Thom Yorke, for the first time onstage, has performed “Spectre,” the Radiohead song initially intended for the 2015 James Bond film.
Rolling Stone reports Yorke played the track during his second encore at Fabrique in Milan on May 29. The show is the second stop for Yorke during his 12-stop European tour.
“Spectre” was originally released by Radiohead on Christmas in 2015. The track was rejected for the Bond film but Yorke issued a statement simultaneously spinning the snub and offering a Christmas gift, saying, “Last year we were asked to write a tune for Bond movie Spectre. Yes we were,” he tweeted. “It didn’t work out … but became something of our own which we love very much. As the year closes we thought you might like to hear it. Merry Christmas. May the force be with you.”
Later, the track was released as part of the special edition of Radiohead’s LP, A Moon Shaped Pool (2016), and as the B-side to the seven-inch single, “Burn the Witch.”
The decision to shelve “Spectre” isn’t without precedent. NME reports the franchise has shelved two other famous tracks including Blondie’s “For Your Eyes Only” (Bond went with Sheena Easton) and KD Lang’s “Tomorrow Never Dies,” which was in the running against Chris Rea, Pulp and Duran Duran (Bond went with Cheryl Crow).
Check out Yorke’s performance of “Spectre” here:
Photo Credit: Raymond Flotat
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