Radiohead release hacked music to benefit Extinction Rebellion

18 hours of unpublished music will be available for 18 days.

It’s been revealed that the hours of unpublished material stolen from Thom York last week will be made available on Bandcamp. In response to the hack, which reportedly held the music to ransom for $150,000, Radiohead has decided to release the material and donate all proceeds to Extinction Rebellion.

The 18 MiniDisc recordings, made during the sessions for their album OK Computer, are now available on Bandcamp for £18.

The band’s guitarist, Jonny Greenwood, confirmed the hack on his Twitter: “Instead of complaining – much – or ignoring it, we’re releasing all 18 hours on Bandcamp in aid of Extinction Rebellion. Just for the next 18 days. So for £18 you can find out if we should have paid that ransom. Never intended for public consumption (though some clips did reach the cassette in the OK Computer reissue) it’s only tangentially interesting. And very, very long. Not a phone download.”

Extinction Rebellion has thanked Radiohead, describing the donation as “unprecedented support”. The band have been strong supporters for the climate activism group for a while now, authorising the use of Ideoteque for Extinction Rebellion’s new promotional video which was also released today.

You can purchase the limited edition 18 MiniDisks here

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Phoebe Gardner