Music : Radiohead Unveil Live Album Hail to the Thief Live Recordings 2003–2009

Radiohead has caught fans off guard with the unexpected reveal and immediate digital release of a new live album, Hail to the Thief Live Recordings 2003–2009. Out online today and arriving in physical form on October 31, the project features live renditions of tracks from their celebrated sixth studio album, recorded during shows held between 2003 and 2009.

To accompany the news, the band has unveiled a live video of “There, There” from a performance in Buenos Aires, offering a striking preview of the raw energy that fuels the new release.

The concept for the album came to frontman Thom Yorke while he was involved in the critically praised theatre production Hamlet Hail to the Thief. This intense reimagining of Shakespeare’s play was underscored by a fragmented, reworked version of songs from the 2003 record. Yorke recalled, “In the process of thinking of how to build arrangements for the… production, I asked to hear some archive live recordings of the songs. I was shocked by the kind of energy behind the way we played. I barely recognised us.”

That “cathartic process” inspired the band to share the recordings with the world. The album includes performances from shows in London, Amsterdam, Dublin, and Buenos Aires, and was mixed by Ben Baptie with mastering handled by Matt Colton.

For collectors, the album will be issued as a special one-time pressing on red vinyl available through independent record shops, with a cyan vinyl version sold exclusively via the band’s W.A.S.T.E. store. The tracklist features standouts such as “2 + 2 = 5,” “There, There,” and “A Wolf at the Door.”