# In 1976, Thom Yorke heard his new favourite band. He immediately wanted to be their guitarist

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/in-1976-thom-yorke-heard-his-new-favourite-band-he-immediately-wanted-to-be-their-guitarist/
- Published: 2026-10-28T19:15:00+00:00
- Updated: 2026-11-07T03:10:06+00:00
- Original publisher: Far Out
- Original article: https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/1976-thom-yorke-heard-his-new-favourite-band/
- Topics: Entertainment, Music

## Key points

- Queen’s *Greatest Hits* inspired Yorke as a child.
- He wanted to emulate guitarist Brian May.
- Yorke and his future bandmates met at school.

## Summary

Thom Yorke has said that hearing Queen’s *Greatest Hits* as a child sparked his first musical obsession and made him want to become guitarist Brian May. The story highlights how an early encounter at school helped shape the future Radiohead frontman’s musical ambitions.

In a 1993 interview, Yorke recalled that a friend bought the album when he was about eight, after which he took his guitar to school and told his teacher he wanted to be like May. Yorke and his future Radiohead bandmates met at Abingdon School, where they formed an early group called On a Friday. Queen’s influence later surfaced in Radiohead’s ambitious work, including the connection between “Paranoid Android” and “Bohemian Rhapsody”.

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Summarised by TalkFuse (https://talkfuse.com/). Quote the original publisher for the reporting and link this page for the summary and discussion.