Ed O'Brien (EOB)

Radiohead guitarist Ed O’Brien believes he has contracted the coronavirus.

In an interview with Steven Hyden of Uproxx, O’Brien revealed that he’s been sick for 10 days with flu-like symptoms and recently lost his ability to taste and smell. “I Googled it last night and that’s a classic symptom of the coronavirus,” he explained. “So, it’s like, okay, I’ve got it.”



O’Brien cautioned that he has not been tested for the virus, “because you can’t get tested here, unless you’re elderly.” Nevertheless, he and his family are self-quarantining in their home in Wales.

Fortunately, O’Brien told Hyden that he is feeling better and remains in good spirits. “For someone like myself, this is just a bad dose of the flu. I’m not in any way in danger,” O’Brien added. “I basically sat outside all day because the weather is glorious. It’s the first sunshine we’ve had this spring. It’s not a bad place to be.”

O’Brien was recently on the road promoting his debut solo album, Earth. (He believes he may have contracted the virus at a TV studio in Paris.) O’Brien has further tour dates scheduled to launch in late May, but there’s a strong likelihood those plans will be delayed as the US seeks to limit public gatherings during the pandemic. Already, O’Brien’s Radiohead bandmate, Thom Yorke, was forced to postpone his own spring solo tour.

Along with O’Brien, several other prominent entertainment figures have contracted the virus, including Tom Hanks and his wife Rita Wilson, Idris Elba, NBA superstar Kevin Durant, Game of Thrones actor Kristofer Hivju, James Bond actress Olga Kurylenko, Lost actor Daniel Dae Kim, opera singer Placido Domingo, Testament frontman Chuck Billy, record producer Andrew Watt, and Universal Music head Lucian Grainge.