Live Report: Radiohead at The O2, London

The venue formerly known as the Millennium Dome, which memorably came into being when Tony Blair and Queen Elizabeth awkwardly linked hands and sang ‘Auld Lang Syne’ on New Year’s Eve, 1999, has hosted numerous nights of note. The historic one-off reunion of Led Zeppelin immediately springs to mind, as does Prince’s record-breaking 21-night residency in 2007. As the 21st century hurtles towards the end of its first quarter, Radiohead are back in town for their first gig in the English capital since playing Camden’s Roundhouse in May 2016, another classic show I was blessed to witness. This four-night residency by the Thames is part of a twenty-date tour of five European cities, namely Madrid, Bologna, London, Copenhagen, and Berlin.

As soon as I alight from the tube and ascend the escalator of North Greenwich station, a busker strums ‘Street Spirit’ as hopeful fans clutch signs pleading for spare tickets. Once inside the venue, punters stream through the doors and gasp in awe at a massive stage assembled in the middle of this vast auditorium. At first glance, it looks like some form of futuristic cage. The towering structure shudders into life when the band arrive and launch their set with ‘Planet Telex’. Thom Yorke croons about everything being broken, and dazzling projections of the band flash up on this curious structure.

 

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The opening track of Hail to the Thief , ‘2 + 2 = 5’, follows. As it explodes into its raucous chorus, the cage doors appear to rise and transform into giant screens above the band. They change gear with another Hail to the Thief offering, the spooky electronica of ‘Sit Down. Stand Up’. The quintet also switch their stage positions and swap instruments throughout the evening and project to alternate sides of the arena for each song.

The setlist of any Radiohead fan’s dreams leans heavily on OK Computer and In Rainbows, featuring six songs from each album. ‘No Surprises’, the fourth and final single from Radiohead’s era-defining masterpiece, is executed exquisitely. When played in Bologna earlier on this tour, it reportedly prompted a wedding proposal.

It’s absolutely impossible to pick a standalone highlight from this two and a half hour odyssey through one of the finest back catalogues of any band, ever. Essentially, tonight’s masterclass featured the best live band in the world performing in the greatest city in the world. If they manage to come to Ireland in 2026, you could be in for one of the nights of your life.

Radiohead’s setlist at the O2, London, November 24, 2025:

‘Planet Telex’
‘2 + 2 = 5’
‘Sit Down. Stand Up’
‘Lucky’
‘15 Step’
‘The Gloaming’
‘Kid A’
‘No Surprises’
‘Videotape’
‘Weird Fishes/Arpeggi’
‘Idioteque’
‘Everything In Its Right Place’
‘Bloom’
‘The National Anthem’
‘Daydreaming’
‘Let Down’
‘Climbing Up The Walls’
‘Bodysnatchers’

Encore:

‘Fake Plastic Trees’
‘Jigsaw Falling Into Place’
‘Paranoid Android’
‘All I Need’
‘You And Whose Army?’
‘Just’
‘Karma Police’