Search Results for: radiohead

British rock band Radiohead scored its second No. 1 album on the U.S. pop charts on Wednesday with a release that was initially sold on the Internet under a revolutionary “name-your-own-price” system. “In Rainbows” also topped the charts in Britain, Canada, France, Japan and Ireland, a representative for the group said. The critically acclaimed album sold a relatively modest 122,000 copies during its first official week in U.S. stores, according to Nielsen SoundScan data for the week ended January 6. It sold an additional 10,000 copies the week before, when some retailers put it on shelves ahead of its January… Read more »

Radiohead has hit out at the chief of its former label after a news report claimed the rock band rejected a 3 million pound ($5.95 million) advance for its new album and demanded the rights to some of its older albums. According to the report, published last Friday by The Times of London, Radiohead’s demands to EMI Group chairman Guy Hands totaled more than 10 million pounds ($19.8 million). In addition to the advance, the Times said the band also wanted a 3 million pound international marketing budget for the album, “In Rainbows,” while the reversion of the rights to… Read more »

2007 was a year of duality for music. While the industry continued to tank, it was quietly a very good year for rock ‘n’ roll and indie music. The Boss returned with his old band, the Police actually got along and even Led Zeppelin reunited. The most exciting music was busy breaking down barriers. Arcade Fire played in intimate churches; Web site TakeAwayShows.com and the film “Once” returned music to the streets; and a certain British band eliminated a very big middle man. “In Rainbows,” Radiohead: The much-ballyhooed online release of “In Rainbows” in some ways obscured what an excellent… Read more »

Radiohead has confirmed 16 European summer concert dates for 2008, including an appearance at Denmark’s giant Roskilde Festival. The British rock band’s first confirmed concert will take place June 7 at the Malahide in Dublin. The tour, announced Wednesday on Radiohead’s official Web site, will roll on to France, Spain, Italy, Germany, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Denmark, Belgium and Germany. The band will be promoting its new release, “In Rainbows,” which fans can download from the Web for a price of their own choosing. It will come out on CD early next year. Radiohead manager Bryce Edge said dates… Read more »

The British music Web site Gigwise is reporting that Radiohead has sold 1.2 million digital copies of its latest album, “In Rainbows,” since sales began on Tuesday. If true (and that might be a big “if”; see below), the number would be a blow-out, suggesting the wisdom of the band’s decision to sell its wares directly to fans without the aid of a record label. The figure dwarfs first-week sales of Radiohead’s recent studio albums. “Hail to the Thief,” released in 2003, racked up 300,000 sales in its first week; “Amnesiac” managed 231,000 copies in 2001; and “Kid A” hit… Read more »

Radiohead are more likely to release an EP, or even several EPs, before recording another full-length album. With the release of their sixth studio disc, Hail To The Thief, the band have fulfilled their contract with their record label, and now singer Thom Yorke says they’re looking forward to not having to make another album right away. He told Billboard.com, “It’s always been album, album, album…with things like iTunes and people splitting up tracks, I kind of think that’s good. I listen to music on random all the time.” Yorke stressed the need for Radiohead to “reinvent” their sound again… Read more »

When there’s a major power outage like the one that occurred on Thursday (August 14) in Toronto, people are forced to go without a lot of amenities – there’s no air conditioning, no computer access, no television, no stove cooking, no refrigeration. And, if you’re a music fan, there’s no amplifiers, PA systems or electric guitars – in other words, no rock concerts. There were a number of concerts put on hold in New York and Detroit (including the much ballyhooed Stooges hometown reunion show) and there were also various postponements in Toronto. Most of the most high-profile casualties took… Read more »

Radiohead will release a new DVD titled 7 Television Commercials in Canada on August 5. The DVD is a compilation of videos filmed through 1997’s OK Computer, said bassist Colin Greenwood. It features “Paranoid Android,” “Fake Plastic Trees,” and “Karma Police,” among other clips. Greenwood was asked if he had different thoughts on the videos now that he’s got some distance from when the videos were first released in the ’90s. He said he’s always trusted video directors. “It’s always good to work with directors with strong visions whose work you like, and who you really want to work on… Read more »

Officials in Suffolk County, New York, have denied a mass gathering permit for the June 7-8 Field Day Music Festival, but the Beastie Boys, Beck, Radiohead, N.E.R.D. and more than a dozen other acts are hoping last-minute negotiations can save the concert. On Tuesday (May 27), health officials nixed the permit after Riverhead Police Chief David Hegermiller announced that his department wouldn’t be able to safely patrol the concert, which is expected to draw 50,000 people to Suffolk County’s Calverton Enterprise Park. On Friday, county officials determined they couldn’t authorize additional police for the show because such an act would… Read more »

When Radiohead guitarist Jonny Greenwood found out last weekend that his band’s upcoming record, Hail to the Thief, had leaked online, he wasn’t terribly upset. “Shame it’s not a package with the artwork and all,” he wrote at the time. He’s since reconsidered his position. “We’re kind of pissed about it, to be honest,” he posted Thursday (April 3) on the Radiohead fan site At Ease. Mostly, Greenwood and his bandmates are upset that the version of Hail to the Thief currently on the Net is composed of works in progress that were stolen in February while the band was… Read more »