Alt-Rock Guitarist Admits He Felt ‘Clumsy and Lazy’ During His Iconic Band’s Influential Early Years

Radiohead have been one of the most influential alt-rock bands of all time. That’s why it might surprise fans to hear the iconic band’s acclaimed guitarist, Jonny Greenwood, call his playing “clumsy and lazy” in their early years.

Greenwood—one of the band’s original members—spoke to the Independent about his career and how his guitar playing has evolved over time. “I will sit and play guitar every day now,” he explained. “It’s funny; It’s something I kind of never wanted to do.”

“I used to distrust any sort of fluidity and think that was somehow part of that thing of technical playing,” he added. “But now I just feel different about it. And it feels lucky that my fingers do these things.”

“I’ve got a certain facility with it,” Greenwood continued. “So I’ve decided to accept it, and have realized that I really love playing the guitar.” He then quipped that “in the early days of Radiohead I always felt like a clumsy guitar player and was always lazy.”

“Now, just through repetition,” he concluded, “I’ve got hooked. I’ve just got addicted and want to play all the time.”

Whatever Greenwood’s approach, it’s clear that he and Radiohead have been doing something right. The band is undeniably one of the most celebrated rock acts of all time. They even received some high praise from legendary musician Nick Cave back in 2025.

After seeing the band live in London, Cave spoke highly of how revolutionary their concert was. “At the Radiohead concert at the O2, I was sitting among twenty thousand people,” he reflected on his Red Hand Files blog. “Bizarrely, it was the first time I had ever been in the audience at such a large show, and I was stunned by the depth of love in the room – people dancing, screaming, crying, hugging each other, throwing themselves around.”

Some fans will get a chance to experience the band live in 2027. See below for those current dates.