Harry Styles tells Thom Yorke he was 'scared' to meet him
Harry Styles and Radiohead's Thom Yorke sat down together for Rolling Stone's Musicians on Musicians issue. Styles admitted he had long been scared to meet his hero. Yorke said he is working on a solo album that has not been announced, and that he wishes he had not written the Radiohead song "High and Dry."
Harry Styles has called Radiohead his favorite band, and now he has interviewed its frontman. Styles and Thom Yorke talked for two hours for Rolling Stone's Musicians on Musicians issue, published Thursday. They spoke on a sunny July afternoon at a recording studio near Camden Town in London.
The two first met by chance in Rome in the summer of 2024. Styles spotted Yorke on a small cobblestone street because of his hat, which had the word "Acid" on it, and he was listening to Radiohead's A Moon Shaped Pool at the time. "You, to me, had always been that person that I was scared of meeting," Styles told him.
The two tell that first moment differently. In a speech at the Ivor Novello Awards in May, Styles recalled Yorke replying, "Oh, it's you. Hello," NME reported. In the new interview, Yorke said his real first words were a profane version of "What are you doing standing in the street?"
Yorke was surprised to see a famous pop star walking around without security. Styles said that in his One Direction days, going out in public did not feel safe. That changed when an outgoing girlfriend visited London and the couple walked everywhere together. "It's changed my life in such a big way," he said. Yorke recalled that singer Michael Stipe of R.E.M. once dragged him out of a dressing room on tour and taught him a simple trick for going out in public: "If you don't care, they don't care."
The conversation also produced some real news. Rolling Stone said Yorke revealed he is working on a solo album that has not been officially announced.
Yorke also spoke about "High and Dry," a Radiohead single from 1995. When Styles praised it as a classic example of songwriting, Yorke said, "That particular one I wish I hadn't," though he added "there's nothing wrong with that." The Music noted that the band has not played the song live since 1998.
Both men talked at length about refusing to repeat their past successes. "If you write 'Everything in Its Right Place,' do you think, 'Yeah, I'll write another one'? You can't. I've tried," Yorke said.
Yorke attended the first night of Styles' record 12-night run at London's Wembley Stadium this summer, Rolling Stone reported. Styles is now touring in support of his recently released album, Kiss All the Time. Disco, Occasionally.
What we know: Yorke says a new solo album is in the works.
What we don't: When Yorke's solo album will be released or what it will be called.
Where outlets agree Rolling Stone, Contactmusic and Happy Mag all report that Styles and Yorke first met by chance on a street in Rome.
Where they differ NME's account of Styles' May speech has Yorke answering him with a polite hello, while Rolling Stone's transcript has Yorke saying his first words were a profane question about why Styles was standing in the street.