Thom working on a solo album?

Posted on May 7th, 2004.

Australian newspaper the Guide has interview with Colin Greenwood. Colin talks about Radiohead throughout the years, mentioning Creep (“We weren’t trying to have a hit. It was all an accident.”), Thom during the OK Computer tour (“”It was very distressing. You don’t want to be doing something with someone who doesn’t want to be there.”), Hail to the Thief (“I think it is the start of a new cycle for the band.”) and the future: Greenwood has no clues about the next Radiohead record. He confirms Yorke has started work on a solo album. “We all have different agendas about what we want to do in Radiohead,” Greenwood said. “I would like to see us try very different styles. I would like to see it go from acoustic to hard techno, with everything in the middle. But who knows? I would like to do something that captures our live energy as well.” [Thanks Stephen]

The Guide, April 30 2004:

Radiohead on new wave On and off stage, Radiohead seems at peace.

As we speak, Greenwood takes a call from his wife, American literary writer Molly McGrann, and mentions homework he has brought on tour. “I’m grading poetry for a competition,” he said. “Thankfully, most of it is great. I wouldn’t want to be stuck in a hotel room in Japan reading bad poems. That wouldn’t be fun.”

Not so long ago, a Radiohead tour, specifically the OK Computer juggernaut, also meant no fun. Those 1997-98 shows were critically acclaimed but, for a band suffering burnout, it was an agonising road.

Greenwood still recalls, with a heavy heart, watching frontman Thom Yorke do each show with a faraway look in his eyes. “The dreaded thousand-yard stare,” he said.

“It was very distressing. You don’t want to be doing something with someone who doesn’t want to be there. But I don’t want to paint that whole period as misery and unhappiness. “There were some good times: beach barbecues, go-karting, swimming in the sea. We were very lucky to visit places around the world and rock them. I still consider it a privilege.”

But Radiohead was seen as miserable particularly after its dark and difficult albums in 2000 and 2001, Kid A and Amnesiac. Greenwood said they were difficult records to make, especially after the all-conquering OK Computer.

“I think Kid A is the best album we’ve recorded. It has amazingly strong emotions, moods and colour,” he said. Greenwood never saw or took notice of reviews accusing Radiohead of being grim-faced, pretentious or glum. Besides, he knew what to expect.

Critics savaged Radiohead’s 1993 debut album, Pablo Honey, and single Creep. “The backlash started way back then. They called us one-hit wonders. They said we wouldn’t last,” he said. “I think when you hear it the first time, you don’t care about it after that. I never thought we were one-hit wonders, anyway. “We weren’t trying to have a hit. It was all an accident.”

A decade on, Radiohead is back in the good books. Its latest album, Hail To The Thief, reflects the audacity of OK Computer and pop glory of the 1995 The Bends. “It was recorded quickly, live and in a really positive atmosphere,” Greenwood said. “I think it is the start of a new cycle for the band.” It also mirrors Yorke’s personal changes. Yorke and partner, Rachel Owen, now have a son, Noah.

“We have all become parentally inclined and that’s a good thing,” Greenwood says. Radiohead has given Greenwood a comfortable life. But he takes issue with being described as a 30-something millionaire rocker.

“We don’t play music to make money. If we did, we would make music in a very different way, like most of our peers do,” he said. “We would tour for a lot longer and we would charge more. We would manufacture our own clothes and merchandise. We would sign a record contract with somebody else.”

Greenwood has no clues about the next Radiohead record. He confirms Yorke has started work on a solo album. “We all have different agendas about what we want to do in Radiohead,” Greenwood said. “I would like to see us try very different styles. I would like to see it go from acoustic to hard techno, with everything in the middle. But who knows? I would like to do something that captures our live energy as well.”