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Singapore will always hold special meaning for Coldplay, said drummer Will Champion. They’ve performed here three times and Champion said the band have always had “good memories of Singapore”.   That’s probably why they put on a supercharged show on Monday night at the Singapore Indoor Stadium. They gave an “impossibly charming” performance that was, according to Today’s Genevieve Loh, “worth every single superlative and every single cent”. Read her gushing review exclusively online at www.toda

Coldplay made their Middle East debut in Abu Dhabi Saturday night in a carbon-neutral concert that coincided with Earth Hour and earned them a reported £1.4 million ($2 million), report Al Arabiya.   Lead singer Chris Martin, who is married to Hollywood heartthrob Gwyneth Paltrow, did not let the unseasonable rain dampen his enthusiasm and sang impromptu renditions of Singin’ in the Rain and Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head to a delighted crowd.   In the last performance of their worldwide tour

Coldplay frontman Chris Martin was charmingly apologetic, as if the rain was his fault. “I know this is extremely terrible weather,” he bellowed from the Emirates Palace stage on Saturday night.   But in fact, the rain never mattered. The British foursome bounced on stage with sparklers, opening their storming Middle Eastern debut with the instrumental Life in Technicolor from their last album, Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends, followed by Violet Hill from the same album. From the happy

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 tou

Abu Dhabi: The atmosphere was electric, alright. With thousand-volt lightning streaking across the sombre skies, a group of four took to the stage in their marching band outfits to sing about Violet Hill, with Eugene Delacroix’s symbolist painting: Liberty Leading the People, unfolding in the background, reports Xpress.   The heavy skies soon opened up pouring rain over the 15,000 fans who had come to see Coldplay in their first concert in the UAE on Saturday [March 28] at the Emirates Palace in

A funny blog review of last night's outdoor concert is online, courtesy of Peter Vegas at Blogspot. (discuss!) Here it is:   Top performance by Cold Play in the grounds of the 7 star Emirates Palace last night. Dug the surreal lightening display that went on throughout the gig. Guess it was Gods way of saying, ‘Stuff Earth Hour I don’t turn my lights off for no one.’   Unfortunately with the lightening came rain. I don’t mind rain at an outdoor gig especially in the Middle East because it’s warm

On paper, the weekend was a triumph before it had even started - two of the world’s biggest acts playing back-to-back in the UAE capital, attracting thousands of fans from across the Emirates.   No language difficulties with Coldplay, whose eager-to-please front man Chris Martin must have swallowed a local dictionary. Once again, the elements voiced their disapproval in spectacular fashion – the primordial stew that had been brewing throughout Saturday finally giving way to a vast and furious el

Coldplay made their Middle East debut last night in a musical performance to a capacity crowd of 15,000 on the Emirates Palace hotel grounds, and began their set with Violet Hill, followed by hits including Yellow and Clocks. Chris Martin, the lead singer, greeted fans in Arabic and laughed off several downpours with impromptu renditions of Singin’ in the Rain and Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head.   “Even this torrential weather couldn’t stop us having a great time with you,” he told the crowd,

They are one of the hottest bands right now and wowed a full-house this week at the Singapore Indoor Stadium. Having sold over 50,000 records world-wide - not to mention picking up a couple of Grammys along the way - Coldplay is on top of the world.   But the UK band isn't settling on any formula for success but constantly evolving their sound. The UK band took a very different direction for their fourth album - Viva La Vida - and many said it's the most experimental offering from Coldplay. Tho

Brian Eno has said that the music industry is currently an "exciting mess". The Coldplay, U2 and David Byrne producer told The Guardian that he has tried different methods of releasing music to experiment in the changing business.   Eno said: "When I finish something I want it out that day. Pop music is like the daily paper. Its got to be there then, not six months later. "So [David Byrne and I] decided to release on our websites first, then put it on the commercial websites, then as a CD, then

Expectations ran high among the more than 10,000 people who paid an equally high price to watch British superband Coldplay performed in Singapore on Monday. Ticket prices for the sold-out gig ranged from S$88 to $249 and, according to several Indonesians who flew in especially for the concert, it was time and money well spent.   Because Coldplay delivered on those expectations. With four successful albums under their belts, they had no problem delivering hit after hit during their two-hour show

Were you not entertained? Like Roman gladiators, Coldplay came to Singapore (again), played to almost 12,000 roaring fans and left the arena no doubt feeling like kings. If Chris Martin, Will Champion, Jonny Buckland and Guy Berryman didn’t feel like they ruled the world already, I bet they did after the band’s concert at the Singapore Indoor Stadium on Monday night, which was their third date in the island republic already.   It’s hard not to compare this concert with their second one in 2005

If there were any lingering doubts in the backs of the minds of Coldplay fans that the band is the coolest on the planet, the Grammy Award-winning rock band consigned them to oblivion with its Viva La Vida concert on Wednesday, reports Hong Kong's The Standard.   Chris Martin was the consummate entertainer throughout, using his ultimate insider's knowledge to rib bass player Guy Berryman, guitarist Jonny Buckland and drummer Will Champion between numbers and create an intimate atmosphere.   But

Could Juliana Down pull off at the last minute what they haven’t in a month? While the likelihood of them opening the act for the much-anticipated Coldplay concert in the capital this Saturday looks as minuscule as the eye of a needle, the Abu Dhabi-based band hasn’t lost hope.   “Anything can happen at the last minute. We are still hoping,” said Juliana Down’s 23-year-old vocalist Hassan Dia. The four-member band launched a massive month-long campaign to convince Coldplay to let a local band o

Reviews of yesterday's Coldplay concert in Hong Kong are online; here's one from a Seatleite:   Last night we had a real treat when we attended a Coldplay concert - part of the group's Viva La Vida tour - at the AsiaWorld-Expo Center in Hong Kong. I have to admit, while I have always enjoyed Coldplay (full disclosure: It is my husband who has bought all of their CDs) I did not quite realize just how big they really are. Or how good.   Coldplay performed in front of a full house for just over an

Lionel Ritchie has expressed his desire to work with a host of UK acts, including Duffy, The Ting Tings and Coldplay. The veteran singer said he was inspired by the current crop of British talent - and also signalled his intention to work with Irish band U2. Ritchie, who is on a UK tour, said he was a fan of British music because you “still experiment, you don’t get stuck in one rut”.   “I love Duffy, whom I’ve just discovered – does she write her own stuff? If she does we’re on fire because she

Coldplay may have sold more than 50million albums but frontman Chris Martin admits he still feels as scared as a total novice in the music business. Chris confessed to The Sun: “Every day I wake up and think, ‘OK, today we’ve got to really prove ourselves. We’ve got to justify where we are.’ I always feel like my dad’s going to burst through my bedroom door at any moment and wake me up to go back to my real job.”   Talking in Australia, the singer also said how he shrugs off any cristicism abou

Coldplay frontman Chris Martin has described Michael Jackson's forthcoming shows at London's O2 Arena as “the biggest comeback since Lazarus”. Martin also told The Mirror newspaper that like thousands of Jackson's fans he was unable to buy tickets before they sold out.   "I was looking at it on the internet and thought, 'I'd better buy some for myself' and I couldn't. They were totally sold out,” he said. "To sell out like that is a testament to talent. It is just amazing to sell out 50 shows in

Dubai - British rock band Coldplay will perform in Abu Dhabi on Saturday, their first performance in the Middle East, the entertainment satellite channel MTV Arabia reported Monday. The concert is planned as a stage in the English rockers' world tour promoting their latest album, Viva la Vida, Samir al-Marzouqi, managing director of MTV Arabia, told German Press Agency dpa.   Despite an exodus of foreign workers seeking opportunities elsewhere in response to the world financial crisis, Abu Dhab

The upcoming Coldplay concert on Mar 28 is set to make history as the first carbon neutral music event in the UAE. To offset the band’s carbon footprint through lighting, electricity and flights, the concert's organiser Flash plans to finance an unannounced sustainability project.   Meanwhile, Environmena, an Abu Dhabi solar power systems installation company, is carrying out an initial audit into the likely level of C02 emissions produced by the concert. It will then conduct a final review

ABU DHABI // Coldplay’s last album was inspired by the sights and sounds of South America, but the next will draw on the Middle East’s rich cultural heritage.   Speaking yesterday, ahead of this weekend’s eagerly awaited concert at the Emirates Palace hotel, the British band’s lead singer Chris Martin described the visit to Abu Dhabi as part of a musical odyssey that typified Coldplay’s spirit.   Huge international acclaim has taken the band to countries as far apart as the US, New Zealand and S

An attempt by the band Juliana Down, an alternative rock band from the United Arab Emirates, to open for Coldplay at a local show appears to have failed, ahead of this Saturday's highly-anticipated concert at the Emirates Palace Hotel.   When Juliana Down contacted the promoters for a Coldplay show to take place in Abu Dhabi, they were told by Coldplay's manager, "It would be my preference to support local and regional bands but in the end it is not [the local promoter] who dictates if a band wi

Fabio Capello fears the controversial playing surface at Wembley - and the £757million national stadium's hyper-critical crowd - could harm England's World Cup qualifying campaign, writes the Daily Mail this weekend.   Capello's team are five points clear in Group Six ahead of the home match against Ukraine a week on Wednesday. But with some England stars expressing their dissatisfaction over the Wembley pitch, Capello and his backroom staff believe the state-of-the-art stadium may have become m

This past Tuesday, the grandeur that is Coldplay revealed their summer tour schedule, showing a 42 date route through North America. This tour, through all arenas and amphitheaters, will probably sell out completely just like both their fall and winter world tours.   To me, that is almost incomprehensible. How can you be that relevant? How can you become that massive touring conglomerate that sells out at will? Droves of people are willing to not just watch them, but borderline worship them, in

Coldplay won't be coming back to Abu Dhabi in a hurry if they see that the city's local press writes articles such as the one published online in The National (.ae) today:   Great news! Mercury Rev are playing in Abu Dhabi. The downside is that it costs Dh300 and if you don’t leave as soon as they’ve finished, you might get some Coldplay on you. I joke, I joke.   Yet for many, ragging on Chris Martin and chums is no laughing matter. From all the pained, po-faced column inches proclaiming this po