Radiohead Shock Fans With First ‘Like Spinning Plates’ Live Performance in Seven Years at London’s O2
When Radiohead step onstage, you expect curveballs, emotional whiplash, and at least one moment that sends the entire fandom into meltdown. Last night at London’s O2, they delivered exactly that: the long-dormant ‘Like Spinning Plates’, resurrected for the first time in seven years and slipped into the tail end of a massive 25-song set.
The crowd reaction? Somewhere between spiritual awakening and collective scream therapy.
A Comeback Tour Already Loaded With Surprises
Night four in London wrapped Radiohead’s UK run on their heavily hyped reunion tour, a trek fans still can’t believe is actually happening after the band’s seven-year hiatus. They’ve already dug deep into the vault for this tour, dropping ‘Kid A’, ‘Talk Show Host’, ‘You and Whose Army?’ and ‘Pyramid Song’ earlier in Europe. But ‘Like Spinning Plates’ hits different — it’s one of those cult-favorite deep cuts that sends longtime fans into full detective-mode every tour cycle, looking for even the slightest hint it might appear.
And then it actually did.
Minutes after the encore ended, X and YouTube were flooded with shaky fan-shot clips and keysmashes. One fan summed up the collective chaos with the very Gen Z appropriate:
“wtf do you mean i just heard like spinning plates live?????”
Same.
Why This Song Matters So Much
Originally released on 2001’s Amnesiac, ‘Like Spinning Plates’ is one of Radiohead’s most experimental moments. It began life as a completely different track — an early take of ‘I Will’ played backwards — which Thom Yorke famously heard from another room and instantly preferred. The band spent the night rebuilding the melody from that reversed version, giving the track its ghostly, disoriented feel.
Yorke once described it as a reflection of the early 2000s political climate and the sensation of being overwhelmed by forces you can’t fully name. More than 20 years later, that theme has aged a little too well.
Performed live, the song becomes even stranger and more hypnotic. It’s not a “phone flashlight” moment — it’s more “everyone stands still for three minutes because this feels like a glitch in the simulation.”
The Full O2 Setlist Was A Career-Spanning Flex
Alongside the surprise debut, Radiohead unloaded a setlist packed with essentials:
Airbag
Jigsaw Falling Into Place
Ful Stop
Reckoner
The Bends
Pyramid Song
Idioteque
Paranoid Android
There There
And honestly, that’s just the highlight reel.
It’s the kind of show that reminds you why Radiohead’s reunion felt like a cultural reset the moment it was announced. The band hadn’t played together since 2018. Then, out of nowhere, Philip Selway casually dropped the “oh btw we rehearsed last year and it felt great” statement, and suddenly we were back in the orbit of one of the most influential bands of the last three decades.
What’s Next for the 2025 Tour
The group wraps Europe with stops in Copenhagen and Berlin next month. Whether ‘Like Spinning Plates’ becomes a tour staple or stays a one-night-only miracle remains to be seen. Radiohead being Radiohead, they might shove it back in the vault until 2034. Or they might play it every night just to mess with us.
Either way, this London moment already feels mythologized — the kind of deep-cut resurrection fans talk about for years with a slightly smug “I was there” energy.
FAQ
Did Radiohead really perform ‘Like Spinning Plates’ live in 2025?
Yes. They brought the song back for the first time in seven years during their November 25 show at the O2 in London.
When was the last time Radiohead performed ‘Like Spinning Plates’?
Before the 2025 tour, the track hadn’t appeared live since 2018.
Is Radiohead’s reunion tour adding more dates?
As of now, the band has only confirmed the current European run, but members have hinted that more shows could happen depending on how things unfold.