Music fans often assume that a band’s biggest hits are the songs they play most on stage. In reality, many iconic tracks are rarely performed live, and sometimes avoided entirely. It could be because the song is emotionally difficult, technically complicated to pull off outside the studio, or simply doesn’t feel right in concert. With that in mind, this list goes through classic songs that musicians refused to play live and the reasons why.
#1: ‘Creep’ – Radiohead
Radiohead’s debut single, ‘Creep’, made them famous in 1992, but the band grew tired of playing it constantly on tour. Lead singer Thom Yorke felt trapped performing the song repeatedly, saying it no longer felt like theirs and was exhausting.
Since the mid-1990s, Radiohead have mostly avoided the track. They briefly played it in 2016 to see how it felt, but it’s unlikely to return regularly. Fans hoping for a 2025 tour performance will be disappointed, as the band still refuses to include it.