Song · Live covers
Bitter-Sweet
Of the three Roxy Music songs he sang for Velvet Goldmine, this is the one Thom Yorke singled out.
1974
country life
Bryan Ferry and Andy Mackay wrote it for Roxy Music's 1974 album Country Life. It keeps stopping to sing a verse in German, over a cabaret arrangement that turns military halfway through.
1998
the venus in furs
Thom Yorke sang lead on it for Todd Haynes's Velvet Goldmine, in the film's band, the Venus in Furs, with Jonny Greenwood and Mackay himself. It was one of three Roxy Music songs Yorke sang lead on, with “2HB” and “Ladytron”.
He told MTV the songs did not sound like him singing at all, but rated one of them:
The version of Bitter-Sweet is really cool.
thom yorke · mtv, quoted in louder, 11 july 2023
sources2
- This site's own catalogue, which records the Velvet Goldmine soundtrack credit.
- Niall Doherty, “That time Thom Yorke formed a glam rock band with members of Radiohead, Suede, Roxy Music and, umm, David Gray's drummer”, Louder, 11 July 2023, via this site's news story on the film, for Yorke's lead vocals and his verdict.