Chris Martin also has kind words for Nickelback

Coldplay's Chris Martin has said that his band are "less shit than they used to be" in an interview to be broadcast tonight, report NME.

The singer made the comment to DJ Christian O'Connell after their show in Munich last week. The concert is being broadcast in full tonight on Absolute Radio, which has today been re-branded from Virgin Radio. Of the concert, Martin says: "I think our concert is the least shit Coldplay concert at the moment that you could have possibly ever seen. Do you see what I mean? We're better than we used to be."

Asked whether the band felt more comfortable playing large venues, Martin commented: "We've turned from a Mars Bar into a King-Sized Mars Bar."

Martin also outs himself as an unlikely fan of Nickelback. Of the much-maligned Canadian band he says: "I have nothing but respect for Nickelback. "They take a lot of flak from people who have never done fuck all in their life. And I think they're great. That is my final word."

The concert and interview can be heard on Absolute Radio from 7pm (BST) tonight.

Savers shiver, bankers bluster, politicians prattle.

Elsewhere in the news, a new music radio station was launched at 7.45 yesterday morning. Absolute Radio used to be Virgin. Virgin, owned and launched by Richard Branson in 1993, has never been a success except to its successive owners. It has changed hands for millions and millions of pounds. In terms of ratings and revenue it's never lived up to its potential.

It was, after all, the first national commercial pop network, one of the three national stations, Classic FM and Talk Radio being the other two, meant to transform the whole sector. But it was only on crackly old Medium Wave, something Branson swiftly complained about once the franchise was his. The old Radio Authority, scared, gave him an additional FM frequency in London. But, like his ventures into the bridal and cola worlds, radio wasn't a big Branson success. Virgin was sold on, and on, and on, acquiring a digital identity (and thus worldwide reach) along the way.

Now it belongs to a subsidiary of the Times of India group. It has become Absolute because Sir Richard owns the Virgin name. Absolute will offer what they call "real music," which means they will play classic tracks, exclusively feature lots of top concerts. They went to Munich with Coldplay on Friday and some of the results were on Christian O'Connell's breakfast show yesterday - the whole concert goes out tomorrow at 7pm. Chris Martin told O'Connell yesterday that it wasn't a good gig, it was a great gig. He also said that he'd been listening to Absolute's transition transmissions and was impressed.

Let's hope the audience is, too. These are hard times in commercial broadcasting. Channel 4 has had to pare back its vaunted ambitions (to change the pattern of commercial radio while breaking Radio 4's strangehold on speech) to the single promise of one music service sometime next year. Credit has to be given, as Chris Martin said, to Absolute for trying something new meanwhile.

Except this isn't really new, it's classic rock (The Who, Elvis Costello, The Police) beefed up with sessions (The Verve, Oct 7; Police, Oct 8; the Coral 9th October) and chat with band members. They promise not to repeat tracks, to bring you songs built to last, "something to say, not something to sell". Except for itself, and good luck to it.

All this would have been anathema to Gordon, hero of Silent Nights (Radio 4, Mon) a marvellous comedy by David Nobbs about all the noise of everyday life that drives a person crazy: traffic, owls, train announcements, mobile telephones. Gordon fights back. He invents recorded silence and does well with it, even though he loses his wife to his best friend. Peter Kavanagh directed, with the right light touch and a clear ear to the everyday menace of overwhelming noise.

Sunday night's play on Radio 3, Season Of Migration to the North, was preceded by warnings of possibly distressing language and images. Dramatised by Philip Palmer, from the a translation of Tayeb Salih's acclaimed Arabic novel, it was more confusing than distressing. It's a complex story, about cultural alienation, erotic ultimates, guilt. To make it into the "thriller" of the billing was a false promise.

Suleyman (Beru Tessema) goes back to his village in Northern Sudan after being educated in England. There's a stranger in the village, Mustafa Sa'eed (Zubin Varla), who turns out to be more than a simple farmer married to a local girl. He tells his story to Suleyman. But Suleyman doesn't want believe there is someone cleverer and more Western-cultured than he is, especially someone for whom sexual passion seems frequently to be accompanied by death, even murder.

Mustafa is killed in floods. His young wife becomes the prey of the rich men in the village. Suleyman is charged with the care of his two children, doesn't trust his own longings for the widow. There's the tragedy. She is forcibly married to the most brutal of the suitors. He rapes her. She kills him, then herself.

Why the warnings? The sex and violence were essential to the situation and characters. The plot skeins weaving together past and present, passion and the climax of mortality were adroit, the performances spellbinding. Compare and contrast with Sex on Fire by the Kings of Leon on Absolute? It wouldn't be fair.

Source: telegraph.co.uk

UK - Summit Steel is supplying production rigging plus two automation systems and control for the European and UK sections of the current Coldplay Viva la Vida world tour.

Summit's Jay Call has co-ordinated the project from its Kent HQ, liaising closely with the touring crew including head rigger Gabe Wood and production manager Craig Finlay.

The supply includes a 26 way Kinesys variable speed automation system with K2 control and a 10-way Kinesys fixed speed automation system with Vector control; 46 1 tonne CM Lodestar hoists and eight half tonnes for lighting and scenic rigging, along with a further two 2 tonne and twenty 1 tonne hoists for the PA hangs and 76 cm and 52 cm JTE trussing.

Twenty-two of the 26 Kinesys vari-speed motors (being run in conjunction with Kinesys Elevation 1+ control units) are being used to automate a series of 'wave' trusses - four individual runs of bespoke curved ladder beam flown horizontally, each section with a slightly different curve. Together they create a sine wave effect, and move into different positions throughout the show.

The other four vari-speeds are automating two upstage trusses rigged with a series of drapes, soft goods and scenic elements.

The fixed speed system is used to fly five inflatable globes onstage, each with a projector mounted vertically at the top, pointing directly into the mouth of the sphere. The globes fly in and out during the show on the 10 half tonne fixed speed hoists. A sixth globe/projector is flown above the front-of-house position.

The 76m JTE trussing was specified primarily because they needed trussing with sufficient depth to carry the majority of the Kinesys hoists, the Elevation 1+s, control cabling for the automated systems and for some of the fixed system within the truss. This was to help expedite the get ins and outs.

The stage has two thrusts either side jutting out into the audience, and the normal stage set up features seven standard cross stage trusses, plus four offstage cable management trusses, two per side. Of these overstage trusses, two carry the vari speed hoist system for the four wave trusses, and one the fixed speed half tonne hoists flying three of the five globes.

Above the thrusts are two additional runs of trussing, each of which is used for lighting points with another wave truss suspended below. These are also utilised to hang two under-hung spot chairs per truss, and as a cable route to the two FOH trusses.

Jay Call comments: "With a band such as Coldplay, who are actively involved in all artistic elements of the tour, the show has continued to evolve and this has required regular re-thinks and adjustments. Needless to say, all of the tour personnel have risen to the challenge, shown much good grace and patience and have been a pleasure to work with."

Source: http://www.lsionline.co.uk

Popjustice.com spoke with Ne-Yo in a Q&A, where the R&B singer talked about how his third album ‘Year of the Gentleman’ was inspired by UK music. Asked which UK acts were the inspiration, the 28-year-old responded, “I like Leona Lewis, she’s got an incredible voice. I’ve been working with her on her new album. I’m a huge fan of Coldplay, and of course Amy Winehouse.”

In the meantime, the smooth soulster is keeping busy with his well-mannered third album. He said, "The idea of gentlemanly behaviour has been lost over the years. In the US, male artists tend to be sloppy when it comes to image. It’s all about the baggy jeans and T-shirts. In the UK, Coldplay stand out. They’re one of a dying breed of gentlemen."

We reported here at Coldplaying.com earlier this month how Ne-Yo has revealed how his love of Coldplay has helped introduce him to music by a host of different guitar bands. He said he discovered Coldplay when he first heard their hit single 'Yellow' and then “was in love from there”. “I went out and got 'Parachutes', I got 'Rush of Blood to the Head', I got all of them,” he said. “Then, through Coldplay, I was introduced to Radiohead, and from them into Muse, and from Muse into Kings of Leon - it just kept rollin'.”

Cast your daily vote for Coldplaying.com in the Best Unofficial Music Site at the 2008 BT Digital Music Awards

In a recent reader Q&A for US magazine Blender, the ever-quotable Oasis star Noel Gallagher [pictured] was also far from reticent with regard to his feelings about Radiohead and Coldplay.

He said, "Radiohead and Coldplay think too much. They get to a certain level and start worrying about the environment. That's for the governments of the world to worry about. We need to concentrate on fucking women, taking drugs, wearing sunglasses and being cool. Never mind the polar bears."

And on Coldplay's close friend Jay-Z covering Wonderwall at Glastonbury: "It was pretty funny. But I'm not sure one should be seen in public with a white Stratocaster."

Read the full Blender interview here.

Coldplay is out on the road with a Martin rig that includes the new MAC 2000 Wash XB luminaire.

Touring Europe and North America in support of their new album, Viva La Vida, the show uses no LED screens or crowd imag at the band's request. Lighting, set, and production designer Paul Normandale makes sure of that, opting for visual impact from video projection and Martin MAC 2000 Wash XBs, MAC 700 Profiles, MAC 250 Washes and Atomic 3000 strobes.

"Coldplay are a high impact band that require dynamic looks with lots of cues," Normandale comments. "The MAC 2000 Wash XB is used primarily as a rear wash light and is so bright it means I can use less than I would with other fixtures. Plus we trim at 48ft so I needed a wash that would reach with cover to spare."

The MAC 2000 Wash XB is a new 1500W Fresnel that takes the proven optical and effect qualities of Martin's MAC 2000 Wash and adds "even greater brightness (over 60,000 lumens of power), new efficient fans, ballast, starter and more".

Specific features of the XB that Normandale likes include its "sheer punch. They are very, very bright and compact," he says. "And reliability has been really good."

Coldplay opened their 2008 tour mid-summer in North America and hit Europe starting in September. This fall sees them back in North America before a string of shows in the UK in December. Lighting vendor in Europe is Lite Alternative with Upstaging handling the US leg. Video vendor is XL Video.

Kerb your enthusiasm for the new Coldplay stage jargon right here

Chris Martin's energy could "power a small town". According to Travis singer Fran Healy, the Coldplay frontman never rests and is the most active person he has ever met.

Scottish rocker Fran said: "Chris Martin doesn't sleep. I don't necessarily think he could sleep any better before he got successful. That's just what he's like. If you plugged him in you could power a small Scottish town with all of his energy."

The 'Why Does It Always Rain On Me?' singer also revealed the unique way he bonded with 'Yellow' hitmaker Chris after their partners gave birth to sons at the same time. He added to Britain's Times newspaper: "He helped me reconstruct my tepee. I'd bought one on a whim and it pretty much took up our whole garden. Anyway, I'd taken it down and forgotten how to put it back up but Chris came round and we went on the internet and figured it out. We could've had the best YouTube moment ever - Chris Martin and Fran Healy constructing a tepee together."Fran has a son Clay, two, with partner Nora Kryst, while Chris and wife Gwyneth Paltrow have two children, four-year-old daughter Apple and Moses, two.

Taken from an article Travis did with The Times, Fran Healy discusses his friendship with Chris Martin:

It is, indeed, interesting to observe how different musicians internalise the pressure. In their latter years, Abba started writing songs about Russian dissidents losing their marbles while waiting for the KGB to knock on the door. The title track of Coldplay’s Viva La Vida concerns an ex-dictator looking back on the immeasurable power he enjoyed. “Exactly,” smiles Payne affectionately. “It’s like, ‘What could you possibly be alluding to there?’ ”

“When you meet Chris Martin,” says Healy, “it all makes sense. The guy doesn’t sleep.” Is that because he wants to succeed so badly? “No. I don’t necessarily think he could sleep any better beforehand. That’s just what he’s like. If you plugged him in, you could power a small Scottish town with all of his energy.”

Read the rest of the excerpt here [thanks mimixxx]

Ferdinand Victor Eugène Delacroix, born in 1798, was a French Romantic artist, held by many as the pioneer of the French Romantic School. Delacroix could represent reality with the skill of a master and yet borrow richly from exotic inspirations. Also hugely proficient at lithography, he illustrated various works of William Shakespeare, the Scottish writer Sir Walter Scott and the German writer Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe. But what Delacroix himself did not know was that he would be the album cover artist for a 20th century band that he never knew existed.

The band is the British rock band Coldplay which released its fourth album Viva La Vida on June 17 this year, finally gratifying its colossal fan base across the globe. Another phenomenal album isn’t a surprise at all, but the band’s 10 novel tunes that have been packaged in a 19th century painting, certainly is.

The album sleeve carries Delacroix’s most influential work, La Liberté guidant le peuple (Liberty leading the people), painted in 1830. The painting is a political poster with a powerful visual depiction of the event on July 28, 1830, when the people rose and dethroned the Bourbon king. Delacroix himself wasn’t part of the event, but wanted to paint it for sentimental value. The artwork shows Parisians, alight with the spirit of revolution, striding behind the French tricolour with a bed of dead soldiers in the foreground.

Read the full article at WikiColdplay here

2005 saw what may very well be Coldplay's only misstep in ten years. "X&Y" was Coldplay's way of creating more mainstream music and while it was successful commercially, it lacked in many ways and for a while it seemed as though the band had traded itself in to please the masses.

Then, three years later, Coldplay finally released their fourth, much-awaited album, the oddly but aptly titled "Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends." This fourth effort saw the band aim for the stratosphere with bold experimentation that involved the incorporation of many new international sounds, new dimensions of Chris Martin's voice, and evolved songwriting, all of which made the album an instant success.

Coldplay's formula for success mixes a knack for piercing song writing, a flair for moodily dramatic craftsmanship, and an ability to maintain a high quality from wire to wire while striking gold numerous times on each album. Their music manages to be dark one song yet vivid the very next. It is a culmination of thoughts on love, ruminations on fears and doubts, and reflections on the journey of finding oneself, all of which the band has managed to stay true to since crossing the threshold to the mainstream.

Read the full article here and discuss it here [thanks mimixxx]

Coldplay.com caught up with Coldplay's latest support act yesterday. With Albert Hammond Jr supporting Coldplay on the current European leg of the Viva La Vida tour, they gave The Strokes' guitarist a shout before the Strasbourg show to find out more about his solo project.

Hi Albert. So, it's the first gig of the European tour today.

Yes it is. I'm about to do soundcheck.

Are you excited?

Are you kidding? Yeah, I'm very excited.

It must be quite strange to be supporting when you're used to being in a big headlining band yourself?

No, it's not strange. I feel really lucky, happy and excited. You have all the excitement of the venue and being a part of something that's so big, but without the pressure. It's not your show, so even if you fuck up terribly people will just be like, "Oh well, the support band wasn't so good". But when it's your show - people have come to see you so you feel that pressure to really deliver for your fans.

Do you approach a support gig differently to a headline one?

I guess my goals are always big. I try and make an impact on people, to leave the crowd feeling excited for what's coming next. I'll just be pushing and trying to do my best.

When you're with The Strokes, do you guys pick your support bands?

Yeah, we do similar things to Coldplay. We do shows that we can sell-out alone, so then we can bring in whoever we want. We'd much rather do it that way.

Presumably you'll hope to win over some new fans on this tour?

Yeah, that's the great thing about opening - you can reach people that might not have heard you. You're playing to a different crowd every night and to an awful lot of people. If I saw an opening band and I liked it I would assume that the headlining band like them too. I never see an opening band and think, "They must hate them!" Ha ha!

But you do hear about tours where support bands get bought on by their labels.

For sure, but you can always feel that vibe. The whole fun thing that made me so excited about doing this tour is that I know some of the guys from Coldplay. They're a good bunch of guys and I'm looking forward to hanging out, playing music and having fun.

It's quite a long tour across a lot of countries.

Yes, 22 shows in like 30 days.

Are these countries you've been to with The Strokes?

I think I've been to most of them with The Strokes and last year with my solo stuff, but a lot of the smaller cities in these countries I've never been to. So it'll be interesting to see what they're like.

Do you get time to sight-see when you're on a tour like this?

I imagine we will have a chance to walk around and see some things. I hope so.

For those who don't know your solo music, can you give us a rough idea of what it sounds like?

It's melodic music - I like melody and I like rhythms. I think it'll be a fun half a hour before you see Coldplay - I think it's a really good match. That's what I remember telling them when I was saying that I wanted to open for them. I thought we'd make a really good match musically. I felt it would feel like a great show.

So did you ask if you could support them?

Yeah, we were actually making our records at the same time and we were going to be putting them out at the same time, so I was saying "Let me come out on the road". But I was actually surprised that I got the gig. Every band would want to come and do this tour. It's an amazing experience. Even though I know them, I still feel very lucky that I got it.

When did you meet them?

I think the first time was backstage at an Oasis show in New York, when I met Chris and Guy. And then I met Jonny and became really good friends with him. Every time he comes to New York and every time I go to London we always go for dinner. He's great. We just really click as friends.

Some people would imagine that someone like you who's in a massive band might be too proud to support a band like Coldplay.

I don't really like that mentality. I don't understand it. We're all doing the same thing, just trying to get by playing music. I'm excited for them that they've reached the level they have. And it's fun to be apart of it.

Presumably you've been to see Coldplay live before?

Yes, many times. A few years ago I almost actually came along for a week of shows with them. I had my bag packed and everything, then I had to goon tour. But the last time I saw them was in New York earlier this year when they did the free show at Madison Square Garden.

What did you think of the New York show?

It was great. I love how they go on a little stage and then go to the back of the crowd. You can see it's really fun for the fans. It's really cool to still try to find a way to make something feel intimate, especially at the back where the people usually never see the band. And then, of course, all the lights and stuff are something you have to do on these big shows, but they do a great job of it. It's very beautiful.

Do you think you'll be playing music with them on this tour? Either backstage or onstage?

I have no idea. But I hope to hang out, yeah.

And finally, what's your favourite Coldplay song?

Probably Fix You. I remember I was on tour and I hadn't heard the song and I saw the video. It really got me. The video really works with the song. I was just like, "Wow! This is amazing!".

Well you'll get to hear it 22 times in the next 30 days.

Yeah! I'll have it memorised. I'll be able to do the lights.

Discuss this interview here onwards.

[excerpt from this month's Rolling Stone]

One fine day' — there's a funny story about that," Brian Eno says with a smile, referring to one of the 11 songs on Everything That Happens Will Happen Today, the new, gleaming art-pop album the British producer and occasional solo artist has made with his friend, ex-Talking Heads singer-guitarist David Byrne.

Sitting at a table across from Byrne in the latter's Lower Manhattan office, Eno says that at a point early in the record's extended birth, he played a piece of instrumental music in his London studio for Coldplay's Chris Martin: "Chris said, 'Wow, I'd love to work on that.' I'd given it to David a few months before and hadn't heard anything back. So I gave it to Chris."

Six months later, Martin excitedly told Eno he had written "the most amazing song" for that track. Ironically, that day, Byrne finally e-mailed Eno an MP3 of "One Fine Day," Byrne's space-gospel spin — with a sunny vocal and wry, hopeful lyrics — on Eno's spongy electronics. When Martin heard it, he surrendered gracefully. "He said, 'I can't do better than that,' " Eno recalls, chuckling. "Incredible timing."

Read the full article here [thanks clisaj]

Coldplay's thrifty habit has the Mirror in stitches, judging by the article in their online newspaper this morning. It reads:

We couldn't help cracking up when we heard Coldplay secret to their success - sewing. They've sold 34.6 million albums and top the rock rich list, but the thrifty lot don't care about their image or waste their wonga on designer threads.

Instead, the millionaire rock stars like nothing better than getting behind their sewing machines for a good stitch and bitch. And Chris Martin reckons it's what keeps the group so tight-knit. "Making clothes together in our studio makes us feel complete. We probably sound like a group of grannies in a knitting circle but it's the truth and it gives us some control over our visual identity."

It's certainly an interesting thread to their success. For while other rock 'n' roll bands devour the mini-bar or trash the room while staying in hotels on tour, the clean-living musos seek out the needle and cotton. "We see if they have a sewing kit in the amenities draw in case we feel inspired," says Chris.

"When you are a big band and everyone is taking shots at you, the more things you can do together the better.

More on this story in this thread (sorry, pun) here

Will Champion has been speaking to BeQueen.de in London, the interviewer was Sarah Elena Schwerzmann. Translation by Larry.

Will Champion, the new Coldplay album is called "Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends." How did you come to this name?

Will Champion: We have only baptized the album "Viva la Vida", because it is a tribute to life itself. At this time we were in Mexico City, where we visited Frida Kahlo's house and encountered this quote. We love Kahlo's art and were speechless in the face of the energy of the house, where the magnificent, expressive colors give a very special atmosphere. At this time we realized that we were too monotonous. We wanted to go away from black and white towards to colour.

And when did you become aware of the fact that on the basis of "Viva la Vida" you would bring inevitably connection with Ricky Martin?

Fortunately, we noticed reactions in our closest environment pretty early. And because we didn't want our fans to believe we would now convert on the musical traces of a latino star, we had to find a solution about this name. Then Chris had the idea to give the album a second name. He adopted it from Shakespeare. He has always given his words double names.

Read more on this article here [thanks Larry]

With EMI losing Paul McCartney, Radiohead and The Rolling Stones in quick succession, and with other acts on the label, such as Robbie Williams, threatening to go on strike, it wasn't looking good for the famous imprint earlier this year.

Throw in the fact that EMI has been hoovered up by a private equity firm, and that a lot of the "music" people at the label had either jumped or been pushed, and there was speculation about its continuing existence.

Terra Firma (the new owner of EMI) had its first real test with the release of Coldplay's Viva La Vida album two months ago. McCartney had left the label because he was dissatisfied with how it had marketed his last few albums. Williams was openly questioning if the downsized label could still "work" an album. Terra Firma's other big signing, Sigur Rós, were looking on from the sidelines.

Read the full article here

Coldplay is starting to get too good at its job, report Paste Magazine. At the writing session for Viva La Vida, Chris Martin and Co. got a little overzealous, writing too much to fit on one album. The tracks that were left off Viva La Vida might make an appearance as another album as soon as next year.

Viva La Vida was released in June and produced by Brian Eno. The next album is widely rumored to be almost completed because of all the extra material from that recording session. The speculation originally said a new Coldplay album might come out before the end of the year, but a 2009 release looks more likely now.

We have evidence, too. Lead singer Martin has recorded a collaboration with pop songstress Kylie Minogue, but the song was not featured on Viva La Vida. “It will be on a record we will put out in 2009,” Martin said.

The next release will be the band’s fifth with label EMI. Even more rumors (people talk about you when your last album sells 721,000 in its first week) are circulating that the London quartet plans to put out a greatest-hits album to fulfill a six-album contract with EMI.

EMI denies the rumor that Coldplay is trying to complete its contract as quickly as possible, saying, “Coldplay are signed to a long term record deal with EMI and are committed to produce a number of albums. The band's relationship with EMI is both long-term and positive."

Interview found on eBay Chatter:

Coldplay is one of my favorite bands and is currently touring to promote their new album Viva la Vida. I had the chance to interview drummer Will Champion when they came to San Jose to play at the HP Pavilion.

I asked him if he had ever bought or sold anything on eBay. Here is what he said: "Well, for our new single, Viva La Vida, we needed to find a big bell for me to ring. So we looked on eBay and found an old school bell that we bought. We used it in the studio and we use it during the concerts too. You will see it later on during the show on stage."

Read the full interview script here

Blogcritic magazine has finally got round to reviewing Coldplay's new album, 'Viva La Vida Or Death And All His Friends'. Here is said review:

I've joked with friends and co-workers that Viva La Vida is either the first U2 record we're going to hear this year or the best U2 record we're going to hear this year. Many critics thought Coldplay had Radiohead ambitions when they first hit the scene, but it's been increasingly clear over the past several years that Chris Martin has Bono envy. Coldplay took another step towards emulating their heroes by hiring the legendary Brian Eno – U2 co-conspirator being only one of his many brilliant accomplishments — to produce their new album.

I groaned when I first learned of this. I like Coldplay (not be the coolest thing to admit) but I've been on board since Parachutes. I have nothing but the utmost respect for Eno, but feared this was going to be a step in the wrong direction. I wanted the band to change up after X&Y — their weakest album — but blatantly copping U2 seemed to me the wrong path, and that's how I prejudged this collaboration.

Read the full review at WikiColdplay here

Matt McGinn has been Jonny's guitar tech for eight years. He's recently written a book, Roadie, documenting his time with Coldplay. We thought you might like to read an entertaining excerpt explaining how Matt came to meet the band. (Oh, and for the record, Matt is not Roadie #42.), courtesy of Coldplay.com:

A Roadie Meets A Band

As kids in the ‘70s, we all used to whisper the words "The Year 2000" as if when the new century arrived the sun would blow up and Earth’d change colour/go off course/wet its pants, etc. Once we all actually got there though, I’d been bald for nearly five years, so as far as I was concerned my big cosmic side-swipe had already happened and I was absolutely up for anything. Millennium bug? Pah! I’m a slaphead, bring it on!

Funny how things turn out, eh? One fateful night during that hyped-up, over-egged 12 months, my old roadie pal Jeff was driving me home after another filthy, poorly paid bog-based show when, out of nowhere, we had a little chat that went a bit like this:

"So, Matt, whatcha doing tomorrow?"

"Nothing man, it’s my day off. Why?"

"Fancy giving me a hand on a gig?"

"Er…dunno. I’m pretty tired. Who is it?"

"Coldplay."

"Eh? As in Lisa Stansfield?"

"No, you prat, that’s Cold-bloody-Cut."

"Oh yeah, sorry…anyway who are they?"

"Newish band, signed to Parlophone, supporting Embrace in Blackpool. Come on, it’ll be a nice earner. And besides, I’m going to be hungover so I want you to drive."

I didn’t want to do it. I was knackered from gigging, and had been dying for a rest. But still, it was Jeff who back in ’96 had got me my first roadie job with indie-pop girl group Kenickie. I sort of owed him.

"Alright, I give in," I sighed. "What time and where?"

It was one of those moments which is tiny at the time, but on looking back you realise that somewhere the Gods of Rock changed the points and sent your life off on a totally new track.

We met the next morning at Matt Snowball’s, which is a) his real name, and b) a North London rock ‘n’ roll storage and hire facility. I’d got there early, so had a cup of tea and chatted to the staff, a bit nervous like always when I’m about to meet new people, but about as unexpectant as you could get considering my world was about to be turned completely on its arse.

Jeff, true to his word, arrived in poor condition. He’d been up all night drinking with rural maniacs in the West Country and could barely talk, but there wasn’t much time to worry as halfway through loading the van this bunch of tall-ish scruffs showed up and introduced themselves as Coldplay.

"Bad hair and clothes," I thought.

One of them was sporting a debatable Paul Nicholas perm and seemed to be the leader so I thought carefully for a moment before asking him:

"So, what’s the band name all about, then?"

"Ah, well now," he replied, fixing me with the same disarming Alan Partridge half-smirk that’s since followed me all over the globe. "It’s the name of a special type of breeze that blows across the mountains!"

"What, like the word Keanu?" I said, before realising somebody was taking the mickey, and that the others were all having a little chortle at my expense.

Cheeky bastards. I liked ‘em.

A few things from that first journey up north have really stuck, particularly the picture of Chris horsing around and hoofing a ball about at a service station car park. He seemed like a big puppy, full of fun and sort of slapstick, with an immediately infectious aura that appeared to be turned up to eleven at all times. The lad made everyone on board the tiny bus laugh loads while staying noticeably courteous to the point of even thanking me for playing football with him. Guy, by contrast, gave a brooding first impression but quickly showed himself to be quite jovial and easy-going too. Will appeared solid and cool, while it soon emerged that he could swing from being quietly invisible to volubly engaging with little announcement. And Jonny, who had – and has – an even friendlier face than all the others put together, stood out for me by finding most things I said quite funny.

After a few happy hours on the motorway we finally arrived at Blackpool’s faded and gorgeous Empress Ballroom. The pretty chandeliers and glinting fixtures within its peeling, salty old structure set a sweet scene for our short, support band-length soundcheck; you couldn’t have wished for a better place to hear any group for the first time and even back then it was clear this little gang didn’t have it in them to disappoint. People always ask me whether I really like Coldplay’s music and I have to say that aside from a few tunes here and there I’ve always adored it, uncool or creepish as that may seem. But, as true as it is, I can’t be as objective as I was on that first day when I barely knew them and they were just this odd little handful of ex-students in crap trousers.

The song they tested their gear with (and therefore the first song I ever heard them play) has almost passed into folklore now and is probably just about up to speed as an all-time classic, so familiar that like Brown Sugar or You Only Live Twice everyone in the place already knows it before the singer even opens their mouth. Still, I shan’t easily forget hearing Chris’s bittersweet, off-kilter acoustic intro for the first time, then the noisy bash-bash-bash cymbal/guitar bit followed by that girly, pretty verse and spaced-out "YawwwSKEEEN" chorus-y part. It was odd, immediate and somehow already perfect.

The song, and their performance of it (Chris was hard to look away from even then) stopped me dead in my tracks. I thought it, and they, were great, and seeing how they seemed like such nice chaps I decided to give them a little bit of roadie encouragement.

Ever the poet, I pulled the singer aside and quietly said:

"Here, that Yellow’s a catchy fucker, isn’t it?"

The resulting explosion of sheer glee sealed our relationship forever and set in motion a chain of impersonations that I am powerless to stop to this day. Wheeling round and grabbing the attention of anyone within a half mile radius, my new boss and friend set everything in stone in a trice, with:

"Hey, fellas, did you hear what Matt just said?" —cue Mitchell brothers accent and gestures— "OI, VAT YELLAW'S A CATCHY FACKER INNIT!"

This was greeted with hilarity and universal approval in equal measure and from thereon in there was no going back – whether I liked it or not, I was in the gang for good.

Not long after that first, fateful trip, Jeff called to say that the lads needed a hand on a short UK tour supporting Muse, which turned out to be the last tour we ever did in a van…well, so far! At the time, Coldplay’s only stage technician, sorry, roadie – a bequiffed skinny ginger geezer named Hoppy – was busy in America and could I possibly fill in? Of course I could. I already knew Hoppy - we’d met on a tour back in the old Kenickie days and got on well so he rightly trusted that there was no danger of me swiping his gig.

Muse rocked on that tour and were beginning to bite commercially as well so it was pretty exciting all round. Sold out, middle-sized gigs like Portsmouth’s glass and steel Pyramid or Manchester’s deep red, slightly hellish Apollo flew by in a whirl of newness and adrenaline, spaced out by some mad bus drives over hill, dale and misty moorland. The famous Snake Pass for instance is, on a clear day, a beauty-strewn rural shortcut through some quite delightful Pennine scenery where low stone walls, hairpin bends and random wild animals all add up to an experience James Herriott might have enjoyed. But hey, for Pete’s sake don’t try it in a tour van in the fog. It’ll take all day, everyone will poo their cords and you’ll doubtless miss the soundcheck as well!

Some fairly pivotal arguments took place in that vehicle, which, for the uninitiated, was what we call a "splitter", basically a modified goods van fitted with extra windows, old plane seats and a table behind the driver, plus room for the stage gear and luggage in a separate section at the rear. There’s not much scope for escape or personal space in these things, tempers can flare and people quickly find out what and who they can really put up with. (Good practice for that private plane, kids.) Chris and Guy, for example, will occasionally have a sharp difference of opinion which can easily mutate into compelling spectator sport once the pair of them get squeezed into the rear end of a cramped minibus/Learjet;

"Why do you want to call the album Parachutes?"

"Don’t you like it as a title or something?"

"Well, no."

"Why not?"

"I think it sounds shit."

"Fuck off! Why are you being so negative?"

And so on.

I remember it as a happy, focused period all round though, the only real source of angst being Jeff’s habit of trying to watch films on the TV screen behind his head while driving. You’d be in the back, vibing into Steve McQueen’s car chase from Bullit, when an alarming rumble would announce the fact that we were, once again, heading for the ditch. Vociferous calls of "JEFF! STOP LOOKIN’ AT THE BLOODY TELLY!" would usually do the trick, until next time of course. What a circus!

Anyway, Muse’s crew all treated us sweetly and the band themselves couldn’t have been nicer, which was a good job really. Lots of other headline acts might have had the hump at how well their support group was going down each night and to be fair, Jonny, Chris, Guy and Will went for the audience with the hunger and apparent confidence of James Bond or Errol Flynn, but with extra manners. Most nights, mid set, pumped up on a blend of self-belief and sheer cheek, Chris would address the crowd with a grin and say something like:

"You know, I’m not trying to be big-headed, but you really ought to make the most of this, because next year we’ll be playing Wembley."

Cocky as anything, but it rang true and somehow by simultaneously playing the clown and the bard he’d get away with it. People just warmed to him, and besides, he and the rest of Coldplay made such a big, impressive noise together that you could forgive them almost anything.

Even the hair and trousers!

Discuss this memoir here onwards [thanks mimixxx]

Coldplay were joined onstage by Alicia Keys, who played piano on 'Clocks' as the band closed the final night of Japanese festival Summer Sonic tonight (August 10).

Against a backdrop depicting the French Romantic painting by Eugène Delacroix, 'Liberty Leading The People' - used as the band's album artwork for recent release 'Viva La Vida Or Death And All His Friends' - the band performed in costumes aping the style of French revolutionaries, as they have done for other dates on their current tour.

Throughout the performance, frontman Chris Martin displayed an admirable - if slightly questionable, grammatically speaking - level of Japanese, communicating with the crowd in their native tongue at almost any opportunity. After 2005 single 'Speed of Sound', he performed a solo, piano-rendition of a song by Japan's most famous pop band, SMAP, eliciting a breathtakingly loud response from the surprised audience.

Early on in the set, during 'Politik', Martin changed the lyrics of the song to sing, "60,000 Japanese people watching us/Let Alicia Keys always play with us", giving an early hint of the upcoming collaboration.

Elsewhere the band performed songs from across all their albums including the massive single 'Yellow', 'Fix You' and 'In My Place'. For 'The Scientist', all four members of the band ran into a specially constructed podium in the middle of the crowd, performing a stripped-down acoustic version of the song.

Then, introducing her on stage before 'Clocks', Martin said that Keys was, "the most beautiful woman in the world… except for my wife".

Earlier in the day, the Tokyo event, which runs a sister festival in Osaka the same weekend, saw performances from Super Furry Animals, Late Of The Pier, DEVO and The Wombats. To read more about Coldplay’s performance with video clips from the evening, and exclusive coverage of the rest of Summer Sonic, make sure you read NME’s festival blog now.

Buzzing with a tingles of anticipation, tens of thousands of festivals-goers groaned over their morning toast on 19th June 2002 as they discovered the list of headlining acts for that year’s Glastonbury Festival.

There was washed up ‘mocker’ Rod Stewart, Kelly Jones from the Stereophonics, who sounded as if someone had just taken a cheese grater to his throat, and worst of all Coldplay: a miserable collection of middle class students with a singer that moaned whilst hunched over his piano.

In the event, that warm Friday night transpired to be one of the most important in Coldplay’s history. At half past ten, Faithless had waved their goodbyes, having delivered, as expected, a swirling ambient hour long sing-along, and an 80,000 strong crowd in front of the Pyramid Stage was poised for more. Half an hour later, Coldplay emerged from the gloom in a chorus of flashes, strobe lighting and the jarring riff of Politik. Somewhere in the next ninety minutes they became one of Britain’s best bands.

Read the full article here

Interesting article from the Hartford Courant covering the views of those who have recently been to a Coldplay show and thought it was too short:

The issue of fan entitlement has come up before, but people crabbing about Coldplay's performance last weekend in Hartford suggests it's time for a refresher.

Some Coldplay adherent are unhappy with just about everything the band did -- or didn't do -- at XL Center last Saturday night: The group didn't play long enough, no one apologized for changing the date of the show from July to August, they didn't finish playing the last 18 seconds of "Hardest Part," they charged too much, they didn't play a proper encore by some standards.

There's an easy solution to all of that: Stay home. At home, you have total control. You can create your perfect set list on iTunes and listen to it wherever you go on your mp3 player and not pay $8 for a beer.

Read the full article and let us know what you think here

New England Patriots QB/QT Tom Bradytook a pass on practice yesterday probably to rest up from the rockin’ Coldplay show he took in with glamazon galpal Gisele Bundchen at the TD Banknorth Garden!

Tom, who is reportedly a HUGE fan of Chris Martin & Co., blew out of a late practice at Gillette Stadium Monday night to join Gi and her GFs at the Garden shortly after the British rockers took the stage at 10 p.m. In fact, Martin dedicated the last song, “Death and All His Friends,” a cut off the new CD, to Brady. Perhaps Chris’ good buddy, Bono of U2, told him a shout-out to No. 12 always brings down the Boston house!

“I don’t want to do this really because it’s cheesy . . . but we’re great fans of his and he’s probably left the building anyway,” said the Coldplay frontman. “We’d like to dedicate this to Tom Brady - your quarterback. We’re big fans of his and very honored he came to the show, and I hope to goodness it was worth it.”

Read the full article here [thanks mimixxx]

Patriots QB Tom Brady, shown here jogging in NYC listening to his iPod, is a Coldplay superfan and has the playlist to prove it!

A few years ago, it became socially acceptable -- even mandatory -- to bash Coldplay. There were plenty of reasons, everything from the band's shameless, simplified aping of Radiohead and U2 (the most aped bands around) to frontman Chris Martin's ubiquitousness as part of a celebrity couple (see: Paltrow, Gwyneth), complete with absurd baby name.

A review in this paper labeled the band's output as music for "medium-level dull people." The phenomenon peaked when one of the most popular comedies of recent years, "The 40-Year-Old Virgin," famously ended its string of "You know how I know you're gay?" remarks with one character telling another, "You like Coldplay."

Read the full review article here

It seems that Coldplay is still searching for their niche among the world’s major rock acts.

That might explain why the British quartet experimented with so many different styles and formats at the sold-out TD Banknorth Garden last night - some successfully, others not so much. The night of massive sing-alongs and fist-pumping anthems began with the dark, brooding “Violet Hill” and the pounding chords of “Clocks,” during which lead singer Chris Martin almost fell off his piano stool with enthusiasm.

That set the tone for a night of Martin swaying, rocking, doing awkward versions of the running man, dripping with sweat, occasionally convulsing, dropping a few F-bombs, flubbing lyrics, and often convening with lead guitarist Jonny Buckland and bassist Guy Berryman for impromptu emo huddles.

Read the full article here