Radiohead opens European tour with 25-song Madrid set

Radiohead returned to the stage for the first time in seven years, opening a European tour with a 25-song set at Madrid’s Movistar Arena on Tuesday night, November 4. The British band performed in the round on a central circular stage and drew from a rehearsed pool of roughly 65 songs, delivering a careerspanning program that began with Let Down and closed with Karma Police.

The set mixed well-known singles and deeper album cuts, including several long-absent tracks. The group revived Sit Down. Stand Up for the first time since 2004 and performed Subterranean Homesick Alien for the first time since 2017, along with numbers from OK Computer, Hail to the Thief, In Rainbows, Kid A and other albums. Fans and attendees reported the band soundchecked a 28-song sequence the day before, and the Madrid performance largely reflected that broad rehearsal. The band is expected to vary selections night to night, having described a busking approach to the setlist.

The tour, announced in September, comprises four-night residencies in Madrid, Bologna, London, Copenhagen and Berlin through mid-December. Ticketing for the European dates required preregistration on the band’s website and...