Watch Thom Yorke, Flea Cover Marvin Gaye’s ‘Got to Give It Up’ at London Show
The Atoms of Peace bandmates also performed their recent joint track 'Traffic Lights'
By Emily Zemler
Thom Yorke made a surprise appearance at Flea‘s concert in London last night, stopping by to perform their recent song ‘Traffic Lights’ and a cover of Marvin Gaye‘s 1977 hit ‘Got to Give It Up.’
Flea is currently on the European leg of his solo tour in support of his recent album, Honora. Last night, he played his only solo gig in the U.K. at London’s Koko, where he welcomed Yorke to the stage. The duo have collaborated live numerous times in the past, and performed together as Atoms of Peace. Yorke recently lent his talents to ‘Traffic Lights,’ which appears on Honora.
‘Traffic Lights’ was co-written with Yorke and Josh Johnson. “Something about it reminded me of Atoms for Peace, so I sent it to Thom,” Flea shared in a statement when the track was released. “Just knowing him, I thought it would be a rhythm and a sensibility that he would relate to. And I was right, he did. With a gorgeous melody and the words, you know, about living in the ‘upside down’ and how do you make sense of things when we’re getting all this fake shit and real shit? Everyone has their ways of dealing with the world. But he’s just the warmest, free flowing, jamming motherf*cker.”
Honora features six original songs, plus interpretations of music by George Clinton and Eddie Hazel, Jimmy Webb, Frank Ocean and Shea Taylor, and Ann Ronell. It came about in tribute to the musician’s love of jazz and resurrected his youthful love of playing the trumpet.
“It’s always alive in my head and my heart,” he said on The Tonight Show. “A few years ago I decided I’m just going to play trumpet every day, no matter what, and after a couple of years of doing it I’m going to make a record and what comes, comes. It wasn’t really about a means to an end. It was just the process, the learning process. And I’m so happy that I had the opportunity to do it.