A navy hoody pulled up over his blonde curls, trying his best to go undetected, Coldplay's Chris Martin mooched across a half-built arena ahead of the UK band's first concert in the Middle East.

 

Barefoot and boardshort-clad, the world famous frontman oozed calmth, in direct contrast to the 100-strong work force beavering away to get Emirates Palace ready for the 15,000 hungry fans due to descend on the venue in a matter of hours. The concert, the final stop on Coldplay's Viva La Vida world tour, was timed perfectly to coincide with the globally-marked environmental initiative Earth Hour, something close to the band's hearts, as they explained to tabloid! just hours before the concert.

 

"When we support something, we prefer to support it whole-heartedly and not just put our name on the can," said drummer Will Champion.

 

"It's not good to spread yourself too thin, especially when it comes to things which require so much effort and energy to get right. We all made a pact a long time ago we would never put our faces to campaigns unless we truly believed we had the time to really make people believe in them too."

 

Despite Coldplay's worldwide popularity, the band has remained protective of their music, refusing its use for product endorsements. "We are lucky enough to have a platform where people actually listen to us and it's important to us we use it correctly and to the benefit of the rest of the world," continued Champion. "We agreed we would use the platform to do some good in the world and make people aware of things which could help the planet instead of just doing something to make us more money."

 

As lead guitarist Jonny Buckland and Martin continued a sound check, bass guitarist Guy Berryman explained why the band are so environmentally-conscious. "It's all about the world really, isn't it?" he said with a look of sincerity. "Don't get me wrong, these concerts do use a lot of energy but that comes with the territory. But we try and be as environmentally aware and kind as we can be - our album covers are printed on recycled paper and for every 100 made we plant trees around the world. Every little bit helps, as the people at Tesco so rightly keep telling us," he said with a wink and a smile.

 

Active supporters of various social and political causes, such as Oxfam's Make Trade Fair campaign and Amnesty International, the guys said they were "stoked" the concert organisers had agreed to make their concert the first carbon-offset event in the Middle East. "It's really important to us, and it's also good people understand and are educated about the damage our own carbon footprint can do to the world we live in," Champion said.

 

Opening with one of their more recent singles, Violet Hill, Martin quickly won over his audience with lively banter, peppered with a few greetings in Arabic. "Four boys, with slightly more hair and a fair bit thinner, decided to practice for 12 years and then go and play a concert in Abu Dhabi in the rain," Martin said as the crowd went wild. "We've finally made it here and we are so happy. Our goal has been realised."

 

Making it to the Middle East was something Champion said the band had always strived for. With family currently living in Dubai, he said he was looking forward to his father coming to the gig. "We never imagined we'd ever make it and be able to play in a place like the UAE," he said. "If you'd asked me 10 years ago, I don't think I ever would have believed we'd be here today. It is an honour and we are so happy to be here in the Middle East."

 

Champion's father may have been in the crowd, but this time his wife and young children couldn't be here - something the guys say they always find hard when on tour. "Touring is fun, but it can be a challenge too. You miss family and friends and you also miss being in the studio.

 

"It's weird actually, but when you're on tour you just want to be at home and when you're at home all you can think about is getting back on the road again," said Berryman. "Tour life has certainly changed for us mainly due to the fact we are all fathers now," added Champion with a smile. "We all have babies and youngsters and that just changes everything. Chris's eldest is five and mine is three - they are just starting to really understand what Daddy does and it's so incredible to see them grow and learn. Songs come on the radio and you watch them recognise the tunes and look up at you. I'm sure they'll be a few opinions which will start to shine through very soon which will be interesting. My little one came to her first concert in Australia and she really enjoyed it. It was very special for me. The wives and kids are often around depending on the tour dates and locations. They come and go as they please, which is nice."

 

With three single show dates to end the tour in Hong Kong, Singapore and Abu Dhabi, Coldplay has also recently spent time playing in Australia to raise money for the victims of the recent bushfires. "Australia was a slightly different kettle of fish because we were there for something so special," said Champion. "It was wonderful to be asked to play the victims of the bushfires and meant so much to all of us. Chris actually had the chance to get out to the area where some of the fire hit and said it was so moving."

 

But their UAE concert was to support another cause - Earth Hour, which encourages people across the globe to switch off unnecessary lights and electricity for one hour to raise awareness about - and counteract the effects of - climate change. Martin ordered the lights to be switched off while the band played an acoustic set amid a mass of mobile phone lights only.

 

This year's Earth Hour aims to encourage one billion "vote earth" votes and make a difference - something Martin says starts with each individual. A show full of surprises with everything from giant, spinning globes suspended from a rig or paper butterflies blasted into the air, to yellow balloons thrown into the crowd during their hit song Yellow - the performance kept everyone guessing - something Berryman warned us about earlier that day."We wrote, designed and planned the whole show from start to finish so everything you saw up there was all us," he said. "It took us about four weeks to design and then about four weeks to really perfect the show while we were on tour in America. We tweaked bits and pieces and then to be honest it hasn't changed at all since then. It's perfect."

 

Berryman said the show was even more special here for a few other reasons. "The concert here is the very first show of the tour we have done outdoors which makes it very fresh and exciting for us. Different scenery and the fresh air - we just have to pray the rain holds off."

 

Clearly nobody was looking down on the guys as the heavens opened and the lightning provided a dramatic backdrop to the set. But somehow the weather added to the electric atmosphere, the audience and band pulling together in the face of adversity. "I can't believe it's raining in a country where it rains once every 10 years," shouted Martin. "But stick with us and we'll make it through together guys."

 

And he made it worth their while, effortlessly weaving in humorous tunes such as Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head and Rain, Rain Go Away into the band's famous hits, including Fix You and Clocks.

 

Out on the town

 

Guy Berryman told tabloid! that one of the downsides of touring was that they didn't get to see much of the cities they were visiting. "With Hong Kong, Singapore and the UAE in a week you basically just give up on time zones. You cross so many you just sleep when you're tired and stay awake when you're not. It's crazy, but lots of fun too. The bad thing is we don't get to see much of the place we are in."

 

But tabloid! spies tell us that they were able to squeeze in a night at Emirates Palace's Etoiles nightclub, following the Andrea Bocelli concert on Friday. They were also spotted handing out free tickets to a few lucky people they met that night.

 

http://archive.gulfnews.com

 

 

 

 

 

i like the pictures. :)

2nd to last pic.... :wink3:

As lead guitarist Jonny Buckland and Martin continued a sound check, bass guitarist Guy Berryman explained why the band are so environmentally-conscious. "It's all about the world really, isn't it?" he said with a look of sincerity. "Don't get me wrong, these concerts do use a lot of energy but that comes with the territory. But we try and be as environmentally aware and kind as we can be - our album covers are printed on recycled paper and for every 100 made we plant trees around the world. Every little bit helps, as the people at Tesco so rightly keep telling us," he said with a wink and a smile.

 

:wideeyed:

:dead:

 

I like the pictures too! And it was nice reading this. :nice:

"It's weird actually, but when you're on tour you just want to be at home and when you're at home all you can think about is getting back on the road again," said Berryman. "Tour life has certainly changed for us mainly due to the fact we are all fathers now," added Champion with a smile. "We all have babies and youngsters and that just changes everything. Chris's eldest is five and mine is three - they are just starting to really understand what Daddy does and it's so incredible to see them grow and learn. Songs come on the radio and you watch them recognise the tunes and look up at you. I'm sure they'll be a few opinions which will start to shine through very soon which will be interesting. My little one came to her first concert in Australia and she really enjoyed it. It was very special for me. The wives and kids are often around depending on the tour dates and locations. They come and go as they please, which is nice."

 

 

 

Cuteness overload :D

^^ agreed :)

 

It was great reading this :D

They're all just so sweet about everything :P

NIce article! Thanks for posting :)

aw, good article! better pictures!! :sneaky:

So nice to see that they're so environmentally-conscious, great article!!

Really really loved the part about their kids :nice::heart:

must. hear. chris. speaking. arabic! :bomb: :wideeyed:

 

this was adorable, by the way :nice: