Harry Styles Inducts Thom Yorke With Talk Show Host Story
Harry Styles inducted thom yorke into the Fellowship of the Ivors Academy at the 2026 Ivor Novello Awards on Thursday, May 21st, and used the moment to tell the room he lost his virginity to the intro of "Talk Show Host." Yorke then took the stage with a speech that pushed music executives to back new artists.
Styles also tied Yorke's writing to his own catalog, saying Yorke's work shaped his view of the purpose of the arts and adding, "Without “Exit Music (For a Film),” there would be no “Watermelon Sugar.”" That links a formal honors slot to a very specific creative lineage, not just a tribute speech.
Styles in Rome
Styles said he first met Yorke while walking in the street in Rome, after listening to A Moon Shaped Pool in his headphones on a quiet cobbled street. He recalled thinking, "I’d always been worried that he might be mean to me, and that emotionally I would never recover," then greeted him with, "Hello, Mr. Yorke," before hearing, "Oh, it’s you. Hello," in reply.
He also described that meeting by saying, "The wizard was also a human." It is a neat line, but the industry point sits underneath it: the tribute came from an artist who clearly treats Yorke less as a distant influence than as part of his own musical wiring.
Yorke at the Ivors
Yorke, whose work has been framed as spanning almost 35 years, delivered a fiery speech and urged 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."
That combination made the night more than a lifetime-honor ceremony. It gave Yorke a platform to speak for emerging artists while also putting fresh music and a stripped-back Radiohead performance in front of an awards audience.
Amsterdam tonight
Styles is set to resume the Amsterdam stop of his "Together, Together" residency series tonight. After the Ivors tribute and Yorke's remarks, that keeps Styles in performance mode immediately, with one high-profile appearance feeding straight into another.
