Harry Styles Honors Thom Yorke At Ivors, Reveals Which Radiohead Song He Lost His Virginity To

Without "Exit Music (For A Film)" there would be no "Watermelon Sugar." Think about that. Let that sink in. That's what Harry Styles admitted when he honored Radiohead's Thom Yorke last night at the 70th anniversary Ivor Novello Songwriter Awards, which is these days called Ivors With Amazon Music. Styles made a surprise appearance that was innocently spoiled by Elton John earlier in the evening, according to Variety. They also described the event as a "hot mess of a show." Styles' speech teetered between charm and chaos, reflecting on Yorke's influence throughout his life, from hearing his sister play Radiohead while he was doing homework as a kid to losing his virginity to "Talk Show Host." Yes, he admitted that as well.

"Some of you heard Radiohead albums at the time that they were released. Not all of you but some of you. Their debut album came out the year before I was born," Styles said, allowing the crowd to laugh and sigh in annoyance.

"I discovered their songs over time growing up, inhaling the second-hand teenage angst from up the stairs, separating my teenage sister's bedroom from where I sat below doing my homework. Thank you to my uncle Michael for burning her numerous CDs, as he tried to convince her of what he referred to as some of 'the weirdest stuff.' I found them again at parties. In treasured moments alone. I lost my virginity to ‘Talk Show Host.'" The crowd roared. “The intro of ‘Talk Show Host,’” Styles clarified.

He continued:

Thom's work is music that is felt. It's always been somewhat of a religious experience to me, religious in the sense that the understanding seems to go both ways. I always felt I could uniquely understand the writer of these songs, and at last, someone was capturing what it feels like at times to be human. Thank god someone was doing that, I used to think. That alien, that prowling ghost, that angry prophet is Thom Yorke.

Styles praised Yorke, but also humanized him. "It's always nerve-wracking stepping onto a stage, but to know that a man I've spent so much of my life listening to is now listening to me talk to you about him is a truly terrifying honor," he said. He remarked that meeting Yorke for the first time felt like "a small kindness extended to you by a hero could be enough to release you." He later added, "The wizard was also a human."

Yorke accepted the Amazon-sponsored songwriting award with a searing and heartfelt speech about the industry. Yorke criticized the music industry’s focus on the share prices of streaming services at the expense of artists: “Just remember, without us, you ain’t shit.” He also performed a couple of songs, including an acoustic version of "Jigsaw" from In Rainbows and a new unreleased track supposedly called "Space Walk."

The star-studded evening celebrated many other incredible creative minds. In addition to Yorke, the late George Michael was also honored as an Ivors Fellow. Sir Elton John was honored and announced as the Ivors Academy's first-ever president. Rosalía took home the title for International Songwriter Of The Year. CMAT's Euro-Country won Best Album, Kae Tempest and Freser T Smith's "I Stand On The Line" won Best Contemporary Song, Jacob Alon's "Don't Fall Asleep" won Best Song Musically And Lyrically, and Lola Young's "Messy" won for Most Performed Work. Lily Allen was honored for Outstanding Song Collection, Calvin Harris took home the Music Icon Award, and Sam Fender was named Songwriter Of The Year.

Check out photos and clips from the evening below.