Harry Styles took a break from his “Together, Together” residency tour on Thursday, May 21st to induct Thom Yorke into the Fellowship of the Ivors Academy at the 2026 Ivor Novello Awards. In addition to gushing about Yorke’s influence on his songwriting, the pop star sheepishly revealed he lost his virginity to a song from The Bends.
Styles began by praising Yorke’s ability to take “feelings of anxiety and alienation and [turn] them into atmospheres, anthems, and hearts,” saying the inimitable artist lives “atop this magical music mountain that we’re all attempting to climb.”
“Thom’s work is music that is felt,” he continued. “It’s always been somewhat of a religious experience to me — religious in the sense that the understanding seemed to go both ways. I always felt I could uniquely understand the writer of these songs, and at last someone was capturing what it feels like at times to be human.”
Styles admitted to losing his virginity to the intro of “Talk Show Host” from The Bends, and emphasized how Yorke’s work “has influenced my belief in the purpose of the arts in our world today… Without “Exit Music (For a Film),” there would be no “Watermelon Sugar.” Oh, imagine that. A world without that song. Doesn’t bear thinking about.”
The singer also shared the story of how they first met while he was “walking in the street in Rome.” He had just told a friend the night before that maybe it was “better” if they never crossed paths.
“I’d always been worried that he might be mean to me, and that emotionally I would never recover,” Styles explained. “The next day, A Moon Shaped Pool playing in my headphones, I found myself alone with him on a quiet cobbled street.”
He then recalled the quaint beginning of their conversation: “‘Hello, Mr. Yorke,’ I said. ‘Oh, it’s you. Hello,’ he replied.”
“I was overwhelmed during our conversations. Our time with giants is not to be squandered,” Styles added. “The weight of the moments with the men who have made us is to be noticed. He was light, he was friendly, and he was kind. In a world where outside noise tends to leak into our awareness without permission, among our resented desire to please, a small kindness extended to you by a hero can be enough to release you. I beamed, and I’ve been beaming ever since. The wizard was also a human.”
Following Styles’ kind words, Yorke delivered a fiery speech, imploring music executives to invest in new artists. He also debuted a new song, reportedly titled “Space Walk,” and performed an acoustic version of Radiohead’s “Jigsaw Falling into Place.”
Styles is set to resume the Amsterdam stop of his “Together, Together” residency series tonight. Get tickets here.
Read the full speech below.
Thom Yorke has always had a way with words. Over his almost 35 years of releasing music, he’s taken feelings of anxiety and alienation and turned them into atmospheres, anthems, and art. From guitars to glitches, he has time and time again shown us what the future sounds like. Never compromising, a restless creative, an artist in its truest form. There are no two songs that sound alike. For so many of us, he lives atop this magical music mountain that we’re all attempting to climb.
Some of you had Radiohead albums at the time they were released. Not all of you, but some of you. Their debut album [Pablo Honey] came out the year before I was born. I’m just gonna let that sink in.
So I discovered their songs over time growing up, inhaling the secondhand teenage angst from the stairs separating my sister’s bedroom from where I sat below doing my homework. Thank you to my uncle Michael for burning her numerous CDs as he tried to convince her of some of what he referred to as ‘some of the weirdest stuff.’ I found him again at parties, in treasured moments alone… I lost my virginity to ‘Talk Show Host.’
Yeah. I lost my virginity to the intro of ‘Talk Show Host.’
Thom’s work is music that is felt. It’s always been somewhat of a religious experience to me — religious in the sense that the understanding seemed to go both ways. I always felt I could uniquely understand the writer of these songs, and at last someone was capturing what it feels like at times to be human. Thank God someone was doing that. That alien, that prowling ghost, that angry prophet of Thom Yorke.
I cannot overstate how his work has influenced my belief in the purpose of the arts in our world today. And I cannot overstate how much his work continues to influence me. Without ‘Exit Music (For a Film),’ there would be no ‘Watermelon Sugar.’ Oh. Imagine that. A world without that song. Doesn’t bear thinking about.
Now it’s always nerve-wracking stepping onto a stage, but to know that a man I’ve spent so much of my life listening to is now listening to me talk to you about him… it’s a truly terrifying honor.
The first time I met Thom, I was walking in the street in Rome. The previous evening at dinner, listening to The Smile’s A Light for Attracting Attention [or Wall of Eyes], my friend had asked me if I’d ever met him and I said that I hadn’t. Maybe it was better that way. I’d always been worried that he might be mean to me and emotionally I would never recover. The next day, A Moon Shaped Pool playing in my headphones, I found myself alone with him on a quiet cobbled street.
‘Hello Mr. Yorke,’ I said.
‘Oh, it’s you. Hello,’ he replied.
I was overwhelmed during our conversations. Our time with giants is not to be squandered. The weight of the moments with the men who have made us is to be noticed. He was light, he was friendly, and he was kind. In a world where outside noise tends to leak into our awareness without permission, among our resented desire to please, a small kindness extended to you by a hero can be enough to release you. I beamed, and I’ve been beaming ever since. The wizard was also a human.
When asking Thom’s friends to describe him in three words, they said he was compassionate, sensitive, devoted, bold, unique, untouchable, challenging, true punk, not for sale. Or, as his wife shared with me: ‘Holidays with synthesizer.’
To quote Thom: ‘I have no idea what you’re talking about. Your mouth moves only with someone’s hand up your arse as the light cut out for you, because the light’s gone out for me.’ [From the song ‘Paperbag Writer’ / ‘Cuttooth’ era b-sides]. It is the 21st century. The message is clear: commit to your humor and your heartbreak. Only cowards meet our complicated, beautiful world with distance.
It’s an honor to be here tonight to present him with this recognition of his enduring influence on British music. Radiohead is my favorite band. Thank you, Thom.
