
Thom Yorke and producer Mark Pritchard have both taken to social media to tease their upcoming collaboration ‘Back In The Game’ – a new track which is speculated to be released tomorrow, February 13.
On an Instagram post February 7, the Radiohead frontman shared an enigmatic video clip, accompanied by a hauntingly pulsating audio as a preview for the new release. Although presenting no caption, collaborator Mark Pritchard enlightened fans, posting the same video clip, stating: “BACK IN THE GAME. 13.02.25. SIGN UP FOR NEWS.” He also tagged Yorke in the post, along with Warp Records and artist Jonathan Zawada.
Fans heard the live debut of ‘Back In The Game’ in October at Yorke’s show in Christchurch, New Zealand, as part of his solo Everything Tour. Captured on video via the audience, the single later appeared on a Reddit-discovered ASCAP list which features a dozen unreleased collaborations between the ‘Karma Police’ singer and Pritchard. This leaves many to believe that we can expect to see a lengthier studio release from the pair following the announcement of ‘Back In The Game’. See below for the live performance of the new single ‘Back In The Game’:
This is not the first time Pritchard – English-born, Australian-based electronic artist and producer – and Yorke have worked together. In 2011, Pritchard remixed Radiohead’s ‘Bloom’, and in 2016, Yorke featured on Pritchard’s track ‘Beautiful People’ from his album ‘Under The Sun’. A few years later, Pritchard returned the favour by remixing Yorke’s ‘Not The News’. The announcement follows a series of controversies surrounding the ‘Creep’ singer as of late. Back in October, Yorke briefly walked off stage at his Melbourne show after being heckled by a protester, calling on the singer to “condemn the Israeli genocide of Gaza.” This comes amid ongoing criticism of Radiohead for their alleged support of Israel. Recently, the band’s lead guitarist, Jonny Greenwood, received backlash from the media for his solo collaborative efforts with Israeli artist Dudu Tessa. In defence of Radiohead’s political stance when it comes to their music, Yorke has previously let his neutral opinion be known, stating: “Playing a country isn’t the same as endorsing its government.”
In lighter news of Radiohead’s future as a touring band, Yorke has revealed there aren’t any current plans for the group to hit the road. In an interview with Australian radio station Double J, the frontman said: “No offence to anyone and err, thanks for caring. But I think we’ve earned the right to do what makes sense to us without having to explain ourselves or be answerable to anyone else’s historical idea of what we should be doing.”
For more Radiohead-related news, as well as band members’ solo efforts, fans can check out their official website.