Anticipation was always going to be immense around Radiohead's third Glastonbury headline performance. The band widely regarded as responsible for the greatest Pyramid Stage show in Worthy Farm's history back in 1997 followed that legendary set with another memorable appearance in 2003, without quite scaling the heights of six years prior. Now, 14 years on, Oxford's finest returned once again to show exactly why they are still one of the finest live acts on earth.
With a career spanning set that drew largely from the band's 1997 masterpiece OK Computer, the balance between bona fide 20th century classics and 21st century electro-rock pioneering from Kid A and beyond was a deft one.
While every single performance was predictably precision perfect, the opening one-two of A Moon Shaped Pool's Daydreaming and OK Computer's Lucky undeniably made for a slow start, given the pre-show excitement among the expansive crowd. However, any suggestion of doubt as to whether or not Radiohead could still captivate a Glastonbury crowd were resolutely quashed four songs in when OK Computer opener Airbag - surely a more obvious set opener given the album celebrated its 20th anniversary this year - delivered one of the set's many highlights. From then on in, this was a show of spellbinding and electrifying brilliance.
Amnesiac classics such a You And Whose Army and Pyramid Song stunned much of the audience into silence, while, as blue and white spotlights splashed across the stage, a raw rendition of The Bends' Street Spirit provided what will surely go down as one of the standout moments of this year's event.
Over the course of two spectacular encores, Radiohead rattled off a flurry of hits to spark mass sing along after mass sing along. Fake Plastic Trees, No Surprises and Paranoid Android all appeared in quick succession, while the knockout finale of Creep and Karma Police served as a perfect way to close out the set.
Thom Yorke, who was in sublime voice throughout, also sparked mass chant of "oh Jeremy Corbyn", after stating: "goodbye, Theresa. Shut the door on the way out". There were also plenty in the crowd adorned with Corbyn masks and flags ahead of the Labour leader's appearance on Saturday, when he introduces Run The Jewels to the stage - surely another iconic Glastonbury moment in the offing.
Though few could have truly expected Radiohead to top that special 1997 show, this certainly came close.
