Thom Yorke, lead singer of Radiohead, said he would “absolutely not” perform in Israel due to the country’s actions in Palestine.
In an interview with The Sunday Times alongside bassist Jonny Greenwood, Yorke said he wouldn’t want to play “anywhere near the Netanyahu regime.”
The interview comes as Radiohead prepare for their first tour in seven years, starting next month. The band has faced calls to distance itself from Greenwood, who is married to Israeli artist Sharona Katan. Greenwood said he was “not ashamed of working with Arab and Jewish musicians” and has joined anti-Netanyahu protests in Israel.
Yorke recalled the band’s 2017 concert in Tel Aviv, saying he was “horrified” when a well-connected local thanked him for performing, realizing the event was being politically “hijacked.”
Guitarist Ed O’Brien also expressed regret, saying they should have performed in Ramallah at the time. Drummer Philip Selway added that cutting ties with Greenwood “would mean the end of the band.” Yorke has previously clashed with pro-Palestine activists, including at a Melbourne concert last year where he was heckled and left the stage. Later, he called the Netanyahu government “extremists” who “need to be stopped,” adding that the concert “wasn’t the right moment to discuss the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza.” Radiohead’s upcoming tour begins in Madrid on November 5, with later shows in Bologna, London, Copenhagen, and Berlin.