The 40th anniversary of the Glastonbury music festival was one for the books. This can partly be attributed to a surprise performance by none other than Thom Yorke and his bandmate from Radiohead.
The festival traditionally leaves one slot open for a "special guest." This year, organizer Michael Eavis got up on the Park Stage on June 25 and announced: "Welcome to the biggest surprise of the weekend. There’s two superstars, I’ll not name them but they’re standing right there."
The crowd had been hearing rumours that either The Strokes or Radiohead would perform.
Then Thom Yorke approached the mic and introduced himself, saying: "Hi, my name’s Thomas Yorke."
He and guitarist Jonny Greenwood played a short set of songs from Radiohead’s repertoire, including Weird Fishes/Arpeggi, Idioteque and Street Spirit (Fade Out). There were also a few Yorke solo hits, including Harrowdown Hill.
Radiohead headlined the Glastonbury festival back in 1997. It is widely remembered as one of the festival’s all-time classic performances.
U2 was scheduled to headline the festival this year but had to pull out when Bono injured his back and required surgery.
Festival reviews are rolling in and some of the highlights of the weekend include closing headliner Stevie Wonder, Snoop Dogg and, of course, that surprise performance by Britain’s beloved Radiohead.