leave?’ ‘I’m going to be a rock star’,” says Martin. “That’s an actual quote. I remember people asking him that and it was almost a standing joke, ‘Oh, I wonder what Thom’s going to be then.’”
Laura remembers that too, above everything else about Thom Yorke. “He was absolutely convinced, without any doubt whatsoever, that he was going to be a rock star,” she says. “There was no question about it. He was studying art and a lot of people who were studying art would have been looking to that as a career of some sort. But I remember us all talking one night about what we wanted to do after university and Martin, I think, was into politics and various people had other ambitions and Thom just said, ‘I’m going to be a rock star’, and I thought, ‘Yeah, right!’ Looking back now he was completely focused on it and there was no suggestion that he was going to do anything else.”
To people outside the band, this claim was starting to look more and more plausible. Eileen says that Thom always had something different about him. “It sounds like the sort of thing you say in hindsight,” she says, “but one thing I really remember is that when we saw Thom onstage, we all thought he was destined to be a rock star. He just looked completely in his element. He was onstage with a few people who were talented. Him and Shack were joint lead singers and Shack went on to have lots of success as well, but there was something about Thom’s presence onstage where he just came alive. He looked like he was in the right place. We used to say, almost laughing, how ‘at home’ he was onstage. We used to say, ‘He’s going to be a rock star’. He just looked like a rock star. But wehad no idea that he’d be in this amazing band and go on to the level of success he’s had.”
“I think it’s one of the most impressive things about his achievement,” says Shaun McCrindle, “that he knew he’d be doing what he did. He knew he was destined for it all the time he was there. In the house you couldn’t get away from the music. When we used to go out to parties it was like, ‘Oh, no, he’s getting his guitar out again!’ It sounds funny now. He wasn’t playing Radiohead classics but he was obviously honing his craft.”
“When I heard of the success of Radiohead, I was thrilled for him but I was also surprised,” says Laura. “I’d not dismissed him but I’d not taken him seriously. A few of us were doing things like that and there was a lot of talk and I was surprised it had gone so well. I always laugh at myself because I didn’t take him seriously, when he obviously took himself very seriously. I always think, Who’s laughing now? with me scoffing and going, ‘Thom’s saying he’s going to be a big rock star! Give us a break!’ The egg’s on me. But I’m absolutely thrilled because he deserved it. There were so many others talking about stuff but he actually did it and it’s fantastic.”
Ironically, at the time, Thom was probably even more acclaimed for his sideline. He had a job as a DJ at Exeter University’s main bar, the Lemon Grove. He would play a night of mostly guitar-based music called ‘Shindig’ on Friday evenings, while, on another night Felix Buxton, who would go on to be half of hugely successful duo Basement Jaxx, would play dance music. Thanks to the burgeoning rave and clubbing scene, DJs were now given considerable respect. The days of the middle-aged 1980s DJ with the flashing set of traffic lights and one bag of records were over. He would be bought drinks all night until, by the time the club was closing, he was so drunk he could barely put the records on the turntable. But, despite this, it was a career that would be surprisingly successful.
“When we were first at Exeter, the Lemon Grove wasn’t a place you particularly wanted to go to,” says Eileen Doran. “But when Thom DJ-ed it was really popular.” When he started, there were only about 250
Laura remembers that too, above everything else about Thom Yorke. “He was absolutely convinced, without any doubt whatsoever, that he was going to be a rock star,” she says. “There was no question about it. He was studying art and a lot of people who were studying art would have been looking to that as a career of some sort. But I remember us all talking one night about what we wanted to do after university and Martin, I think, was into politics and various people had other ambitions and Thom just said, ‘I’m going to be a rock star’, and I thought, ‘Yeah, right!’ Looking back now he was completely focused on it and there was no suggestion that he was going to do anything else.”
To people outside the band, this claim was starting to look more and more plausible. Eileen says that Thom always had something different about him. “It sounds like the sort of thing you say in hindsight,” she says, “but one thing I really remember is that when we saw Thom onstage, we all thought he was destined to be a rock star. He just looked completely in his element. He was onstage with a few people who were talented. Him and Shack were joint lead singers and Shack went on to have lots of success as well, but there was something about Thom’s presence onstage where he just came alive. He looked like he was in the right place. We used to say, almost laughing, how ‘at home’ he was onstage. We used to say, ‘He’s going to be a rock star’. He just looked like a rock star. But wehad no idea that he’d be in this amazing band and go on to the level of success he’s had.”
“I think it’s one of the most impressive things about his achievement,” says Shaun McCrindle, “that he knew he’d be doing what he did. He knew he was destined for it all the time he was there. In the house you couldn’t get away from the music. When we used to go out to parties it was like, ‘Oh, no, he’s getting his guitar out again!’ It sounds funny now. He wasn’t playing Radiohead classics but he was obviously honing his craft.”
“When I heard of the success of Radiohead, I was thrilled for him but I was also surprised,” says Laura. “I’d not dismissed him but I’d not taken him seriously. A few of us were doing things like that and there was a lot of talk and I was surprised it had gone so well. I always laugh at myself because I didn’t take him seriously, when he obviously took himself very seriously. I always think, Who’s laughing now? with me scoffing and going, ‘Thom’s saying he’s going to be a big rock star! Give us a break!’ The egg’s on me. But I’m absolutely thrilled because he deserved it. There were so many others talking about stuff but he actually did it and it’s fantastic.”
Ironically, at the time, Thom was probably even more acclaimed for his sideline. He had a job as a DJ at Exeter University’s main bar, the Lemon Grove. He would play a night of mostly guitar-based music called ‘Shindig’ on Friday evenings, while, on another night Felix Buxton, who would go on to be half of hugely successful duo Basement Jaxx, would play dance music. Thanks to the burgeoning rave and clubbing scene, DJs were now given considerable respect. The days of the middle-aged 1980s DJ with the flashing set of traffic lights and one bag of records were over. He would be bought drinks all night until, by the time the club was closing, he was so drunk he could barely put the records on the turntable. But, despite this, it was a career that would be surprisingly successful.
“When we were first at Exeter, the Lemon Grove wasn’t a place you particularly wanted to go to,” says Eileen Doran. “But when Thom DJ-ed it was really popular.” When he started, there were only about 250
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