Early Years

As a young child Yorke underwent surgical operations to correct a paralysed left eye he has had since birth. In his first five years he undertook many operations, which he has claimed were "botched", leaving the eye mostly blind and giving him his trademark ptosis (drooping eyelid). This, coupled with the fact that the Yorke family would never stay rooted in one spot for long, meant that finding friends was to prove difficult throughout his childhood, creating an atmosphere of isolation. Yorke's father worked as a chemical engineering instruments salesman, which necessitated the family's frequent relocation.

The group was named On A Friday, as Friday was the only day on which the members were allowed to rehearse. The band would prove to have considerable longevity, surviving the members' attendance at different universities and eventually evolving into Radiohead. Yorke, in this early line up, played guitar and provided vocals, and was already developing his songwriting and lyrical skills.

While attending the University of Exeter, where he studied Fine Art and English, he worked as DJ at Guild nights and played with the band Headless Chickens. He also held a part time position as an orderly at a psychiatric hospital. In his second year, he was introduced to computers, Exeter’s newly acquired Macs, and he was fascinated with them. While the others were at college Jonny learned to play guitar from Thom's brother Andy Yorke. Around this time he met Stanley Donwood, an artist who from 1994 on would become an important collaborator on single and album artwork for Radiohead, Yorke often working under an alias ('The White Chocolate Farm', 'Tchock') during such projects. The pair collected the award for 2001 Grammy Award for Best Recording Package.

On A Friday reformed in 1991 as the members were finishing their degree courses. Now relocated to Oxford, they signed to EMI and changed their name to Radiohead, the name taken from the Talking Heads album True Stories.

Radiohead

Radiohead, with Yorke as a blonde-haired figurehead, first gained notice with the hit single "Creep" (allegedly written in the men's toilets of Exeter University's student club The Lemon Grove)[2] although some speculated the band would only achieve status of one-hit wonders. The song appeared on the band's first album Pablo Honey, which received mixed reviews.

The band came to resent Creep and the expectation around it soon became a weight on their shoulders. Their feelings towards the song were clearly indicated on their second album, The Bends, particularly on "My Iron Lung". It has been argued that this is the album on which the qualities for which Radiohead is best known today first appear. Yorke himself, being chief songwriter, lyricist and vocalist, is attributed many of the same personal qualities as exist in Radiohead's music from this period to the present day - themes of isolation, hope, resignation, and urban-existentialism to name several.

How Yorke, as the driving influence of Radiohead, has dealt with his growing status and reverence has been arguably one of the more interesting aspects of the band's evolution. 1997's OK Computer, whilst heralded as a landmark album by virtually every publication that reviewed it, forced Yorke into a period of depression brought about by fear that the personalities behind Radiohead - chiefly, his own - were more prominent than the actual music. 2000's Kid A was again a musical departure for the band, Yorke in particular having struggled with the idea of a follow-up to the mammoth success of OK Computer.

Yorke has explained in various interviews that he dislikes the "mythology" he feels is endemic within the rock genre, and hates the media's obsession with celebrity [3]. In interviews, he does not seem to be particularly taken with the idea of being famous, or even show that he feels it is necessary that he is asked questions about his music.

In terms of talent and ability, Yorke is known for his distinctive falsetto ("Fake Plastic Trees", "How To Disappear Completely") and ability to reach, and sustain, high notes ("Creep", "Exit Music (For a Film), Let Down"). His singing voice has been directly compared, and indeed partially attributed to, that of Jeff Buckley. During the recording sessions for The Bends in 1994, the band watched Buckley in concert; Yorke later said the concert had a direct effect on his vocal delivery on "Fake Plastic Trees." [citation needed]. Aside from vocal duties, Yorke's musical contributions to Radiohead include piano (including Rhodes piano, especially on Kid A) and especially guitar, both acoustic and electric. He also plays bass guitar (The bass line for "The National Anthem" was recorded by him) as well as drums on occasion; in concerts performed in 2006 he performed drums on stage in tandem with drummer Phil Selway. Since Kid A, however, Radiohead, and in particular Yorke, have moved away from using solely these "rock" instruments for creating music, and have often seen fit to incorporate elements of electronic music in Radiohead's work.

While appearing on Jo Whiley's Radio 1 show in 2003 to publicise the release of Hail to the Thief, Yorke remarked that he would rather make an album just with a computer rather than with only an acoustic guitar. He also said that his ultimate achievement as a musician would be if he could work the "Mexican Hat Dance" theme into a song and have it taken seriously. Additionally, Yorke has stated that he thinks that computer programs such as Pro Tools give the musician more power over the direction of one's music than traditional instruments [citation needed]. The Eraser, his first solo album, indeed stayed true to this notion.

Radiohead are currently recording their new album. [4] Though it was originally expected to be released sometime in 2006, a recent press release has stated that a new album should not be expected until 2007. Yorke has said that recordings for the new album have been difficult, yet well enough to play some new material on tour in 2006. Radiohead played several more dates later in the year, particularly the V Festival in England in August.

Yorke has claimed never to listen to Radiohead records after they are released, and it appears this will be the case for the forthcoming album. "I will dread listening to it all after we have left in the real world. I always dread that. I'd much rather start something new and forget," Yorke recently wrote in Radiohead's blog.

It is important to note that the band has fulfilled its contract with EMI, and as such has no label or deal. Recently the band have spoken about the pressures of working with no set deadline; Yorke has stated he prefers this freedom, yet bandmember Jonny Greenwood does not. [citation needed].

Yorke said that the band will sign a new contract with a new label, on their own terms and not before the new album is finished and ready to release.

The Eraser

Yorke released The Eraser, an album of solo material, on July 10, 2006 in the UK and July 11, 2006 in the U.S. Produced and arranged by Nigel Godrich, featuring cover art by Stanley Donwood, it was released on the independent label XL Recordings. Yorke has said that this album is "more beats & electronics" and has denied that it means he is leaving Radiohead stating "I want no crap about me being a traitor or whatever splitting up blah blah... this was all done with their blessing, and I don't wanna hear that word solo. It doesn't sound right" . It reached number 9 on the Irish charts in its first week, number 2 in the US and Australia, as well as number 3 in the UK. The album has been nominated for the prestigious Mercury Music Prize.