THIS SITE HAS BEEN ARCHIVED AND CLOSED.

In an interview to be published in next week’s Observer Music Monthly, Radiohead’s Ed O’Brien reveals that new ownership was the reason for their split with former label EMI.

Rather than an ideological statement, as was widely speculated, their decision to strike out on their own for recent album In Rainbows was down to a change in personnel.

"EMI is in a state of flux,” explained O’Brien. “It's been taken over by somebody who's never owned a record company before, Guy Hands and Terra Firma, and they don't realise what they're dealing with.

"It was really sad to leave all the people. But he wouldn't give us what we wanted. He didn't know what to offer us. Terra Firma doesn't understand the music industry."