Radiohead Reject Glastonbury Offer Due To Environmental Concerns
2/29/2008 By Dave Synyard

Thom Yorke's green conscience is spreading throughout his band and becoming a serious part of Radiohead's touring needs as the band have begun rejecting big festival spots because of environmental concerns. [Enviro-divas? Sure, but why the hell not? – ed.] Recently the band declined an offer to play Glastonbury this summer because of ecological concerns regarding the sites lack of transportation infrastructure.

While in Brussels yesterday, promoting the Big Ask European campaign, Yorke explained his reasons for Radiohead rejecting what would be a guaranteed headlining slot.

“What we’re trying to do now is only play in areas that have a public transport infrastructure in place. So that rules out Glastonbury for this year. Maybe we can work out a plan for the future. They’re probably sick of the sight of us anyway,” explained Yorke.

He then went on to explain how the band try to be considerate and helpful towards the old and weary Mother Earth when they tour. “One of the conditions of the band carrying on touring is that we do everything we can to minimise our impact on the environment. That has included buying two lots of equipment and keeping one in Europe and one in America so we never have to fly our kit around the world again," Yorke said.

“Another big one is shipping stuff rather than flying it. We also use new technology for our lighting rig. One of the interesting things we discovered is how people get to our big shows. A lot of the time people are driving with one or two people in a car and that’s an ecological disaster.”
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