Radiohead Rock Hall 2019 Induction: David Byrne Introduces, Only Ed and Phil Show Up
Tonight, Radiohead were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame at tonight’s induction ceremony in Brooklyn. Ed O’Brien and Phil Selway were in attendance to accept the award while the rest of the band’s members were unable to make it. David Byrne gave a speech inducting the band.
In his acceptance speech, Phil Selway said:
Thank you! So, first off, I think I’d just like to set the record straight. In the film, Thom said: Phil was the only drummer. I think what he meant was: Phil was the only drummer. So thank you. This is a real honor. And it’s particularly special that David Byrne has inducted us. As David said, we borrowed a band name from him 30 years ago and luckily for us he hasn’t asked for it back yet. I’d just like to say a little bit about what being in Radiohead means to me. It can be awkward and challenging sometimes. But I guess that’s what kept us all interested for the past three decades. I’m beyond proud of what the five of us have achieved together, and I know that Radiohead wouldn’t have become what it is without the five of us.
I can easily place myself back in my first rehearsal with the band at the school we all went to, and that band is still very recognizable to me, whenever we play. We’ve learned all our musical chops together. Each new song has been like a lesson and our albums act as a chart of that learning process. We may not be the greatest musicians around and we’re certainly not the most media-friendly of bands. But we have become very adept at being Radiohead. And when that connects with people, it feels amazing. I’d never take any of this for granted, so thank you, thank you, so much.
I just want to say this is such a beautifully surreal evening for us and it’s very far from where we come from. But thank you for inviting us, inducting us into this Hall of Fame. It is a big fucking deal. I wish the others could be here because they would be feeling it. So thank you. Obviously a band like ourselves have a lot of thank-yous to make and I don’t want to spend the next 10 minutes name-checking everybody — although I’d love to — but you’d be bored. I want to thank our families, who encourage us to go on these musical adventures. Our kids, our wives, our partners. They let us go swan around the world doing our thing. I want to thank everybody who’s ever been touched by our music. For everyone who comes to the shows and participated — it’s not just us on stage, it’s everybody. We’ve had some amazing, glorious nights with you. I’d also like to thank everybody who’s worked with us. We’re a very blessed band. We’ve worked with some incredibly talented, inspiring people who not only do the best for music but the best for us as human beings, and that’s a really important part of Radiohead.
But my biggest thank you is for my brothers, Thom, Colin and Johnny. All musicians know and fans know: It’s an incredible journey. It’s truly extraordinary. We’re not doing run-of-the-mill stuff. It’s amazing. We’ve been doing it for 34 years and are still doing it. I want to thank them for their integrity, their authenticity, their commitment. None of these things you should take for granted. I also want to thank them for the musicians they are. That thing when we play together; that collective sound that we make. Some of the nights we have in the rehearsal studio where they’re like transcendental moments. I thank them for that. But most of all I want to thank them for this deep, deep friendship. We could’ve done this without this love for one another but there’s such a deep, deep bond and it’s a beautiful thing. So thank you. I love you.
In an interview with Rolling Stone following their induction, Selway and O’Brien clarified why their bandmates couldn’t attend. “They actually had other shows all booked,” Selway said. “But yes, I think they would’ve been blown away by this evening as well.”
They were also asked about Thom Yorke’s reaction to being inducted. “The last time in January when we were all together he was pleased that Philip and I were able to go because he wasn’t able to go,” O’Brien said. “Not just him, but everybody felt like it was a big deal. And even if three people couldn’t be there, at least two of us could go. Like Philip says, he gets it.”
Yorke had previously revealed he would not attend because he has to be in France for the premiere of a piano piece he wrote for the Paris Philharmonic. (The concert is on April 7.)
The band, nominated last year too, has been indifferent about its induction. “The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame... we’ve always been very blasé about that stuff,” Yorke said recently. “So we don’t want to offend anyone. We just think that we just don’t quite understand it.”
In 2017, Jonny Greenwood said, “I don’t care.”
Perhaps most disappointing, however, was the absence of Colin Greenwood who, prior to induction in 2017, said, “I’d be grateful if we got in. Look at the other people that have been inducted.” He added, “I don’t know if everyone else will go though. It might be me just doing bass versions of everything like, ‘Come on, you know this one!’ I’d have to play the bass part to ‘Creep’ five times.”
Follow all of Pitchfork’s coverage of the 34th Annual Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony.
