Few musicians who have spent decades inside the same group look back at their beginnings with complete satisfaction, and Jonny Greenwood is no exception. Looking back on his earliest days with Radiohead, a band he joined in 1985, the guitarist remembers an approach to the instrument defined by hesitation and physical awkwardness. Rather than feeling like a natural talent, he viewed himself as clumsy and admits he was persistently lazy during those formative years.
For a long time, Greenwood remained skeptical about the very idea of technical ease. He actively distrusted fluid playing, associating that kind of smooth facility with mere technical exhibitionism rather than meaningful music. Over the years, however, that suspicion gradually faded into steady discipline. Greenwood now picks up an instrument every single day, describing the routine as an addiction rooted entirely in repetition. Having come to terms with his own capabilities, he considers himself fortunate that his hands can now carry out the ideas he hears, finally allowing him to embrace a genuine love for the physical craft of playing.
That personal peace arrives alongside a rare period of stage activity for Radiohead. Last year, the Oxford group reconvened for a run across the United Kingdom and Europe, marking their first public concerts since 2018. Staged in the round across five cities, the brief tour was anchored by four consecutive nights at London's O2 Arena. Greenwood admitted he was genuinely surprised by how much fun the band had together on stage, an unexpected reaction from a group known for setting notoriously severe expectations for themselves.
The positive energy from those shows has helped establish a measured strategy for future touring. Earlier this year, guitarist Ed O'Brien outlined a clear philosophy for performing live, explaining that the band wanted to restrict their schedule to one continent per year, capped at twenty appearances. That framework will take shape next year with a twenty-one-show tour across Australia and Japan throughout May and early June. The routing includes multiple nights at RAC Arena in Perth, Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne, and Afterpay Arena in Sydney, before heading to the GMO Arena in Saitama. To keep control over distribution, ticket access has been restricted entirely to fans who register through the band's official website.
Yet while the band's touring setup is running smoothly, listeners holding out hope for a return to the recording studio will have to wait. O'Brien laughed off the suggestion that these concerts might inspire a new album, stating plainly that the band members have not had a single conversation about recording again. The hesitance comes down to the exhausting circumstances that defined their last studio effort, A Moon Shaped Pool. O'Brien described the making of that record as a deeply grim ordeal that still casts a long shadow over the quintet, joking that anyone curious about a follow-up should ask him again in six years.
With Greenwood also weighing in on the lack of immediate studio momentum, Radiohead remain in a position where performing live takes clear precedence over making new records. For the moment, the band seem entirely content to tour on their own terms, led by musicians who have finally grown comfortable with their own playing.
