Thom Yorke will not attend this year’s Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony, he revealed in an interview with Chris Willman for Variety. Yorke explained his absence: “I can’t. I know I can’t, because of these piano pieces that I’ve written. There’s the Paris Philharmonic, so I have to be there for that.” Variety noted: “The piece he wrote for Katia and Marielle Labèque premieres at Philharmonie de Paris on April 7, nine days after the Hall of Fame induction.” Pitchfork has contacted Radiohead representatives for more information and further comment.
The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame... we’ve always been very blasé about that stuff. So we don’t want to offend anyone. We just think that we just don’t quite understand it. We’ve had it explained to us, so it’s cool. But we don’t really understand it as English people. I think our problem is essentially that every awards ceremony in the UK stinks. We grew up with the BRITs, which is like this sort of drunken car crash that you don’t want to get involved with. [Chuckles.] So, yeah, we don’t really know what to make of it.
Yorke did, however, express a desire to get nominated for Best Original Song at the 2019 Oscars. (His track “Suspirium” has already made the shortlist.) Yorke stated, “I mean, I hope it gets nominated. That would be great, because it was a year and a half in my life, and I worked bloody hard on it. So, you know, sometimes it’s nice to be recognized. Sometimes, if you understand what it means.” Find the full interview at Variety.
Radiohead made the Rock Hall’s class of 2019 alongside the Cure, Janet Jackson, and more. In a statement following their “surprise” induction, a Radiohead rep said, “The band thanks the Hall of Fame voting body and extends congratulations to this year’s fellow inductees.” The ceremony takes place Friday, March 29, 2019 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.