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Thom Yorke premiered a new song called “Space Walk” at the Ivor Novello Awards on Thursday. At the same evening, the Radiohead singer was awarded the prestigious Academy Fellowship.
The award was presented to him by surprise guest Harry Styles, who revealed that he had lost his innocence while listening to Radiohead’s “Talk Show Host” – only to add: “that Intro from ‘Talk Show Host’.” “Thom Yorke always had a way with words,” Styles said, calling Radiohead his “favorite band.”
Yorke then played his solo piano track “Space Walk” as well as an acoustic version of Radiohead’s “Jigsaw Falling Into Place.”
Billing with the industry
In his acceptance speech (according to NME), Yorke took issue with the current state of the music industry and its over-reliance on streaming services and playlists.
“A lot of lip service is paid to new music with self-indulgent playlists, as is the idea of a vital music scene,” Yorke said. “But they refuse to offer the majority of musicians even a hint of a sustainable source of income. And they continue to perpetuate the lousy, damn opaque billing tricks that the major labels used back in the 1990s.”
Yorke continued: “So I’d like to give a quick reminder to the industry and streaming services: get your shit together. Where are you going to get your next juicy back catalog, huh? This industry will die – and the idiots with it – if you do nothing but devalue the next generation of artists and their fans. Remember: without us, you’re nothing!”
Solo album in sight
At the beginning of the year, Radiohead’s Ed O’Brien (accidentally?) let it be known that Yorke would probably release a solo album in 2026 after three albums with The Smile. Whether “Space Walk” is intended for this upcoming effort – Yorke’s first solo LP since 2019’s “Anima” – remains unclear.
