Philip Selway

Philip James Selway (born 23 May 1967) is an English musician and the drummer of the rock band Radiohead. He combines rock drumming with electronic percussion. Selway was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Radiohead in 2019.

In the 2000s, with musicians including the Radiohead guitarist Ed O'Brien, Selway toured and recorded with the 7 Worlds Collide project. In 2010, he released his debut solo album, Familial, comprising folk music. It was followed by Weatherhouse in 2014 and Strange Dance in 2023. Selway also composed the soundtrack for the 2017 film Let Me Go. In 2023, he played drums with Lanterns on the Lake. Selway is a supporter of the mental health charity Samaritans.

Early life Selway was born on 23 May 1967, in Abingdon, Oxfordshire. He started learning to play drums and guitar at the age of 15 for "the social cachet and love of music". Selway was in the year above the guitarist Ed O'Brien, two years above the singer, Thom Yorke, and the bassist, Colin Greenwood, and five years above Colin's brother, the multi-instrumentalist Jonny Greenwood. In 1985, they formed , the name referring to their usual rehearsal day in the school's music room.

After Abingdon, Selway studied English and history at Liverpool Polytechnic. He also worked as a TEFL teacher, a copyeditor, and as a drummer in pit bands for touring musicals. They found early success with their 1992 single "Creep". Their third album, OK Computer (1997), brought them fame and is often acclaimed as one of the best albums of all time.

With their fourth album, Kid A (2000), Radiohead began integrating electronic elements such as drum machines into their music. Selway said this widened his options and pushed him to create new dynamics, enabling him to express himself more creatively.

While on tour for their albums The King of Limbs (2011) and A Moon Shaped Pool (2016), Radiohead performed with a second drummer, Clive Deamer. Selway said: "One [of us] played in the traditional way, the other almost mimicked a drum machine. It was push-and-pull, like kids at play, really interesting." For Radiohead's 2025 tour, Deamer was replaced by Chris Vatalaro. Selway contributed drums to "Impossible Knots" on Yorke's third solo album, Anima (2019), and drummed on two tracks from O'Brien's second solo album, Blue Morpho (2026).

In June 2012, Radiohead's stage collapsed before a show in Downsview Park in Toronto. Selway's drum technician, Scott Johnson, was killed. Selway wrote a tribute on Radiohead's website, describing him as "a lovely man, always positive, supportive and funny; a highly skilled and valued member of our great road crew".

In 2008, Gigwise named Selway the 26th-greatest drummer, praising his "mathematical precision", and Mojo wrote that he and Colin Greenwood were "surely the most inventive rhythm section working close to the rock mainstream". O'Brien said Yorke's voice and Selway's drumming were the most distinctive parts of Radiohead, saying: "Philip has this incredible groove, and he has this weight to what he does ... Phil's feel is extraordinary." By 2011, Radiohead had sold more than 30 million albums worldwide. They were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in March 2019. In a speech at the induction ceremony, Selway said: "We may not be the greatest musicians around and we're certainly not the most media-friendly of bands. But we have become very adept at being Radiohead. And when that connects with people, it feels amazing."

Solo work Selway wrote songs as a teenager, but concentrated on drumming after forming Radiohead. He began writing again later in life, but decided the songs had a distinct character that did not fit Radiohead. It features Selway on acoustic guitar and vocals, and performances from the Wilco members Glenn Kotche and Pat Sansone and the 7 Worlds Collide artists Lisa Germano and Sebastian Steinberg. Selway began a solo tour in 2011. On 25 July, he released an EP, Running Blind, comprising songs left off Familial rerecorded with a full band.

Selway's second solo album, Weatherhouse, was released on 6 October 2014, featuring more ambitious instrumentation and electronic elements. In 2017, Selway composed the score for the feature film Let Me Go, directed by Polly Steele. His third solo album, Strange Dance, was released on 24 February 2023. Selway chose not to drum on the album, finding he was out of practice and "not in the right mindset", and enlisted the Italian drummer Valentina Magaletti. He began a European tour that year.

Selway contributed a cover of the song "Fly" to The Endless Coloured Ways – The Songs of Nick Drake, a tribute album featuring various artists released on 7 July 2023. Selway cited Drake as a songwriting influence, and said: "If I had to shrink my record collection to just one artist, then that would be Nick Drake ... Nick Drake is an artist that I feel speaks to me and for me." On 8 December, Selway released a live album, Live at Evolution Studios, recorded with Vatalaro and the string quartet Elysian Collective in Evolution Studios, Oxford.

Other projects Selway (left) performing with 7 Worlds Collide, 2009Selway performed with the band Dive Dive at the Oxford Zodiac in February 2005. For the 2005 film Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Selway and Jonny Greenwood appeared as part of the wizard rock band Weird Sisters, alongside Jarvis Cocker and Steve Mackey of Pulp, Steven Claydon of Add N to (X), and Jason Buckle of All Seeing I.

With O'Brien, Selway contributed to the 2001 live album by 7 Worlds Collide, a band formed by the New Zealand songwriter Neil Finn. He also contributed to their 2009 studio album The Sun Came Out, for which he wrote and sang "Ties That Bind" and "Witching Hour". It was the first record for which Selway wrote songs and sang, at the encouragement of Finn. He played drums and percussion on the fifth album by Lanterns on the Lake, Versions of Us (2023), after the departure of their previous drummer. According to the songwriter, Hazel Wilde, Selway helped them create a new version "whole other version" of the album and restored their confidence in the songs.

Community work and activism Selway is a supporter of the mental health charity Samaritans, with which he became involved while a university student. Selway is also an ambassador for Independent Venue Week, an initiative that promotes small music venues. In August 2026, Selway, O'Brien and Yorke were among 211 artists to sign a letter calling for the prime minister, Andy Burnham, to reject proposals for further drilling in the Rosebank oil and gas field.

Personal life Selway and his wife, Cait, have three sons. As of February 2023, Selway had recently moved to London. He is a fan of Oxford United FC.

Discography

Studio albums + List of studio albums, with selected chart positions Title Details Peak chart positions UK UKIndie SCO USFolk USHeat Familial Released: 30 August 2010 (UK) Label: Bella Union Formats: CD, LP, download 185 – – 8 7 Weatherhouse Released: 6 October 2014 (UK) Label: Bella Union Formats: CD, LP, download — 46 – 25 — Strange Dance Released: 24 February 2023 (UK) Label: Bella Union Formats: CD, LP, download — 8 46 — —

Live albums + Title Details Live at Evolution Studios (With Elysian Collective) Release: 8 December 2023 Label: Bella Union Formats: Vinyl, download

Soundtrack albums + Title Details Let Me Go Released: 15 September 2017 Label: Bella Union Formats: LP, CD, download

EPs + Title Details Running Blind Released: 25 July 2011 Label: Bella Union, Nonesuch Formats: Vinyl, download

Singles + Title Year Album "It Will End in Tears"2014 Weatherhouse "Around Again (The Acid Remix)"2015

Guest appearances + Title Year Album "Fly"2023 The Endless Coloured Ways: The Songs of Nick Drake