Radiohead's tribute

Oxford band put out homage to the late British veteran of World War I

05 August 2009 - Radiohead have posted a new charity song titled Harry Patch (In Memory Of), on their official site.

Dedicated to the one of the final surviving soldiers of World War One, the track is available to download for £1.

Thom Yorke was inspired by Harry Patch, who died at the age of 111, when he heard him being interviewed on BBC Radio 4 a few years ago.

"The way he talked about war had a profound effect on me," wrote the Radiohead frontman on the band's website.

'Wasn't worth it'

Harry Patch was a plummer's apprentice before he enlisted as a private in the Duke Of Cornwall Light Infantry, at 18 years old.

He didn't speak of his experiences of war on the Western front for more than 80 years, not even to his wife.

Speaking when he was 107, in the original Today programme interview from 2005, he said: "The younger generation, they can't imagine what it was like."

"It would be very easy for our generation to forget the true horror of war, without the likes of Harry to remind us."
Thom Yorke

It was, "dirty, unsanitary, lice down the trousers, in your coat, in your vest, lice. My 19th birthday, I was in the trenches."

In a gut-wrenching interview the elderly solider took little pride in the war. "It wasn't worth it", he admitted.

"If two Governments can't agree give them a rifle each and let them fight it out. Don't lose 20,000 men. It isn't worth it," said Patch.

His words informed Yorke's lyrics: "Give your leaders each a gun and then let them fight it out themselves."

British Legion respond

Proceeds will go to the Royal British Legion, which provides help and welfare to the serving members of the armed forces and ex-Service community.

Liam Maguire, PR Officer at the organisation, told BBC 6 Music getting a call from Radiohead's manager last week was a total surprise.

"They [Radiohead] said, 'As a tribute to him [Harry Patch], we want to help out the British Legion' - They're big supporters of ours - 'We'd like to donate the money from sales to you.' It was out of the blue, but very welcome," explained Maguire.

It is not yet known what impact the track has had, but he added: "I know their last single globally hit something like £1.8 million, so even if we can get close, or half way close, to that number we'll be more than happy."

You can download the track from their official site now.

Georgie Rogers