The Regular King of Limbs Tour Poster – Stanley Donwood, Various Cities, 2012

Artist: Stanley Donwood
Type: Gig Poster
Print: Lithograph
Size: 18 x 24
Event Date: Various
Venue: Various
Unsigned, numbered in varying editions (Houston: 400, St. Louis: 300)

All the official merch posters from the 2012 North American tour are more or less the same (except New York). While they differ in ink color, edition size, and (obviously) city and date, they are all the same design monochromatically printed on a field of black. So I don’t feel bad about not having a copy of every one. I do, however, have a copy from both shows I went to:

I live in New Orleans which is four hours from Houston, so we got a room in a hotel right across the street from the Toyota center for that show. A few days later we went to visit family in St. Louis and saw them again at the Scottrade Center. The St. Louis poster was an easy get at the merch table, but the Houston poster must have sold out quickly because there were zero available. I had to pay a bit of a premium on eBay for that one.

These North American tour posters, while official, are a little unremarkable. I consider them souvenirs and have no intention of framing them. There were a lot more reasonably cool unofficial posters that came out of that tour that are wall-worthy.

The King of the King of Limbs Tour Posters – Stanley Donwood, New York, 2012

Artist: Stanley Donwood
Type: Gig Poster
Print: Silkscreen
Size: 16 x 24
Event Date: 9.28-29.2011
Venue: Roseland Ballroom – New York City, NY
Signed, embossed, and numbered in an edition of 44 (also lithographs in four colorways in editions of 150 each, some numbered, some not)

There were five different posters you could get for the New York show in 2012: four lithographs in differing colorways numbered to 150 each, and the official signed and embossed Stanley Donwood silkscreen numbered out of only 44, the smallest Radiohead poster edition I know. The latter is the one you really want, but the facts that NYC also got four different colorways just goes to show how big a show that is for the band.

I was lucky enough to snag a complete set of the four lithos off the Radiohead w.a.s.t.e. merch site soon after the show. Some arrived with damaged corners as though they were physically at the merch table in New York. Some were obviously on the bottom of the pile, too, as they very low in number. I even got a number one.

My orange poster is unnumbered.

The signed silkscreen was another story. You had to get these direct from Stanley, and I must admit the man knows how to ship a poster. The tube arrive airmail from England in the biggest poster tube I’ve ever seen in my life. It was so big I kept it. Inside it was wrapped in fine tissue on the inside and kraft paper on the outside, leaving the poster utterly unspoiled by its voyage across the pond. I still can’t believe I snagged one. Were I ever to let this one go, I would start the auction at $1000, and no less.

As for the three official Stanley Donwood gig posters, I have two. There is only one other I’m aware of, and it has slipped through my fingers time and time again. Someday I will have it, and I will frame them side-by-side-by-side. Until that day I am on constant lookout.

Haiti Relief – Kii Arens, Los Angeles, 2010

Artist: Kii Arens
Type: Gig Poster
Print: Lithograph
Size: 16 ½ x 22 ½
Event Date: 1.24.2010
Venue: Henry Fonda Theater – Los Angeles, CA
Signed, numbered edition of 250 (also yellow edition of 100)

This was a surprise poster drop that happened right in between the In Rainbows and King of Limbs tours. The boys played a benefit show for Haiti following the 2010 earthquake there. They raised over half a million dollars for relief efforts there. The boys have big hearts, that’s for sure.

A poster was designed by talented artist Kii Arens for the show using the appropriate image of a Band-Aid box as the major theme. There were two versions, the regular red in an edition of 250 and the rarer yellow variant limited to only 100 produced.

Check out the setlist for this one – it’s a knockout. A bunch of fans even recorded audio and video for this one that are available online in multiple sources for burning onto a DVD. There’s even cover art! Go get it.

Won’t Take My Eyes Off the Ball Again – Jermaine Rogers, West Palm Beach, 2008

Artist: Jermaine Rogers
Type: Gig Poster
Print: Silkscreen
Size: 29 x 24 ½
Event Date: 5.5.2008
Venue: Cruzan Amphitheater - West Palm Beach, FL
Signed, numbered edition of 150

So this is more or less a sequel to Jermaine’s 2003 Pay Attention! Poster, complete with plenty of defaced versions and even a tough-to-get process set. Again, the detail here is almost overwhelming and tells a story of a dsytopian future fun my network media wherein the masses appear to be controlled with only a few poor souls realizing what is going on. The color palette is also similar but slightly different from the ’03 poster. And once again it’s basically a visual Radiohead song – take your time with it. There’s plenty to see. The Protektor from the first poster is back and check out Obama and Hilary on the left there.

You’re All I Need – Jermaine Rogers, Tampa, 2008

Artist: Jermaine Rogers
Type: Gig Poster
Print: Silkscreen
Size: 32 ¼ x 23 5/8
Event Date: 5.6.2008
Venue: Ford Amphitheater, Tampa, FL
Signed, numbered edition of 151 (113 black paper, 38 white paper)

Jermaine has given us a lot of great characters in his posters over the years, but this one contains some of the most bizarre I’ve seen. Again it proves that, as a fan of the band himself, he puts a lot of thought into his Radiohead posters. And like his 2001 poster this one also comes with specific instructions for viewing.

Based on the In Rainbows songs “All I Need,” we have a couple in the center composed of an indifferent-looking woman and an absolutely obsessed looming man. It’s not a loving look he has, but one of desperate, unhealthy dependence. The whites of his eyes give focus to what is the kind of look you come to pity some poor bastard for having. This is clearly one of those joint Facebook profile, his-balls-in-her-purse, spooky kind of love sort of couples.

Plus the little bird guy is kind of cute.

This poster came in a single edition of 151 prints split into two paper types, 113 on black and 38 on white. As a completionist, I just had to have one of each. You would think the white would command a higher price on the secondary market due to its rarity, but really they are about the same in price probably because those blues look so good against the black background.

The Italian Job – Steuso, Milano, 2008

Artist: Steuso
Type: Gig Poster
Print: Silkscreen
Size: 26 x 20
Event Date: 6.17.2008
Venue: Arena Civica - Milano, Italy
Signed, numbered edition of 150

Here is another poster that while pretty damn cool and everything, in my opinion doesn’t really fit with the band. Nothing against pretty ladies on Radiohead posters (Joe Whyte’s dragonfly girl is still one of my all-time favorites), but this feels more like a poster for a James Bond film festival. Still, it’s different, if that’s your kind of thing.

The Student Demonstration – Powerhouse Factories, Inc., Lollapalooza, 2008

Artist: Powerhouse Factories, Inc.
Type: Gig Poster
Print: Silkscreen
Size: 18 x 24
Event Date: 8.1.2008
Venue: Grant Park – Chicago, IL
Signed, numbered edition of 100

There are only 100 of these, and in print runs as low as that posters tend to fetch pretty high prices, especially when they are from major festivals. This one from Powerhouse, though, is a little subdued with muted colors and lots of negative space. It looks to be a moment of police brutality at a student demonstration, but it’s hard to be sure with the sparse printing and lack of detail in the photograph used.

There are only two things that would make me want this poster: me having been at the concert or me being a Radiohead poster collector. One of those two things is true, so here it sits in the collection.