Thom Yorke writes to Father Christmas for snow and blue reading glasses

Thom Yorke has written a letter to Father Christmas, and for himself he wants very little. and for me? just some reading glasses.. : / the blue ones.¹ A postscript thanks Father Christmas for the ZX81 computer he got when he was 11.

Letters Live, the stage show that grew out of Shaun Usher's Letters of Note, asked for the letter. It was one of several to Father Christmas from well-known people around National Letter Writing Day on 7 December; Benedict Cumberbatch and Jarvis Cocker wrote too. NME published Yorke's on the day. It is all in lower case and signed “Thom”.

He is 47 now. At home it is mostly raining, not even jumper weather, while the shops already play their Christmas albums, which he reckons must embarrass Father Christmas. He has tried to be good since his last letter, and sometimes failed spectacularly.

What he asks for is mostly for his children: a beautiful Christmas, presents that will mean something to them, some hope for their future, and heavy snow. He won't ask Father Christmas to fix the human race, whose problems are its own, but he does have a view on who should go without. perhaps this year you would consider not giving any presents to oil company executives and the politicians whose influence they buy?¹