Radiohead are baffled by their success on TikTok.
The band’s 1997 single Let Down returned to America’s Billboard Hot 100 in August – 28 years after its release – after the track became popular on the video sharing app – and frontman Thom Yorke admits the song’s resurgence feels “bizarre” because he initially fought to have it dropped from their 1997 album OK Computer.
Yorke told The Sunday Times newspaper’s Culture magazine: “I find that especially bizarre. Because I fought tooth and nail for it not to be on the record, but [guitarist] Ed O’Brien was, like: ‘If it’s not, I’m leaving’.”
Ed O’Brien went on to tell the publication he sees the song as the “emotional heart” of the album, but he was still confused by the song’s popularity on TikTok – so he asked his kids about it.
He said: “I was astonished [by the son’s success on TikTok]. So I told my kids, who are 18 and 21, and they said: ‘What do you expect? Teenagers are depressed. It’s depressing music!'”
The group announced last month they will be returning to the stage in a number of European cities later this year for their first gigs since 2018 and in the new interview, Yorke explained the reason for the band’s hiatus, saying: “The wheels came off a bit, so we had to stop.”
Tickets for the gigs – in London, Berlin, Copenhagen, Madrid and Bologna – were in high demand and Radiohead later condemned ticket resale platforms and what they called “exploitative” touts.
The group hit out after more than 1,000 tickets for their tour were advertised online before being made available to the public.
Their management implemented strict measures aimed at stopping large-scale resales, but tickets were still listed on secondary platforms including Viagogo and Ticombo.
Julie Calland, the group’s manager, was quoted by The Guardian as saying: “Radiohead have always strived to protect their audience from exploitative ticket touts which, in the absence of robust government legislation, becomes increasingly challenging.”
She added: “Fans will be encouraged to stay away from secondary sites and we will work alongside venues, promoters and organisations like FanFair Alliance and FEAT (Face-value European Alliance for Ticketing), to shut down unauthorised sales at inflated prices – tickets that for the most part, don’t actually exist.”