Radiohead’s Jonny Greenwood Cancels Tour After Emergency Hospitalization

The music world was shaken as The Smile, a promising supergroup with Radiohead members, canceled their European tour due to a severe health issue involving Jonny Greenwood. Greenwood, aged 52 and known for his guitar and keyboard skills in both bands, faced a serious infection that required urgent medical treatment.

On Friday, The Smile, which features Greenwood, Radiohead’s Thom Yorke, and drummer Tom Skinner from Sons of Kemet, disclosed the unsettling news. They revealed that Greenwood had become critically ill and needed intensive care.

The band’s statement on social media read, “A few days ago, Jonny became seriously ill from an infection that needed emergency hospital treatment, some of it in intensive care. Mercifully he is now out of danger and will soon return home.” They added, “We have been instructed by the medical team in charge of Jonny’s care to cancel all engagements until he has had time to make a full recovery. To that end, the Smile tour of Europe in August is cancelled.”

Following medical advice, The Smile had no choice but to cancel all planned engagements. This includes the much-anticipated European tour that was to take place in August. The tour had stops in Switzerland, Sweden, Germany, and Poland. The band had recently performed at the Roma Summer Fest in Rome on June 24.

The Smile, which had its debut at Glastonbury’s Live at Worthy Farm stream in May 2021, quickly rose to fame. They have released two albums: A Light for Attracting Attention in April 2022 and Wall of Eyes in January 2024. Both albums climbed into the UK top 10 charts, establishing The Smile as a significant force in the music industry.

The announcement of Greenwood’s health condition comes as Radiohead members are focused on individual projects. Radiohead has not released new group material since their 2016 album A Moon-Shaped Pool. However, they have revisited their past work, reissuing Kid A as Kid A Mnesia in 2021 and releasing archival material in 2019 and 2020.

Members of Radiohead have engaged in solo ventures during this period. Thom Yorke composed the score for Suspiria in 2018 and released his solo album Anima in 2019. Ed O’Brien started his solo project Earth in 2020, with contributions from bassist Colin Greenwood. Drummer Philip Selway released Strange Dance in 2023, and Jonny Greenwood teamed up with Dudu Tassa for their joint album Jarak Qaribak in the same year.

The band assured fans that refunds for the canceled concerts will be provided soon. They concluded their statement with a heartfelt message for Jonny Greenwood: “We all wish Jonny a speedy recovery.”

Source: popculture