Thom Yorke
Thom Yorke Yorke performing with Radiohead in 2006 Background information Birth name Thomas Edward Yorke Also known as The White Chocolate Farm, Tchock, Sisi Bakbak Born (1968-10-07) 7 October 1968 (age 46) Wellingborough, Northamptonshire, England Genres Alternative rock, electronic, experimental rock, art rock Occupation(s) Singer-songwriter, musician, multi-instrumentalist, artist, activist, dancer, DJ Instruments Vocals, guitar, piano, keyboards, synthesizer, bass guitar, sampler, drum machine, sequencer, laptop, percussion, organ, drums, turntables Years active 1985-present Labels XL Associated acts Radiohead, Atoms for Peace, Björk, MF Doom, Flying Lotus, Modeselektor, U.N.K.L.E., Burial, Four Tet Notable instruments Gibson SG Fender Jazzmaster Gibson Hummingbird Fender Telecaster Deluxe Gibson ES-330 Epiphone Casino Rhodes piano Fender Mustang Bass Thomas Edward "Thom" Yorke (born 7 October 1968) is an English musician, singer, and songwriter. He is the lead singer and principal songwriter of the bands Radiohead and Atoms for Peace, known for his use of falsetto. As a multi-instrumentalist, he mainly plays guitar and piano, but also plays synthesizer, bass guitar, and drums among other instruments, and makes use of electronic equipment such as samplers and drum machines; later Radiohead albums credit him with playing "laptop". In the 1990s, Yorke was known as a rock musician, but the 2000 Radiohead album Kid A saw his work expand into electronic music. He has released two solo albums: The Eraser (2006) and Tomorrow's Modern Boxes (2014). Outside music, Yorke is a political activist on behalf of human rights, environmentalist and anti-war causes. Yorke was born in 1968 in Northamptonshire. His family moved often before settling in Oxfordshire, where Yorke attended Abingdon School and founded Radiohead, then called On a Friday, with schoolmates. After he finished his degree at the University of Exeter, Radiohead signed to Parlophone; their early hit single "Creep" made Yorke a celebrity. In 2002, Q magazine named Yorke the sixth most powerful figure in music, and Radiohead were ranked number 73 in Rolling Stone's "100 Greatest Artists of All Time" in 2005, and in 2010 VH1 ranked them the 29th greatest artist of all time. A 2005 poll by Blender and MTV2 saw Yorke voted the 18th greatest singer of all time, and in 2008, he was ranked 66th in Rolling Stone ' s "100 Greatest Singers of All Time" list.