Radiohead finally muscle in with The King Of Limbs 2012 UK arena dates - on sale Friday 9th March

Radiohead

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From fragile foppish student-types from Oxford to forward-thinking elegiac monsters of globally-adored electronic fuzz - who'd have thunk it, eh? My first encounter with Thom Yorke's unwieldy rock-chariot was in the early '90s when they supported a band called Kingmaker at Plymouth's ridiculous Oz/Monroes/whatever-it-was-called-that-week. But, whereas the headlining band flustered and blustered, Radiohead oozed more cool than a polar ice-cap and performed the about-to-be-released 'C.R.E.E.P.' like it was their final 3 minutes. Good times.

And there were many more good times ahead - countless awards, timeless albums and global adoration. In short, they are the nearest thing we have to musical GODS, certainly in the eyes of the millions who have been waiting for a tour announcement of some kind since 2008. In fact, to hell with the biographical account of just how big the Radiohead machine has become, without selling out to 'the man' of course, let's just tell you when and where they'll be playing.

In support of 2011's mind-blowing glitchfest, 'The King of Limbs', their first UK arena dates in four years will be in Manchester on 6th October, followed by two shows at the London O2 Arena on the 8th and the 9th. Tickets (£47.50/£65 for London) will go on sale from Friday morning at 9am, which pretty much means a rush of gargantuan proportions.

In a move to combat reselling at eye-watering prices on secondary ticketing sites, Radiohead's promoters have taken a bold move with this statement - "In an attempt to prevent secondary ticketing for Radiohead shows the group has put a number of measures in place for ticket buyers. These include implementing a paperless ticketing system, limiting the number of tickets per transaction, disallowing name changes after purchase, and requiring photo ID to gain entry to the shows."

Basically, only buy a ticket if you're definitely going to the shows! And what a show they promise - extracts from that recent album, previous catalogue and new songs such as 'Identikit' will be a total must.

Paul Pledger