After a seven-year absence, Radiohead finally returned to the stage with a sensational concert in Madrid. The legendary Oxford band opened their European tour with a set full of nostalgia, intensity and new interpretations of beloved songs, marking one of the most talked-about musical comebacks of the year.
It was the moment Radiohead fans around the world had been waiting for: on the evening of November 4, the band returned to the stage for the first time since 2018, with a spectacular performance at the Movistar Arena in Madrid. The atmosphere was electric, as the audience packed the venue to experience the reunion of a band that has left its mark on an entire generation.
The band opened the night with “Let Down” from the legendary album OK Computer of 1997 — a song that, nearly three decades later, continues to move. The choice of the track was no coincidence; “Let Down” has seen a second boom on digital platforms, reaching as high as No. 91 on Billboard Hot 100 in August, marking Radiohead's first entry into the charts since 2008.
Read also: Radiohead goes viral again: How “Let Down” became a TikTok phenomenon 28 years later
The Madrid show was the first stop on a sold-out 20-date tour that will take in major European cities including London, Bologna, Copenhagen and Berlin. In the UK, Radiohead will perform for four consecutive nights at the O2 Arena in what is already being billed as “the most anticipated comeback of the decade.”
For the five musicians, this comeback was not just a tour; it was a personal and artistic rebirth. As drummer Philip Selway said earlier this year: “Last year we got together to play just for fun. After a seven-year hiatus, it was an incredible feeling to reconnect with this musical part of ourselves.”
Read also: Thom Yorke: Why Radiohead stopped touring after 2018
The band had taken a break after the 2018 world tour for the album A moon shaped pool, a work that had reached No. 1 in the British charts and No. 3 in Billboard 200This album was Radiohead's last major project before they decided to temporarily retire, due to exhaustion and personal losses.
Thom Yorke, the band's iconic frontman, had spoken publicly about the need for this hiatus. "We had to stop. The live shows were great, but I felt like we had reached a point where we had to back off before we collapsed," he had said. He had also experienced a difficult time personally, after the death of his first wife, Dr. Rachel Owen, in 2016. "I needed to really grieve. I had never given myself time to do that," he later said.
During the years of absence, the members of Radiohead did not remain inactive. Yorke and Jonny Greenwood formed The Smile, a side project with drummer Tom Skinner, releasing three studio albums and continuing to explore their sound. At the same time, the band had relaunched the album Hail to the thief in 2003, with a live reissue that was particularly loved by fans.
Read also: Radiohead: Fury over "golden" tickets – The outburst against resellers
The Madrid show, however, was more than just nostalgia. Radiohead seemed more united than ever. The setlist included 25 songs from across their entire discography, combining classics “Karma Police,” “Everything in Its Right Place” and “Weird Fishes/Arpeggi” with rarer selections that thrilled the audience. Notable was the absence of “Creep,” their first major hit since Pablo Honey, something fans have been waiting for, since the band has rarely played it in recent years.
The stage was set with their familiar minimal and atmospheric lighting, while Yorke, more expressive than ever, thanked the audience, saying: "It's lovely to be here with you again. We missed this."
The audience responded with prolonged applause and cheers, showing that their relationship with the band remains unchanged over time. The finale came with “Everything in Its Right Place,” a song that closed the evening as it deserved — with a mix of melancholy and hope.
With this return, the Radiohead It seems like they are opening a new chapter in their journey. Not only because they are back on stage, but because they are reconnecting with their audience through their maturity and musical evolution. The “Radiohead Live '25” tour is expected to be one of the biggest cultural events of the year in Europe — and the beginning was written in the most dynamic way in Madrid.
