Hackers Stole Old Radiohead Demos — Then Got Owned

"This is a bit of a doozy."

Radiohack

Legendary English rock band Radiohead got hacked — but its members called the hacker's bluff.

The hacker allegedly stole an "OK Computer"-era MiniDisc archive "and reportedly demanded $150,000 on threat of releasing it," a note published today on the band's official Instagram read.

So Radiohead did the sensible thing: took all 18 hours of the archive and put it on sale on Bandcamp for roughly $23. All proceeds will go towards climate activist organization Extinction Rebellion.

"It’s not v interesting, there’s a lot of it," wrote lead singer Thom Yorke in the description of the files on Bandcamp. "It may as well be out there until we all get bored and move on."

Fitter, Happier

A thread from last Tuesday posted on Radiohead's subreddit revealed that there was a leak.

"This is a bit of a doozy," wrote Redditor santicol. "About a week ago, someone came into contact with a well known leaker [...] who was claiming to have 18 hours worth of minidv tracks that (mainly) Thom archived while the band was recording OK Computer."

The archives include some rarities that fans are bound to love, including a full-band version of "True Love Waits," an 11-minute version of "OK Computer" lead single "Paranoid Android," and an arena rock arrangement of "Lift," as The Guardian points out.

READ MORE: Radiohead release hours of hacked MiniDiscs to benefit Extinction Rebellion [The Guardian]

More on hackers: Hackers Steal 100,000 Traveler Photos From U.S. Customs