Contrary to what Aussie upstart Allday would have you believe, you won't always know the DJ.
That's the lesson to have come out of the UK's annual Leopallooza festival, held in Cornwall at the weekend, when Thom Yorke — known by pretty much everyone as the frontman for iconic alt outfit Radiohead — sidled his way into a late-night DJ spot, to no hype or advertisement, in front of a dwindling late-night crowd, who reportedly remained oblivious as to his identity for its duration.
"He’s probably the most influential artist of the past decade and here he is prepping to play to half a dozen drunk hippies," the Evening Standard reported one punter as saying.
Leopallooza is renowned for providing up-and-coming bands with a grand platform from which to be heard, with this year's line-up boasting the likes of Fenech-Soler, Karma Kid, The Other Tribe, UK indie darling Foxes and Aussie world-beaters DZ Deathrays.
Although earlier reports (and the Standard's unattributed quote) suggested Yorke had played for as few as eight people, Leopallooza organiser Cai Waggett has since addressed the set in a statement originally released to Pitchfork.
"Thom is a good friend of the festival and he understands the DIY ethos of this independent event, and he offered a late-night set in our backstage area as a little exclusive, playing alongside the excellent DJ Samo," Waggett said. "It was purposely kept quiet until very close to his performance so as not to overshadow anything else going on at the time."
Waggett went on to correct several incorrect and since-repeated details, including clarifying the time of the set ("It was at 12:30am, not 2/2:30am"), attendance figures ("There were at least 30 people present throughout, not including the 7 bar staff"), and, importantly, that maybe Allday has been right all along after all.
"People knew who he was, but everyone respected his right to have fun & party during his down time," Waggett explained. "Just as they did everyone else!"
"Somehow it was missed that he also played last year too," he concluded.
True enough, but thankfully Yorke has been making a habit of stepping out for random DJ sets for years. Get amongst one such performance (in full) below:
Leopallooza is renowned for providing up-and-coming bands with a grand platform from which to be heard, with this year's line-up boasting the likes of Fenech-Soler, Karma Kid, The Other Tribe, UK indie darling Foxes and Aussie world-beaters DZ Deathrays.
Although earlier reports (and the Standard's unattributed quote) suggested Yorke had played for as few as eight people, Leopallooza organiser Cai Waggett has since addressed the set in a statement originally released to Pitchfork.
"Thom is a good friend of the festival and he understands the DIY ethos of this independent event, and he offered a late-night set in our backstage area as a little exclusive, playing alongside the excellent DJ Samo," Waggett said. "It was purposely kept quiet until very close to his performance so as not to overshadow anything else going on at the time."
Waggett went on to correct several incorrect and since-repeated details, including clarifying the time of the set ("It was at 12:30am, not 2/2:30am"), attendance figures ("There were at least 30 people present throughout, not including the 7 bar staff"), and, importantly, that maybe Allday has been right all along after all.
"People knew who he was, but everyone respected his right to have fun & party during his down time," Waggett explained. "Just as they did everyone else!"
"Somehow it was missed that he also played last year too," he concluded.
True enough, but thankfully Yorke has been making a habit of stepping out for random DJ sets for years. Get amongst one such performance (in full) below:
