 2016, aged 48.{{Cite news |last=Vincent |first=Alice |date=20 December 2016 |title=Thom Yorke's ex-partner, Rachel Owen, dies aged 48 |newspaper=The Daily Telegraph |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/music/news/thom-yorkes-ex-partner-rachel-owen-dies-aged-48/ |url-status=live |url-access=subscription |access-date=20 December 2016 |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220111/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/music/news/thom-yorkes-ex-partner-rachel-owen-dies-aged-48/ |archive-date=11 January 2022}}{{cbignore}} In September 2020, Yorke married the Italian actress Dajana Roncione in Bagheria, Sicily.{{Cite web |last=Strauss |first=Matthew |date=23 September 2020 |title=Thom Yorke and Dajana Roncione are married |url=https://pitchfork.com/news/thom-yorke-and-dajana-roncione-are-married/ |access-date=23 September 2020 |website=Pitchfork |language=en-us}} Roncione appears in the video for the Radiohead song "Lift" and the Anima film.{{Cite web |last=Yoo |first=Noah |date=26 June 2019 |title=Five takeaways from Thom Yorke's new album, Anima |url=https://pitchfork.com/thepitch/5-takeaways-from-thom-yorkes-new-album-anima/ |access-date=27 June 2019 |website=Pitchfork}} They live in Oxford.

On Yorke's 2018 soundtrack album Suspiria, his son, Noah, played drums on two tracks and his daughter, Agnes, collaborated on the artwork. In September 2021, Noah released a song, "Trying Too Hard (Lullaby)". NME likened its "ghostly" arrangement to Radiohead's album In Rainbows.{{Cite web |date=2021-09-25 |title=Listen to Thom Yorke's son Noah's ghostly new song 'Trying Too Hard (Lullaby)' |url=https://www.nme.com/news/music/listen-to-thom-yorkes-son-noahs-ghostly-new-song-trying-too-hard-lullaby-3054840 |access-date=2022-05-13 |website=NME |language=en-GB}} Noah has since released several more songs,{{Cite web |date=2023-08-01 |title=Thom Yorke's Son Noah Yorke Shares New Song "Cerebral Key": Stream |url=https://consequence.net/2023/08/thom-yorke-son-noah-yorke-cerebral-key-stream/ |access-date=2023-10-20 |website=Consequence |language=en-US}} and performs with James Knott as the noise duo Hex Girlfriend.{{Cite web |last=Reilly |first=Nick |date=2024-02-26 |title=Meet Hex Girlfriend, the industrial duo combining grit with theatrics |url=https://www.rollingstone.co.uk/music/features/meet-hex-girlfriend-the-industrial-duo-noah-yorke-interview-37051/ |access-date=2025-01-08 |website=Rolling Stone UK |language=en-GB}} Yorke's younger brother and only sibling, Andy, is the singer of the band Unbelievable Truth.{{cite web |title=Andy Yorke biography |url=https://www.allmusic.com/artist/andy-yorke-mn0000038658/biography |access-date=2 July 2014 |publisher=AllMusic}}

Yorke practises meditation.{{Cite web |title=Thom Yorke - Here's The Thing - WNYC Studios |url=https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/278417-thom-yorke |access-date=3 January 2018 |website=Wnycstudios.org |language=en}} In 2004, he said he had "dabbled" in Buddhism.{{Cite web |last=Draper |first=Brian |date=October 2004 |title=In-depth interview with Thom Yorke |url=https://highprofiles.info/interview/thom-yorke/ |access-date=2022-01-21 |website=High Profiles |language=en-GB}} He has suffered from anxiety and depression, which he treats with exercise, yoga and reading.{{Cite news |last=Tucker |first=Grant |title=Radiohead frontman Thom Yorke goes on the record: Yes, I get anxious |language=en |work=The Times |url=https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/radiohead-star-thom-yorke-goes-on-the-record-yes-i-get-anxious-0lbdk6t3r |url-access=subscription |access-date=2022-01-21 |issn=0140-0460}} While recording in California with Atoms for Peace, Yorke took up surfing, which he said taught him patience in creativity. In 2023, an extinct stingray species was named Dasyomyliobatis thomyorkei in his honour.{{Cite journal |last1=Marramà |first1=G. |last2=Villalobos-Segura |first2=E. |last3=Zorzin |first3=R. |last4=Kriwet |first4=J. |last5=Carnevale |first5=G. |year=2023 |title=The evolutionary origin of the durophagous pelagic stingray ecomorph |journal=Palaeontology |volume=66 |issue=4 |at=e12669 |bibcode=2023Palgy..6612669M |doi=10.1111/pala.12669 |pmc=7614867 |pmid=37533696}}

{{See also|List of awards and nominations received by Radiohead}}

{| class=wikitable

|-

! Award !! Year !! Work !! Category !! Result !! Ref.

|-

! scope="row" rowspan=2|A2IM Libera Awards

| rowspan=2|2020

| Himself

| Marketing Genius

| {{nom}}

| rowspan=2|{{Cite web|url=https://liberaawards.com/2020-nominees__trashed/2020-nominees/|title=2020 - Libera Awards|work=libera awards|access-date=20 June 2020|archive-date=22 June 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200622125423/https://liberaawards.com/2020-nominees__trashed/2020-nominees/|url-status=dead}}

|-

| Anima

| Best Dance/Electronic Album

| {{nom}}

|-

! scope="row" |Brit Awards

| 2007

| Himself

| British Male Solo Artist

| {{nom}}

|{{Cite web|url=https://www.nme.com/news/music/muse-355-1348711|title=Lily Allen, Muse head list of BRIT Award nominations|work=NME|date=16 January 2007|access-date=2 July 2020}}

|-

! scope="row"| Chicago Film Critics Association Award

| 2018

| Suspiria

| Best Original Score

| {{nom}}

|{{cite web|url=https://consequence.net/2018/12/chicago-film-critics-association-2018-nominees/|title=Chicago Film Critics Association announces 2018 nominees|last1=Suzanne-Mayer|first1=Dominick|last2=Roffman|first2=Michael|date=7 December 2018|work=Consequence of Sound|access-date=2 July 2020}}

|-

! scope="row"| David di Donatello

| 2020

| Suspiria

| Best Score

| {{nom}}

|-

! scope="row" rowspan=5| Denmark GAFFA Awards

| 1998

| rowspan=4|Himself

| Best Foreign Songwriter

| {{nom}}

| rowspan=5|{{Cite web|url=https://gaffa.dk/nyhed/8752|title=GAFFA-prisen 1991-2006 – se vinderne|access-date=8 May 2021|archive-date=12 July 2012|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120712164346/http://gaffa.dk/nyhed/8752|url-status=dead}}

|-

| 2001

| rowspan=3|Best Foreign Male Act

| {{nom}}

|-

| 2004

| {{nom}}

|-

| rowspan=2|2006

| {{nom}}

|-

| The Eraser

| Best Foreign Album

| {{nom}}

|-

! scope="row" rowspan=5|Grammy Awards

| 2007

| The Eraser

| Best Alternative Music Album

| {{nom}}

|-

| rowspan=4|2020

| rowspan=3|Anima

| Best Alternative Music Album

| {{nom}}

|-

| Best Boxed or Special Limited Edition Package

| {{nom}}

|-

| Best Music Film

| {{nom}}

|-

| "Suspirium"

| Best Song Written for Visual Media

| {{nom}}

|-

! scope="row" rowspan="2"|Libera Awards

| rowspan="2"|2020

| rowspan="2"|Anima

| Best Dance/Electronic Record

| {{nom}}

| rowspan="2"|{{cite magazine|url=https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/9349158/chance-the-rapper-fka-twigs-courtney-nominees-2020-a2im-libera-awards|title=Chance the Rapper, FKA Twigs, Courtney Barnett & More Shortlisted For 2020 A2IM Libera Awards|magazine=Billboard|date=April 2, 2020|access-date=April 8, 2020|first=Lars|last=Brandle}}

|-

| Marketing Genius

| {{nom}}

|-

! scope="row" |Mercury Prize

| 2006

| The Eraser

| Album of the Year

| {{nom}}

|{{cite web |title=Arctic Monkeys win 2006 Mercury Music Prize {{!}} NME |url=https://www.nme.com/news/music/arctic-monkeys-523-1356678 |website=NME |date=5 September 2006}}

|-

! scope="row" |NME Awards

| 2008

| Himself

| Hero of the Year

| {{nom}}

|{{Cite web|url=https://www.nme.com/news/music/nme-awards-42-1333415|title = Shockwaves NME Awards 2008 - all the nominations|website = NME|date = 30 January 2008}}

|-

! scope="row" |Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association

| 2018

| Suspiria

| Best Score

| {{nom}}

|-

! scope="row" rowspan=4|UK Music Video Awards

| rowspan=3|2019

| rowspan=3|Anima

| Best Special Video Project

| {{nom}}

| rowspan=3|{{Cite web|url=https://www.shots.net/news/view/nominations-for-uk-music-video-awards-2019-revealed|title = Nominations for UK Music Video Awards 2019 revealed}}

|-

| Best Production Design in a Video

| {{nom}}

|-

| Best Choreography in a Video

| {{win}}

|-

| 2020

| "Last I Heard (...He Was Circling the Drain)"

| Best Alternative Video - UK

| {{nom}}

|{{Cite web|url=https://www.promonews.tv/news/2020/09/29/uk-music-video-awards-2020-all-nominations/66913|title = UK Music Video Awards 2020: All the nominations! | News | Promonews}}

|-

!scope="row" rowspan=4|Žebřík Music Awards

| 2000

| rowspan=4|Himself

| rowspan=4|Best International Male

| {{nom}}

| rowspan=3|{{Cite web|url=https://www.anketazebrik.cz/historie/2003-1997/|title = 2003-1997 – Anketa Žebřík}}

|-

| 2001

| {{nom}}

|-

| 2003

| {{nom}}

|-

| 2005

| {{nom}}

| {{Cite web|url=https://www.anketazebrik.cz/historie/2010-2004/|title = 2010-2004 – Anketa Žebřík}}

{{end}}

{{main|Thom Yorke discography}}

{{see also|Radiohead discography|Atoms for Peace discography|The Smile discography}}

• The Eraser (2006)
• Tomorrow's Modern Boxes (2014)
• Anima (2019)

• Tall Tales (2025; with Mark Pritchard)

• When the Dragon Swallowed the Sun (2010; additional music only)
• The UK Gold (2013; with Robert Del Naja)
• Why Can't We Get Along (2018; Rag & Bone short film)
• Time of Day (2018; Rag & Bone short film)
• Suspiria (2018)
• Confidenza (2024)

• Suspiria (2018)
• Sus Dog by Clark (2023; executive produced)

• List of Old Abingdonians
• List of British Grammy winners and nominees

{{reflist|colwidth=30em}}

{{refbegin}}

• Randall, Mac. Exit Music: The Radiohead Story. Delta, 2000. {{ISBN|0-385-33393-5}}

{{refend}}

• {{commons category inline}}
• {{wikiquote-inline}}
• {{discogs artist}}

{{Thom Yorke}}

{{Radiohead}}

{{The Smile}}

{{2019 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Yorke, Thom}}

Category:1968 births

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Category:British alternative rock guitarists

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Category:Alumni of the University of Exeter

Category:Anti-consumerists

Category:Anti-globalization activists

Category:English alternative rock musicians

Category:Art rock musicians

Category:English activists

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Category:English environmentalists

Category:English rock singers

Category:English male singer-songwriters

Category:English rock guitarists

Category:English tenors

Category:Grammy Award winners

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Category:Living people

Category:English male pianists

Category:Music in Oxford

Category:People with ptosis (eyelid)

Category:People educated at Abingdon School

Category:People from Wellingborough

Category:Radiohead members

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Category:Atoms for Peace (band) members

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Category:The Smile (band) members

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