Ed O'Brien

Ed O'Brien is the guitarist and backing vocalist of Radiohead — one of the most influential bands in modern music — and a founding director of the Featured Artists Coalition, the UK body that champions the rights of recording artists.

Born in Oxford in 1968, he formed the band that would become Radiohead with his schoolmates in 1985. Across nine studio albums, from 'The Bends' and the epochal 'OK Computer' to the electronic reinventions of 'Kid A' and beyond, O'Brien's atmospheric, textural guitar work became a cornerstone of the band's sound — favouring colour, space and effects over conventional riffing. Radiohead have sold tens of millions of records and were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2019, and Fender honoured his sonic signature with the EOB Sustainer Stratocaster.

In 2020 he stepped out on his own with 'Earth', recorded as EOB with producer Flood — a debut shaped by his time living in Brazil, weaving folk, electronica and indie rock into widescreen songs. Following Radiohead's 2025 European tour, their first live shows in seven years, he released his second solo album, 'Blue Morpho' (2026), under his own name.

Away from the stage, O'Brien has long been one of music's most active advocates for artists: he helped launch the Featured Artists Coalition in 2009 and remains a prominent voice on fair pay, artists' rights and the realities of building a sustainable career in music.