About
Yorke was born on October 7, 1968, in Wellingborough, England. His left eye was paralyzed from birth and remained shut until the age of six. He underwent a total of five operations; the last operation was botched and he almost lost all sight in that eye. Only after wearing an eye patch for a year was he able to see, albeit slightly. His family moved often since his father worked as a chemical-engineering instruments salesman, and by his teens, he had turned to music as an inspiration, namely Elvis Costello, Queen, and the Beatles. After his family finally settled down in Oxford, Yorke was sent to an all-boys school, where he met future Radiohead guitarist Ed O'Brien and bassist Colin Greenwood, soon after discovering such '80s alternative bands as the Smiths, R.E.M., and the Cure. The seeds of what became Radiohead were planted at this point, as the trio jammed with a drum machine before replacing it with another friend, drummer Phil Selway, and inviting Greenwood's younger multi-instrument-playing brother Jonny to join up, too.
