Thom Yorke, the lead singer of Radiohead, has opened up about his musical journey and how he learned to embrace a singing voice similar to the iconic Neil Young. Recently, in an excerpt from Jason Thomas Gordon’s upcoming book, The Singers Talk, Yorke shared how he found his signature sound with the help of Young and Jeff Buckley.
At 18, Yorke created a demo and sent it to a magazine, which earned him a great review with the response: “Who is this guy? He sounds just like Neil Young!”. Yorke reflected on how he had never heard of Young before and, upon buying his album ‘After The Gold Rush’, he understood that it was okay to sound like that. He also found comfort in seeing Jeff Buckley, as it reminded him of his vulnerable side which he had been hiding.
When Radiohead recorded their second album, ‘The Bends’, Yorke had seen Buckley before he passed away and it made him feel like he could embrace his voice. Yorke also shared how he keeps his voice in shape with vocal warm-ups and a chiropractor on tour to re-align his spine when his voice feels stiff.
Recently, Yorke’s band The Smile released their new single ‘Bending Hectic’. It was recorded at the iconic Abbey Road Studios in London. Additionally, Yorke’s son Noah released his own single ‘Cerebral Key’. He revealed on Instagram that it was his first time in a studio and that the process of writing and recording the project has been a reflective and formative experience.
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