Radiohead Perform 'The Bends' Cut for First Time Since 2009

Radiohead delivered a treat to fans during their four-night Madrid residency, performing rare gems that hadn’t graced their setlists in over a decade.

The English rock legends wrapped up their stint at Movistar Arena on Saturday night, marking their first live performances in seven years with deep cuts that surprised even longtime devotees.

The standout moment came during the third show when the band unleashed “Just” for the first time since their Reading Festival performance on August 30th, 2009. The track from The Bends had been a staple throughout the 1990s and early 2000s before mysteriously disappearing from their rotation. Its return after 16 years sent shockwaves through the audience and the broader Radiohead community.

Saturday’s closing night delivered another rarity with “Optimistic”, which hadn’t been performed since 2018. The song holds particular significance as the first track the public heard from Kid A, initially released as a promotional single days before the album’s launch. Despite being the most guitar-driven song on that experimental collection, “Optimistic” has become increasingly scarce in their live repertoire, with only 97 documented performances compared to over 300 for tracks like “The National Anthem” and “Idioteque”.

This tour represents uncharted territory for Radiohead, as they’ve embarked without promoting a new album or road-testing fresh material. Instead, they’re mining their extensive catalogue with unprecedented freedom. Bassist Colin Greenwood previously revealed the band rehearsed approximately 70 songs in preparation, stating (as per Rolling Stone): “So we’ll play anything in any order, at any time. We sort of take a busking attitude to the Radiohead set list.”

Across the four Madrid shows, the band performed 41 different songs, including the likes of “Sit Down. Stand Up” and “(Nice Dream)”, “2 + 2 = 5”, “Everything in Its Right Place”, “Paranoid Android”, and “Weird Fishes/Arpeggi”.