In another order of news related to the Ivor Novello awards ceremony this Thursday in London, Harry Styles has had the “honorable and terrifying” role of presenting an award to Thom Yorke. During his speech, the singer was full of praise for the influential Radiohead leader, highlighting Yorke’s ability as a composer to “convey what it sometimes means to be human”, while describing him with images such as “an alien”, “a haunting ghost” and “an angry prophet”.
The most curious moment of his intervention comes when Styles talks about how deeply personal Radiohead’s music has been in his life, specifically in his sexual life. He claims that he lost his virginity listening to the band and mentions the exact song, which couldn’t be more unlikely: ‘Talk Show Host’, the famous B-side to ‘Street Spirit (Fade Out)’ that appeared on the ‘Romeo + Juliet’ soundtrack.
“I lost my virginity to ‘Talk Show Host’. I lost my virginity to the intro of that song,” says Styles, who for some reason goes on to talk about the almost spiritual power of Radiohead’s music: “Thom’s work is music that you feel. It has always been a somewhat religious experience for me. Religious in the sense that understanding seemed to go in both directions. I always felt that I could uniquely understand the author of these songs, and that finally someone was capturing what it sometimes means to be human. “Thank you “God, someone thought of this,” I used to think.
Styles goes on to point out that he cannot “exaggerate” the influence that Radiohead’s music has had on his “belief in the purpose of art,” nor the influence that Yorke’s music continues to have on him, before stating that “without Exit Music (For a Film) there would be no ‘Watermelon Sugar.'” That is, his song about cunnilingus. Is this British humor or is he serious?
Yorke, present at the ceremony – in fact posed with Styles in a photo – took advantage of his acceptance speech to criticize the music industry and its “fixation on the share price of streaming services at the expense of artists: remember, without us you are nothing.” In addition, he performed ‘Jigsaw Falling Into Place’ and a new song supposedly titled ‘Space Walk’.
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@nme Thom Yorke performed a new song, reportedly titled ‘Space Walk’ at the Ivors Novello Awards. Let us know what you think of it in the comments #ThomYorke #Radiohead #Ivors2026 #nme #fyp ♬ original sound – NME
