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Thomas Edward "Thom" Yorke (born with his long-term partner, Rachel Owen, a printmaker who holds a Doctorate in art history, and their two children, Noah, born in 2001 (to whom '' Amnesiac '' was dedicated) and Agnes, born 2004. BIOGRAPHY Born with a Paralysed left eye, Yorke underwent a total of five operations in his first five years - the last one was botched and he almost lost all sight in the left eye - resulting in his trademark Lazy Eye . Classmates often taunted him with the nickname " Salamander " and sometimes his anger and annoyance got the better of him. Yorke's father worked as a chemical engineering instruments salesman, and so his son moved from one school to the next and could never settle and make friendships. The Yorke family finally settled in Oxfordshire . Yorke received his first guitar at the age of seven after seeing Queen guitarist Brian May perform on television. This first song he wrote was entitled " Mushroom Cloud ", about the cloud formations following a Nuclear Blast . He joined his first band by the age of 11 while attending the private Abingdon School for boys, at which he was to meet his future bandmates Ed O'Brien , Colin Greenwood , drummer Phil Selway and Colin's younger brother Jonny . They were initially named On A Friday, Friday being the only day on which they were able to play. Yorke's younger brother, Andy, formed various groups at the same time as On A Friday, including "The Illiterate Hands", which Jonny Greenwood was a member of before joining his brother in On A Friday ( Andy Yorke went on to front the band Unbelievable Truth ). On A Friday continued to practice and write new material even while studying at different universities. While attending the University Of Exeter , Yorke was a member of the Headless Chickens , and also worked as an orderly in a Mental Hospital . At Exeter he also met Stanley Donwood , who later worked on all the band's artwork from 1994 until the present day. In 1991, On A Friday regrouped back in Oxford. The band's name was changed at the suggestion of the band's A & R agent after signing to EMI in December 1991 , and was taken from the Talking Heads album '' True Stories ''. Radiohead work While the early success of hit single " Creep " (allegedly written in the men's bathroom of Exeter University's student club The Lemmy) led to the band being written off as a One-hit Wonder , a succession of increasingly complex albums made Radiohead one of the world's most respected bands, partly due to the Theme s of Urban-existentialism , illness, and love in Yorke's lyrics. Some of his songs have political undertones, most prominently on the album '' Hail To The Thief '' - the title is often seen as a direct reference to the 2000 U.S. Presidential Election when George W. Bush was alleged by his critics to have "stolen" the election, but this has been repeatedly denied by the band. From the time of 1997's '' OK Computer '', Yorke's lyrics have been noted for their oblique quality. Yorke and R.E.M. vocalist Michael Stipe are close friends, and frequently attend each other's concerts. Yorke has said that Stipe inspires many of his songs and helped him to get out of a period of Depression after touring for ''OK Computer'' and before releasing '' Kid A '' ( 2000 ). The song "How to Disappear Completely" from the later album, was inspired by Stipe, who advised Yorke to tell to himself, "I'm not here and this isn't happening" when he was depressed. Stipe has in turn noted that many Radiohead songs, such as "A Wolf at the Door" and "There There", have inspired him in his own songwriting. 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. Part of the reason why he endured a period of depression and Writer's Block after ''OK Computer'' was that Yorke felt the music Radiohead created had been overtaken by the personalities (particularly himself) of those behind it. 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)''). His singing voice has been compared with that of Jeff Buckley and Matthew Bellamy . 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." While Yorke cannot read music, he has been known to play Bass and Drum s on occasion during the recording of Radiohead's albums. Yorke has said that he prefers computers to guitars, and thinks that computer programs such as Pro Tools give the musician more power over the direction of one's music than traditional instruments. Radiohead Are Currently Recording Their New Album , with an expected release date sometime in 2006. Yorke has said that recordings for the new album have been tough going, yet well enough to assumingly play the new material on tour. Radiohead will be playing at the V Festival in England in August 2006 , the Bonnaroo Music Festival at Manchester, Tennessee in June, a fan-club tour in the UK and Europe in May, and other appearances throughout the year. "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. But right now...is good..." Yorke recently wrote in Radiohead's Blog . Make Trade Fair campaign, 2004]] Other work Yorke's enigmatic persona has made him a , Anti-War movements such as CND , Amnesty International , and most recently the Friends Of The Earth campaign "The Big Ask". He played at the Free Tibet concert in 1999 . Asked about his activism, Yorke said that "the difference between me and Bono is that he's quite happy to go and flatter people to get what he wants and he's very good at it, but I just can't do it. I'd probably end up punching them in the face rather than shaking their hand, so it's best that I stay out of their way. I can't engage with that level of bullshit. Which is a shame, really, and in a way it would help if I could, but I just can't. I admire the fact that Bono can, and can walk away from it smelling of roses." (reference link) Besides his extensive work with Radiohead, Yorke also collaborates with other musicians; He has worked with Björk , PJ Harvey , James Lavelle , Beck , The Flaming Lips , U.N.K.L.E. , and DJ Shadow . In December 2004 , Yorke and Jonny Greenwood contributed to the '' Do They Know It's Christmas '' charity single. Collaborations ; Drugstore :Yorke shared vocals with Isabel from the band Drugstore on the band's first single, "El President," off their album ''White Magic For Lovers''. ; Sparklehorse :Yorke sings part of this cover of Pink Floyd's " Wish You Were Here " with Sparklehorse's Mark Linkous. Yorke sang his part on the telephone from his hotel room and you can hear his TV in the background. Sparklehorse were Radiohead's opening act on the European leg of the OK Computer tour in 1997. ; UNKLE :Yorke and DJ Shadow got together during the ''OK Computer'' tour in San Francisco and recorded " Rabbit In Your Headlights " for the James Lavelle project going under the name UNKLE. The album is called ''Psyence Fiction''. ;The Venus in Furs :Yorke and Radiohead bandmate Jonny Greenwood got together with Bernard Butler , Andy Mackay , and Paul Kimble to form the band, The Venus in Furs. They recorded five songs for the Michael Stipe produced movie, '' Velvet Goldmine ''. The tracks are:
; Björk :Yorke and Björk sang a duet called "I've Seen It All" on '' Selmasongs '', the soundtrack to '' Dancer In The Dark ''. Note: In the movie, the song isn't sung by Thom Yorke. ; PJ Harvey :Yorke had a strong presence on PJ Harvey's 2000 release, ''Stories from the City, Stories from the Sea''. He did a duet with Harvey on the song "This Mess We're In" and sang back-up on two other songs: "One Line" and "Beautiful Feeling". Television Appearances
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