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Thom Yorke skipping Rock Hall of Fame induction ceremony, the rest of Radiohead probably will too

Click to play video: 'Janet Jackson, Radiohead among Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees'
Janet Jackson, Radiohead among Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees
Superstar Janet Jackson and English rock band Radiohead are just a few of the musical talents who have been elected into the 2019 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame – Dec 14, 2018

Thom Yorke confirmed speculation he will not attend the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony this year. He was officially announced as an inductee along with the rest of the Radiohead lads back in December.

In an interview with Variety, the 50-year-old frontman admitted that while he “doesn’t understand” the Rock Hall, he can’t go regardless because he’s already committed to attending the “Philharmonie de Paris” — a French musical institution where Yorke will premiere a new piano piece on April 7.

“I can’t [attend]. I know I can’t, because of these piano pieces that I’ve written,” he said. “There’s the Paris Philharmonic, so I have to be there for that.”

Perhaps a valid reason to miss the event — yet the Philharmonie de Paris event takes place nine days after the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony. Could Yorke possibly be working on another project?

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Thom Yorke performs during his ‘Tomorrow’s Modern Boxes’ tour at Bill Graham Civic Auditorium on Dec. 15, 2018, in San Francisco, Calif. Tim Mosenfelder/Getty Images

READ MORE: Radiohead singer: Silence on technician’s 2012 death ‘f**king deafening’

Yorke hinted that he’s not the only one who doesn’t care for award ceremonies, either. His language suggested that the five-piece has previously discussed their stance on being inducted into the Rock Hall.

“We’ve always been very blasé about that stuff,” he said. “We don’t want to offend anyone, we just think that we don’t quite understand it.”

“We’ve had it explained to us, so it’s cool, but we don’t really understand it as English people,” Yorke continued. “I think our problem is essentially that every awards ceremony in the U.K. stinks. We grew up with the Brits, which is like this sort of drunken car crash that you don’t want to get involved with.” [Laughs]
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Since the release of their biggest hit, Creep (1994), Radiohead has been nominated for 17 individual Brit Awards (the U.K. equivalent of the Juno Awards). Unfortunately, they’ve been snubbed every time.

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“We don’t really know what to make of it,” he concluded.

So while the experimental rockers have earned countless other awards, it’s apparent that certain accolades don’t particularly resonate with them.

Thom Yorke performs onstage during his solo ‘Tomorrow’s Modern Boxes’ tour stop at Orpheum Theatre on Dec. 19, 2018, in Los Angeles, Calif. Scott Dudelson/Getty Images

READ MORE: Rock and Roll Hall of Fame 2019: Radiohead, Janet Jackson, Stevie Nicks among inductees

The prestige of earning an Academy Award, on the other hand, is something that Yorke expressed great interest in.

The High and Dry singer was recently shortlisted for the best original song of the year. Down from 90 candidates, Yorke made the top 15 with Suspirium. The song was composed for the 2018 film-adaptation of Suspira, directed by Luca Guadagnino.

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Yorke scored the entire film and released Suspiria on Oct. 26 as part of his own solo discography.

“The Oscar thing makes a bit more sense, because I’ve had it explained to me a bit more,” he said. “I hope it gets nominated. That would be great, because it was a year and a half of my life, and I worked bloody hard on it.”

“Sometimes it’s nice to be recognized,” he added. “If you understand what it means.”

Thom Yorke performs onstage during his solo ‘Tomorrow’s Modern Boxes’ tour stop at Orpheum Theatre on Dec. 19, 2018, in Los Angeles, Calif. Scott Dudelson/Getty Images

READ MORE: Thom Yorke releases lyric-less psychedelic single, ‘Volk’

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame 2019 induction will take place on March 29 at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y.

Although it’s likely Radiohead won’t be there, you might see the likes of other fellow-nominees, including The Cure, Def Leppard and even Stevie Nicks.

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Tickets to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame are available on the official website.

adam.wallis@globalnews.ca

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