Thom Yorke
“It would be kind of obvious to pick one of the old-timers from prog’s golden era. But in my eyes Thom Yorke is a songwriter who always tries to take risks and not succumb to the pop formula of the day.
“I discovered Radiohead through MTV. I remember the video for Creep, and it was the first time I’d heard them. Around that time we had
Guns N’ Roses, the Seattle scene, Soundgarden and all that, and the male singing was very prominent and strong with Axl Rose and Chris Cornell. And then along came Thom Yorke, this guy from Britain, and made me think you don’t have to be an alpha male, you can also have this thoughtful, kind of artistic approach.
“From OK Computer to the next 10 years onwards, he’s been very influential for me. What I’ve learned from him is not to belong to any category, not to pigeonhole our band being classic rock, being prog. Also his lyrics – they’re kind of political without being overly so.
“When you go see them play live, unexpected things happen. That’s how it was in the prog shows of the past: you would go expecting to see something unique, something weird. I feel like with Radiohead, that is still there.” HMK