This was a year of many creative and cultural highlights, including stand-out gigs from Mogwai, Spiritualized, Melin Meylin, James Taylor Quartet, Sabres of Paradise, LCD Soundsystem, amongst many others.
But my personal cultural highlight of 2025 has to be flying to Madrid to see day 3 of the Radiohead live shows with 3 school friends. The band did not disappoint and neither did the trip. We even managed to squeeze in some additional culture with a trip to the Prado to see some Goya and Caravaggio – my how things have changed!
Unlike the Oasis reunion shows, where the band played the same set every night, Radiohead decided to learn around 70 songs from their 160+ back catalogue and then chose around 25 to play each night. There is even an elegant data visualisation of each show.
As a result, fans never knew what to expect – and all furiously hoped their personal favourites would be chosen. At our show, I was delighted that the band chose to play ‘Just’ as one of their final songs of the night – the first time it had been played live since 2009.
Having worked at EMI when Kid A and Amnesiac were released, I’ve been fortunate enough to see the band live many times, but this was very special.
Playing in the round – and with the locals appearing shorter than when I struggle to see at UK gigs – gave us an incredible, close-up view of a band at the peak of their abilities. A truly memorable, once-in-a-lifetime experience which I was delighted to enjoy with friends I’ve known for over 30 years.
Stephen Jenkins is Founder and MD, Too Many Dreams.
