{"id":559391,"date":"2026-03-23T16:57:10","date_gmt":"2026-03-23T16:57:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/559391\/"},"modified":"2026-03-23T16:57:10","modified_gmt":"2026-03-23T16:57:10","slug":"ed-obrien-says-he-was-done-with-radiohead-after-he-got-to-a-place-where-i-just-wasnt-enjoying-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/559391\/","title":{"rendered":"Ed O’Brien says he “was done with Radiohead” after he “got to a place where I just wasn\u2019t enjoying it\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"

Ed O\u2019Brien<\/a> has revealed that he reached the point where he \u201cwasn\u2019t enjoying\u201d being in Radiohead<\/a> any more, and was \u201cdone\u201d with the band.<\/p>\n

The iconic British band returned to the stage last year<\/a> for what marked their first live dates in seven years \u2013 kicking off across Europe at the end of 2025, and including a four-night residency at The O2 in London.<\/p>\n

However, in a new interview with Rolling Stone<\/a>, guitarist Ed O\u2019Brien revealed that he had initially come to terms with the band coming to an end after the 2018 tour, and he had reached a point where he felt like he had offered everything he could to the group.<\/p>\n

Looking back at the time after they finished their tour seven years ago and went on hiatus, O\u2019Brien said: \u201cI was done with Radiohead. It had got to a place where I just wasn\u2019t enjoying it. I just didn\u2019t resonate with it anymore, and I wanted to do my own thing\u2026 I think we\u2019d run out of road. We\u2019d run out of inspiration.\u201d<\/p>\n

Making a nod to the reported difficulties the band faced when recording their 2016 album \u2018A Moon Shaped Pool\u2019<\/a>, the guitarist shared that his bandmates were well aware of his reluctance to commit to being on the road for a long period of time.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe others said they wanted to tour. I didn\u2019t really want to tour, and they knew that. But I did it, and I\u2019m glad I did. I saw it through to the end,\u201d he said, adding that it felt like the end of the band once the tour was done.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was kind of scary at first. I really thought that was it on Radiohead,\u201d he explained. \u201cActually, I sort of got off on that. I was just like, \u2018I\u2019m done with it. I want another life.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

In 2020, O\u2019Brien went on to release a solo album called \u2018Earth<\/a>\u2019 under the moniker EOB, which saw him lean away from the melancholy of much of Radiohead\u2019s discography, and explore new avenues of rave, electronica, scuzzy guitars and tender folk.<\/p>\n

He told NME that the record was one that carried a message of hope<\/a>, and a testament that \u201cin spite of the darkness and challenging times that we live in, humanity can do amazing things when they put their mind to it.\u201d He also added that he felt like the solo project was something he \u201chad to do\u201d, saying: \u201cIf I don\u2019t do this, a part of me will die.\u201d<\/p>\n

The record was given a four-star review from NME<\/a>, which described it as seeing the songwriter\u2019s \u201cpersonality shine through\u201d, and securing his position as \u201cRadiohead\u2019s secret weapon\u201d.<\/p>\n

As aforementioned, Radiohead ended their seven-year hiatus with a run of UK and European shows last year, and the first of their four London shows was given a glowing five-star review from NME<\/a>, praised as having \u201ca visceral energy, a tasteful spectacle, all delivered with a generosity of spirit\u201d.<\/p>\n

Speaking to Rolling Stone about returning to the stage after being ready to call it quits with the band, O\u2019Brien said: \u201cThat tour was very, very emotional, very profound. We all felt that. We\u2019d look at one another on that stage, like, \u2018This is amazing.\u2019 I feel like I\u2019m the luckiest person on the planet, and I\u2019m not just saying that.\u201d<\/p>\n

He also opened up about plans for more live shows on the way \u2013 sharing that the band are wanting to play \u201c20 shows each year\u201d on a different continent from 2027<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u200b\u200b\u201cIt\u2019s definitely happening\u2026 What we\u2019re going to do is, every year we\u2019re going to do a different continent, and we\u2019re going to do 20 shows each year. No more, no less,\u201d the musician continued.<\/p>\n

He then said Radiohead would be out of action in 2026, though they are looking to perform again together in 2027. \u201cWe won\u2019t do anything this year, but we\u2019ll do something next year,\u201d O\u2019Brien added.<\/p>\n

As well as new Radiohead plans, O\u2019Brien has also announced a new solo album, \u2018Blue Morpho\u2019<\/a>, and recently shared its title track. The seven-song project will mark the musician\u2019s second solo record, but the first under his own name. It is set to arrive on May 22 via his new label home, Transgressive. Pre-order\/pre-save here<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Ed O\u2019Brien has revealed that he reached the point where he \u201cwasn\u2019t enjoying\u201d being in Radiohead any more,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":559392,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[64,63,134,1770,136,1771],"class_list":["post-559391","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-music","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-entertainment","tag-indie","tag-music","tag-rock"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/559391","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=559391"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/559391\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/559392"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=559391"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=559391"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=559391"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}