Radiohead end their spring tour at the Astoria with eight new songs

Radiohead closed their spring tour at the London Astoria on Friday night with eight songs that are on no record yet, and Thom Yorke introduced one of them, “Fake Plastic Trees”, as a song about Canary Wharf.

Yorke sprained his ankle at the end of “Anyone Can Play Guitar” in Manchester on Wednesday, and his voice was worn from 10am festival sets in Germany the weekend before. After Wolverhampton on Thursday he told Holly Barringer of Melody Maker that London rested on him, and 2,000 people were expected. I've got no idea whether tomorrow's gig is gonna work or not. I've got no idea if I'm gonna be able to sing.³

The Astoria was the last of three British dates and the band's first headline run at home since November, after a tour through Spain, Italy, Switzerland and Germany. MTV Europe filmed the show for broadcast on 24 July, and according to NME John Leckie, who is producing the second album, was there.

Early on, Yorke asked the crowd whether Radiohead were the band that did “Creep”, and then played it. It's nice to see so many people coming to see us in Britain⁴, he told them. Dave Jennings, reviewing for Melody Maker, hears in the new songs a sign that the second album could be something special, and picks out “Bones”, “Black Star” and “My Iron Lung”. The “Street Spirit” encore he finds ponderous.

Near the end of “Stop Whispering” Yorke sang one line over and over, quieter each time, then shouted an obscenity, and the song fell apart into guitar noise before “Anyone Can Play Guitar” closed the main set. Afterwards Jennings saw Yorke in the bar, looking healthy and relaxed.

Setlist