QUOTE:
Radiohead Green Facts:
• Radiohead always consider the carbon footprint when on tour
• Thom Yorke's fears over climate change made him back the Big Ask campaign which urges ministers to bring in laws to reduce C02 emissions
• He refused to discuss climate change with Tony Blair because he felt the fromer PM had "no environmental credentials"
Radiohead has been around in the mainstream since 1992. Many of the artistes involved in the pop/rock/alternative sector of the music industry have often sought to link themselves to the environmental movement, so we are in no position to judge Radiohead's sincerity in relation to these environmental matters. It is always useful for bands/artistes (or their promoters) to champion any “popular” or “activist” causes to retain their existing fan base, and more importantly to penetrate new younger markets.
So, while they may have foregone one promotional trip across the Atlantic – they have also “promoted” themselves in a way that will probably have a more significant or lasting impact on renewed (as well as entirely new) interest in the band (and their music / videos / CD's / concerts). Carbon “footprint” mitigation aside, there appears to be some sort of strategic trade-off involved here.
What is particularly interesting is the following quote from the link: “The band kick-off their In Rainbows world tour with a show in West Palm Beach, Florida, on 5 May.”
I guess we will have to wait and see how Radiohead/Thom Yorke intend to follow through with real action having made this symbolic “statement”.
It will be even more interesting to see which artistes or bands follow onto the pro-green / climate change bandwagon. Climate change, global warming, lead pollution, whales, Indonesian rainforests as carbon credits, etc. have always been used by politicians in self-promotion, so why not musicians - they in particular have much to be gained by being "seen to be green"
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