Radiohead are auctioning off the hat that Thom Yorke wore in their iconic “Lotus Flower” video, with all proceeds going towards funding awareness for testicular cancer.
As Radiohead fans and people who were online in 2011 will know, the hat is more than a mere prop from The King of Limbs era, but a relic in the world of internet memes. The “Lotus Flower” video consisted solely of the Radiohead frontman dancing like a madman in a big empty room while donning the classic bowler cap. Thanks to Yorke’s dance moves, the video became a reliable meme format in which users slapped other songs on as the audio and made Yorke boogie to the likes of Beyoncé and Soulja Boy.
Now, Yorke and his bandmates are parting with the artifact in the name of charity. As of Monday November 23rd, Radiohead have listed the cap on eBay where users are currently bidding on it for £5,202.00 (roughly $7,000 USD). The auction ends on November 29th, and all of the money will be donated to the testicular cancer foundation Cahonas Scotland, which is an organization that’s dedicated to “educating, creating awareness, eradicating embarrassment & stigma and installing a new healthy habit that could one day save a life.”
The hat contains Yorke’s signature and the personally drawn Radiohead logo on its interior, as well as a certificate of authentication. Check out Radiohead’s tweet of the listing and revisit the “Lotus Flower” video that spawned it all.
For Sale: one bowler hat. https://t.co/ltxuoC8Nf2
Proceeds from this auction support @CahonasScotland and Testicular Cancer Education and Awareness. pic.twitter.com/P5fIhRMxul— Radiohead (@radiohead) November 23, 2020
