Radiohead’s Johnny Greenwood “found it strange” the band didn’t play new material on their 2025 tour

Radiohead’s Jonny Greenwood has been reflecting on their recent tour, and says he found it odd that they didn’t play any new material while on the road.

After a seven-year hiatus, Radiohead reunited and embarked on a EU/UK tour last year spanning 20 shows. Prior to this, Greenwood had been working on orchestral and film composition work, and even though the band enjoyed the stint, it seems a new record is unlikely.

Speaking to The Times, Greenwood shares, “It was great to revisit songs that we always felt were good and to find lots of other people now agree with us. And it was really nice to be playing and listening to Thom [Yorke] again. But I found it strange not to be doing anything new on the tour. I guess we are all doing new music elsewhere now so that’s where our creative energies are going.”

Asked about the possibility of a new album from the band, he replies, “I’ve no idea. I mean, I’m surprised that the tour actually happened and that we all enjoyed it so much. But venues get booked so far in advance. To do another we would have to decide now, and even then it wouldn’t happen for 18 months.”

Recently, Greenwood spoke out against the use of his music in the Melania Trump documentary. The documentary was released at the end of January this year, and centred around Melania’s life in the days leading up to her husband’s 2025 inauguration.

A section of music from the score that Greenwood wrote for the 2017 film Phantom Thread was used in the doc, and both he and its director released a statement sharing their unhappiness.

“It has come to our attention that a piece of music from Phantom Thread has been used in the Melania documentary. While Jonny Greenwood does not own the copyright in the score, Universal failed to consult Jonny on this third-party use which is a breach of his composer agreement,” they allege. “As a result Jonny and Paul Thomas Anderson have asked for it to be removed from the documentary.”

Guitar.com reached out to Universal for comment.

Rachel began writing for Guitar.com in 2021 while finishing up her degree. A proud DIY guitarist, she has been playing for over 10 years and has written for the likes of Kerrang!, The Forty-Five, and MusicTech. An enjoyer of all things heavy, you’ll find her at a festival or downtuning her guitars when away from her desk.