Watch Thom Yorke Debut Radiohead’s ‘Spectre’ Live
For the first time onstage, Thom Yorke performed “Spectre,” the Radiohead song intended as a potential theme song for the 2015 James Bond film. Yorke gave the live debut during his solo show Tuesday in Milan, Italy, crooning in falsetto over dramatic yet sparse piano chords, as opposed to the original version’s large orchestrations.
“Spectre” was the second encore during Yorke’s set at Fabrique, the second date from the frontman’s ongoing, 12-date European tour. During his Monday concert in Florence, Italy, Yorke debuted a new electronic song, “The Axe,” and he premiered two other cuts, “I Am A Very Rude Person” and “Saturdays,” during a pair of solo gigs in December.
Yorke’s tour continues Wednesday, May 30th in Zurich, Switzerland and runs throughout mid-June. The songwriter will regroup with Radiohead later this summer for a North American tour that launches July 6th in Chicago, Illinois.
Radiohead originally released “Spectre” on Christmas 2015. “Last year we were asked to write a tune for Bond movie Spectre. Yes we were,” Yorke tweeted. “It didn’t work out … but became something of our own which we love very much. As the year closes we thought you might like to hear it. Merry Christmas. May the force be with you.”
“Spectre” later appeared as the B-side to Radiohead’s seven-inch single of “Burn the Witch” and as part of the special edition package of their ninth LP, 2016’s A Moon Shaped Pool.