Thom Yorke Biography

Occup.Musician
FromEngland
BornOctober 7, 1968
Age55 years
Early Life
Thomas Edward Yorke, popularly known as Thom Yorke, was born upon October 7, 1968, in Wellingborough, Northamptonshire, England. He was the youngest of 4 siblings. Yorke was born with a paralysed left eye, which went through five surgeries before the age of six, leaving him with a completely drooping eyelid, a feature that would later enter into his unique appearance.

Yorke's family moved regularly during his childhood due to his daddy's work as a nuclear physicist and his mom, a teacher. They eventually settled in Oxfordshire in the late 1970s. Yorke revealed an early interest in music, discovering to play the guitar and piano, and began composing tunes at a young age. He went to Abingdon School, an all-boys public school in Oxfordshire, where he met three future members of Radiohead: Ed O'Brien, Phil Selway, and the Greenwood brothers, Colin and Jonny Greenwood.

Formation of Radiohead
Thom Yorke, in addition to his good friends from Abingdon School, formed a band contacted a Friday in 1985, called after their regular rehearsal days. Yorke was the main songwriter, vocalist, and guitarist for the group. After finishing school, Yorke participated in the University of Exeter, where he studied art and English literature. While he was away at university, the band dissolved temporarily but reformed in 1991.

Following their reunion, On a Friday altered their name to Radiohead at the idea of their record label, EMI. In 1992, the band released their debut single, "Creep", a tune written by Yorke. It initially got little attention, however it rapidly got popularity after being re-released in 1993, catapulting Radiohead to global stardom.

Radiohead's Success
After the success of "Creep", Radiohead launched their debut album, 'Pablo Honey,' in 1993 to combined evaluations. However, their subsequent albums, 'The Bends' (1995) and 'OK Computer' (1997), sealed their status as one of the most innovative and successful rock bands of their period. 'OK Computer' topped a number of year-end and decade-end lists, and is frequently credited with declaring the period of alternative and speculative rock in the late 1990s.

Throughout the next twenty years, Radiohead continued to press musical borders with their albums 'Kid A' (2000), 'Amnesiac' (2001), 'Hail to the Thief' (2003), 'In Rainbows' (2007), 'The King of Limbs' (2011), and 'A Moon Shaped Pool' (2016), exploring a wide range of categories, consisting of electronic music, ambient music, and art rock.

Yorke's emotive and haunting singing performances, coupled with his deeply introspective and frequently difficult lyrics, are thought about key elements of Radiohead's unique sound.

Solo Career and Collaborations
Thom Yorke has also had an effective solo career, launching his very first solo album, 'The Eraser,' in 2006. This was followed by 'Tomorrow's Modern Boxes' (2014), 'Suspiria' (2018, a score for the movie of the same name), and 'ANIMA' (2019). Yorke's solo work, like his deal with Radiohead, frequently checks out themes of societal alienation and individual psychological chaos, and his music often features electronic instrumentation and experimental production techniques.

In addition to his solo work, Yorke has collaborated with popular artists such as Björk, PJ Harvey, and Flying Lotus. He also established the supergroup Atoms for Peace in 2009, with Flea of Red Hot Chili Peppers, producer Nigel Godrich, drummer Joey Waronker, and percussionist Mauro Refosco. The group released their album 'Amok' in 2013.

Personal Life
Thom Yorke remained in a long-term relationship with Rachel Owen, an artist and speaker, whom he met while studying at the University of Exeter. The couple had two children together, but they separated in 2015 after 23 years together. Unfortunately, Owen passed away from cancer in 2016. Yorke is known for his environmental activism and his support for different charitable causes, consisting of human rights and climate modification.

Tradition
Thom Yorke's contributions to Radiohead and his solo work have actually positioned him as one of the most prominent and ingenious musicians of his generation. His unique voice and speculative technique to songwriting and production have actually had a long lasting influence on the musical landscape, motivating many artists across multiple categories. His continued commitment to developing thought-provoking and innovative music has earned him a place in the pantheon of the greatest rock musicians of all time.

Our collection contains 30 quotes who is written / told by Thom.

Related authors: Colin Greenwood (Musician), Lawrence Taylor (Athlete), Ed O'Brien (Musician), Jonny Greenwood (Musician)

Discography:

30 Famous quotes by Thom Yorke

Small: I wrote a lot of stuff quickly: pages and pages of notes that seemed pretty incoherent at first.
"I wrote a lot of stuff quickly: pages and pages of notes that seemed pretty incoherent at first. Most of it was taken from the radio because -suddenly being a parent- I'd be confronted by the radio giving a news report every hour of the day"
Small: I dont see it in terms of changing things, but rather using language and music as weapons for fighting
"I don't see it in terms of changing things, but rather using language and music as weapons for fighting a mainstream media which is predominately right wing, and loyal to the political framework and its corporate interests"
Small: Well, Ive been reading a lot about the fifty years since the Second World War, about Western foreign po
"Well, I've been reading a lot about the fifty years since the Second World War, about Western foreign policy and all that. I try not to let it get to me, but sometimes I just think that there's no hope"
Small: One of the interesting things here is that the people who should be shaping the future are politicians.
"One of the interesting things here is that the people who should be shaping the future are politicians. But the political framework itself is so dead and closed that people look to other sources, like artists, because art and music allow people a certain freedom"
Small: My songs are my kids. Some of them stay with me, some others I have to send out, out to the war.
"My songs are my kids. Some of them stay with me, some others I have to send out, out to the war. It might sound stupid and it might even sound naive, but that's just the way it is"
Small: My dad spent his whole life getting into fights for telling what he believed to be the truth. Basically
"My dad spent his whole life getting into fights for telling what he believed to be the truth. Basically it comes from my dad-and he's screaming right-wing, so there you are"
Small: My argument would be that I dont think there is much thats genuinely political art that is good art
"My argument would be that I don't think there is much that's genuinely political art that is good art"
Small: Music is more difficult - try naming a political band. The Dead Kennedys. The Dead Kennedys are politic
"Music is more difficult - try naming a political band. The Dead Kennedys. The Dead Kennedys are political, but they are more funny than they are political"
Small: It is difficult to make political art work
"It is difficult to make political art work"
Small: If we got into a situation where people start burning our records, then bring it on. Thats the whole po
"If we got into a situation where people start burning our records, then bring it on. That's the whole point. The gloaming has begun. We're in the darkness. This has happened before. Go read some history"
Small: Ive never believed that pop music is escapist trash. Theres always a darkness in it, even amidst great
"I've never believed that pop music is escapist trash. There's always a darkness in it, even amidst great pop music"
Small: We toyed with the idea of making it a double album, but I think that would only have confused everybody
"We toyed with the idea of making it a double album, but I think that would only have confused everybody even more, so we decided to stick with the songs we picked"
Small: We dont have to stand on a soap-box and preach because hopefully were channelling it through the new re
"We don't have to stand on a soap-box and preach because hopefully we're channelling it through the new record"
Small: We didnt start out to make a protest record at all. That would have been too shallow. As usual, it was
"We didn't start out to make a protest record at all. That would have been too shallow. As usual, it was simply a case of absorbing what's going on around us"
Small: This was something that was obsessing me and creating a writers block. To get involved and get stuck in
"This was something that was obsessing me and creating a writer's block. To get involved and get stuck in, get the proper information about what's going on has really helped"
Small: The people in charge, globally, are maniacs. They are maniacs, and unless we do something about it thes
"The people in charge, globally, are maniacs. They are maniacs, and unless we do something about it these people are going to deprive us of a future"
Small: Someone needs to tell the truth, but it shouldnt be my job
"Someone needs to tell the truth, but it shouldn't be my job"
Small: So ultimately, its idealistic to think that artists are able to step away from the power of the media a
"So ultimately, it's idealistic to think that artists are able to step away from the power of the media and the way it controls things, and go on doing their own things"
Small: Generally speaking, if people are prepared to stick their heads above the power pit, like Zinn says, an
"Generally speaking, if people are prepared to stick their heads above the power pit, like Zinn says, and absorb what's going on around them, it makes them think"
Small: Coming from Britain, I was terrified of meeting all these other artists, because artists over there ten
"Coming from Britain, I was terrified of meeting all these other artists, because artists over there tend to fight with each other a lot, the premise being that there's not enough room for everybody"
Small: At home Ive got a very puerile, juvenile sense of humour
"At home I've got a very puerile, juvenile sense of humour"
Small: And I know Im paranoid and neurotic, Ive made a career out of it
"And I know I'm paranoid and neurotic, I've made a career out of it"
Small: I think were entering a very dangerous time. The West has set itself up, decided its in charge, not for
"I think we're entering a very dangerous time. The West has set itself up, decided it's in charge, not for good intentions, not for the benefit of mankind"
Small: I think the most important thing about music is the sense of escape
"I think the most important thing about music is the sense of escape"
Small: I think sometimes all the charities are doing is mopping up the blood. Its a shame
"I think sometimes all the charities are doing is mopping up the blood. It's a shame"
Small: I think no artist can claim to have any access to the truth, or an authentic version of an event.
"I think no artist can claim to have any access to the truth, or an authentic version of an event. But obviously they have slightly better means at their disposal because they have their art to energize whatever it is they're trying to write about. They have music"
Small: I think maybe since there isnt a great deal of access to the mainstream media and people dont understan
"I think maybe since there isn't a great deal of access to the mainstream media and people don't understand the language of mainstream media, if you put music out there with lyrics that are loosely political, people absorb some of it and spit it back out"
Small: I grew up under Thatcher. I grew up believing that I was fundamentally powerless. Then gradually over t
"I grew up under Thatcher. I grew up believing that I was fundamentally powerless. Then gradually over the years it occurred to me that this was actually a very convenient myth for the state"
Small: You think I have the responsibilty... I have the responsibility to give the fans a good time!
"You think I have the responsibilty... I have the responsibility to give the fans a good time!"
Small: Well, my son really loves wildlife. And everytime he draws a polar bear I want to tell him there probab
"Well, my son really loves wildlife. And everytime he draws a polar bear I want to tell him there probably won't any by the time... he's my age. That's kinda hard to deal with"