Philip Selway

In 1991, On a Friday signed a recording contract with EMI and changed their name to Radiohead.[6] They found early success with their 1992 single "Creep".[7] Their third album, OK Computer (1997), brought them international fame and is often acclaimed as one of the best albums of all time.[8][9]

With their fourth album, Kid A (2000), Radiohead began integrating drum machines and electronic percussion into their music. Selway said this "pushed me to create some new dynamics. It's another way of solving the problem of arranging songs ... Electronics opened up my drumming rather than closing down the possibilities of what I can do. Now I can express myself in a more effective way."[10]

Since 2011, Radiohead have performed with a second drummer, Clive Deamer.[11] Describing their 2012 tour for The King of Limbs, Selway said: "One [of us] played in the traditional way, the other almost mimicked a drum machine. It was push-and-pull, like kids at play, really interesting."[10]

Selway contributed drums to "Impossible Knots" from Yorke's third solo album, Anima (2019).[12] In 2019, Selway testified at an inquest into the 2012 stage collapse that killed Radiohead's drum technician, Scott Johnson.[13]

By 2011, Radiohead had sold more than 30 million albums worldwide.[14] They were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in March 2019. In a speech at the induction ceremony, Selway said: "We may not be the greatest musicians around and we're certainly not the most media-friendly of bands. But we have become very adept at being Radiohead. And when that connects with people, it feels amazing."[15] In 2008, Gigwise named Selway the 26th-greatest drummer of all time, praising his "mathematical precision".[16]

Selway wrote songs as a teenager, but concentrated on drumming after forming Radiohead.[17] He began writing again later in life, and decided to record solo as he felt the songs had a distinct character that did not fit Radiohead.[17]

Selway's debut solo album, Familial, was released on 30 August 2010.[18] It features Selway on acoustic guitar and vocals, and performances from the Wilco members Glenn Kotche and Pat Sansone and the 7 Worlds Collide artists Lisa Germano and Sebastian Steinberg.[19] Pitchfork described it as a collection of "hushed" folk songs in the tradition of Nick Drake.[19] Selway began a solo tour in 2011.[20]

Selway's second solo album, Weatherhouse, was released on 6 October 2014, featuring more ambitious instrumentation and electronic elements.[21] In 2017, Selway composed the score for the feature film Let Me Go, directed by Polly Steele.[22] His third solo album, Strange Dance, was released on 24 February 2023.[23] He chose not to drum on the album, finding he was out of practice and "not in the right mindset", and enlisted the Italian drummer Valentina Magaletti.[24] He began a European tour that year.[25]

In September 2023, Selway announced a live album, Live at Evolution Studios. It features tracks from Strange Dance and other works, and was recorded with the string quartet Elysian Collective and the percussionist Chris Vatalaro in Evolution Studios, Oxford. It is set for release on 8 December, 2023.[26]

Selway performing with 7 Worlds Collide, 2009

Selway is a supporter of the emotional support charity Samaritans, with which he became involved while a university student.[27] He volunteered as a telephone listener for years, including at the height of Radiohead's success, saying it "probably kept my sanity in that period".[24] He is also an ambassador for Independent Venue Week, an initiative that promotes small music venues.[24]

Selway performed with the band Dive Dive in March 2005. For the 2005 film Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Selway appeared as part of the wizard rock band Weird Sisters with the Radiohead guitarist Jonny Greenwood, Jarvis Cocker and Steve Mackey of Pulp, Steven Claydon of Add N to (X), and Jason Buckle of All Seeing I.[28]

Selway toured and recorded with Neil Finn as part of the 7 Worlds Collide project. He drummed on their 2001 live album and provided drums, guitar and vocals on their 2009 studio album The Sun Came Out, where he also penned two tracks. Selway joined as a drummer, but was encouraged by Finn to contribute his own material. It was the first record for which Selway wrote songs and sang.[29]

Selway appears on "Rest on the Rock" and "Out of Light" on the album Before the Ruin by Roddy Woomble, Kris Drever, and John McCusker.[30] He played drums and percussion on the fifth album by Lanterns on the Lake, Versions of Us (2023).[31]