Yorke began singing when he was ten. At the age of sixteen, Yorke met Nigel Powell at Abingdon School, with whom he would eventually form the band Unbelievable Truth. The name of the band was inspired by Hal Hartley's 1989 movie of the same name. At this time, Yorke also began learning Russian. He traveled to the Soviet Union in 1987, at the age of 15.
