March 22, 2006 9:51

Radiohead ticket row - Thom Yorke speaks Radiohead Tickets

If you're planning on selling your KOKO tickets, read on...

Photo Gallery: Radiohead

Radiohead singer Thom Yorke has asked people selling their tickets for Friends Of The Earth’s The Big Ask Live concert to donate their proceeds to the charity.

The band and organisers have been left frustrated after tickets for the show at London KOKO (May 1), which features Yorke and Jonny Greenwood, started trading for inflated sums of money online.

The gig completely sold out after going on sale at 12pm on March 11.
Now, writing online, Yorke has asked for people to donate their cash to the charity.

He said: “Might I suggest that those selling their KOKO tickets on eBay for stupid money gives a contribution... say 30 percent of their proceeds, back to Friends Of The Earth, for whose benefit we are all doing this show. Seems only fair, unless you're a shallow____, don’t you think?”

The £55 tickets began appearing on internet auction sites, with sellers demanding in excess of £300.

This level of opportunism has left Friends Of The Earth disappointed too.

"We have done everything within our power to ensure that fans had access to the tickets at the price fixed by Friends Of The Earth - for example by limiting purchases to two tickets per person,” a spokesperson for the charity told NME.COM.

Adding: “It is extremely disappointing to find that some people are selling on tickets for personal gain - particularly as this is a charity event which has been organised to raise money and support for Friends Of The Earths' climate campaign, The Big Ask."

The gig itself is also set to feature Super Furry Animals' Gruff Rhys and Kate Rusby.

Before the show, Radiohead will continue work on their new album. Writing on his online diary, Yorke said that slowly but surely, they’re making progress.

He revealed: “Listening back to things we are doing and looking through the lyrics today and stuff it feels like we are finally getting somewhere. There are lots of songs. Too many to get together straight away. So we will be furiously rehearsing and writing as we go.

“I think we’ve always worked best when we aren’t bothered about making mistakes. Theres a lot of baggage about the old way of doing things that is hard to get over... all the 'album' crap. Just this level of pressure that is ridiculous. We're just going to do what feels right at the time. Quite into the idea of singles at the moment (that don’t get on the radio). No grand design... wherever we are at. Some of the random stuff we have at the moment could be the most exciting.”

Yorke said the band are “trying to figure out how on earth we will be able to play some of it” on their forthcoming European tour in May, which includes UK shows in Blackpool, Wolverhampton and London.

For more on the tour, featuring an exclusive interview with Yorke and bassist Colin Greenwood, see this week’s issue of NME, which is out now nationwide.