A JAM-PACKED Hammersmith Apollo was the venue for the last date of Radiohead's current UK tour, which has seen the band debut new material for the forthcoming album.

The band played nine new tracks, far more than in previous concerts, as well as a host of old favourites in the almost two-hour long performance on Friday, May 19.

With a family bereavement in the middle of the European leg, the last ten days of the tour had been rather stressful for the band, but nevertheless, the Oxford quintet seemed relaxed and in good spirits, and even had time to crack jokes with the audience.

The elaborate stage set-up helped create a fantastic atmosphere as nine enormous oddly-shaped TV monitors beamed artistic images of the band into the crowd during the songs.

None was more effective than in the opening track, You and Whose Army, taken from the band's fifth album Amnesiac, where a fishbowl-close up of singer Thom Yorke leering into a camera positioned in the piano was broadcast across the auditorium.

Old favourites Paranoid Android, Black Star, Street Spirit (Fade Out), and Lucky brought whoops of joy from the devoted masses, but more recent tracks like Idioteque, National Anthem and 2+2=5 were met with equally fervered praise and appreciation.

As with their "Tent Tour" when previewing material for Kid A, the follow-up to 1997's universally acclaimed OK Computer, Radiohead again performed a selection of as-yet unreleased material, which have, (through the wonders of bootlegging) already become firm favourites.

Although Yorke admitted some of the material was "a bit sketchy", tracks like Bangers n Mash and the beautifully understated House of Cards proved popular, and saw fans singing along to the words.

Other new tracks included: Open Pick, 15 Step, Arpeggi, the haunting ballad Videotape, piano-driven Go Slowly, and instrumental Spooks, with 4 Minute Warning the penultimate song in the set.

The epic concert was just reward for the legions of fans who had bought tickets months in advance, forcing the gig to sell out in seconds.

But for the hundreds of people outside the venue desperately trying to get tickets almost all were disappointed because of the lack of availability, with even the touts being left empty-handed.

The band played two encores to the rapturous delight of the audience, and, as the band re-emerged on stage, Yorke jokingly covered his ears due to the sheer volume of cheers and applause.

During the set he told the crowd: "We've played a lot of new stuff tonight so here is an old one," before launching into Black Star taken from 1994's The Bends.

And final song Karma Police sparked a similarly massive and well-received sing-along.

Radiohead are in the enviable position of having "carte blanche" when it comes to new projects thanks to the unquestionable devotion and understanding of their unshakeable fanbase.

The success of this tour has reconfirmed that musically, emotionally and creatively Radiohead are simply on a different level to everyone else.

The band will be headlining V Festival in the summer, and their seventh studio album is due to be released later this year.