Radiohead are back. After seven long years without a tour, the influential English group stepped onto a stage once again, launching their 2025 European and UK dates in Madrid on 4 November with the first of four shows in the Spanish capital. For a band long associated with pushing forward, this return marks a rare moment of reflection, yet one that feels deeply energised by a renewed sense of purpose.
The performances in Madrid find Radiohead performing in the round, placed in the centre of the arena, a staging concept they have not visited since opening for fellow UK act Ned’s Atomic Dustbin in 1993. Surrounded on all sides by fans, the band drew from a pool of 65 songs, creating a fluid and unpredictable setlist built to change each night, mirroring the kind of experimental freedom that has defined their legacy.
The opening concert began with the shimmering melancholy of Let Down from the landmark OK Computer album, a track experiencing a new life via contemporary audiences and TikTok discovery. From there, Radiohead explored nearly every era of their catalogue, spanning the anxious electronics of Kid A, the textured intensity of Hail To The Thief, the intimate clarity of A Moon Shaped Pool, and the rhythmic pulse of In Rainbows.
Night two pushed the concept further. As guitarist Ed O’Brien had hinted, the group embraced a “busking attitude” to the song list, swapping out eight songs from opening night and delivering surprises including (Nice Dream), played for the first time since 2009, as well as deep dives into The Bends, Nude, All I Need and Jigsaw Falling Into Place.
For longtime fans, the Madrid concerts served as an emotional reminder of Radiohead’s evolution. Emerging from Oxfordshire in the early 1990s, Radiohead first made an international breakthrough with their debut hit Creep in 1992. Their second album The Bends in 1995 confirmed them as one of the UK’s most ambitious rock bands, and 1997’s OK Computer is now regarded as a landmark in modern music. The turn-of-the-century experimental works Kid A and Amnesiac redefined what rock bands could be, while 2007’s In Rainbows revolutionised music distribution with its pay-what-you-want release model. Their most recent album, A Moon Shaped Pool in 2016, closed their last chapter before this lengthy pause.
After years spent working across projects like The Smile, film scoring and solo releases, the band regrouped quietly in 2024, finally confirming a full-scale tour in September. Drummer Philip Selway described the return as an opportunity to reconnect with something deeply rooted among the five members, a creative identity that has shaped modern alternative music for more than three decades.
Although the tour exists without the promise of new music, the band appear energised by rediscovery rather than nostalgia. Thom Yorke has described the approach as uncertain but organic, noting that Radiohead have too many songs not to treat each night differently. For fans, that means rare tracks re-emerging, unpredictable encores and setlists built to explore mood rather than routine.
At Madrid’s Movistar Arena, there was no talk of conclusions or farewells, only a sense of artists reconnecting after years apart. Whether this run marks a new beginning or a temporary reunion remains unknown. As Yorke said, they have not planned beyond the tour, choosing instead to focus on what continues to tie them together.
Radiohead Setlist – Night One, Madrid, 4 November 2025
Let Down
2 + 2 = 5
Sit Down. Stand Up. (Snakes & Ladders.)
Bloom
Lucky
Ful Stop
The Gloaming. (Softly Open Our Mouths In The Cold.)
Myxomatosis. (Judge, Jury & Executioner.)
No Surprises
Videotape
Weird Fishes/Arpeggi
Everything In Its Right Place
15 Step
The National Anthem
Daydreaming
A Wolf At The Door
Bodysnatchers
Idioteque
Encore:
Fake Plastic Trees
Subterranean Homesick Alien
Paranoid Android
How To Disappear Completely
You And Whose Army?
There, There. (The Boney King Of Nowhere.)
Karma Police
Radiohead Setlist – Night Two, Madrid, 5 November 2025
2 + 2 = 5
The Bends
Jigsaw Falling Into Place
All I Need
Ful Stop
Nude
Reckoner
Airbag
Separator
Pyramid Song
You And Whose Army?
Idioteque
(Nice Dream)
There There
Myxomatosis
Exit Music (For A Film)
Street Spirit (Fade Out)
Encore:
Let Down
Weird Fishes/Arpeggi
Planet Telex
Present Tense
The Daily Mail
Paranoid Android
Everything In Its Right Place
Radiohead 2025 Tour Dates
5 November, Madrid, Spain @ Movistar Arena
7 November, Madrid, Spain @ Movistar Arena
8 November, Madrid, Spain @ Movistar Arena
14 November, Bologna, Italy @ Unipol Arena
15 November, Bologna, Italy @ Unipol Arena
17 November, Bologna, Italy @ Unipol Arena
18 November, Bologna, Italy @ Unipol Arena
21 November, London, UK @ The O2
22 November, London, UK @ The O2
24 November, London, UK @ The O2
25 November, London, UK @ The O2
1 December, Copenhagen, Denmark @ Royal Arena
2 December, Copenhagen, Denmark @ Royal Arena
4 December, Copenhagen, Denmark @ Royal Arena
5 December, Copenhagen, Denmark @ Royal Arena
8 December, Berlin, Germany @ Uber Arena
9 December, Berlin, Germany @ Uber Arena
11 December, Berlin, Germany @ Uber Arena
12 December, Berlin, Germany @ Uber Arena
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