Swedish House Mafia have described Coldplay as "the most inspirational band we've heard in our lives" after getting to work with the band. Axwell, speaking to Radio 1 Newsbeat before performing at London's iTunes festival, said the trio had waited a long time to work with their heroes.

The DJ threesome have recently reworked Every Teardrop Is A Waterfall which will be released in the future. Axwell, one of the three DJs who make up the collective, said: "We've loved them for such a long time. It was awesome to get all of those parts and to give our touch to that track. They approved it so here we go."

He explained that Swedish House Mafia are also working on new material in between a busy summer schedule of live performances. "There's a lot of stuff that is 50% done," said Axwell. "We're waiting for a moment in time to finish it.

Meanwhile, speaking of Swedish, Robyn has given Coldplay‘s newest single ‘Every Teardrop Is a Waterfall’ a makeover, when she stopped by the BBC Radio 1 studios to perform in their well known Live Lounge for Fearne Cotton's program. You can hear the cover at the Coldplay forum now [thanks Open, Politik]

We think Popcrush loved it, gushing: "The musical changes in Robyn’s version of ‘Every Teardrop Is a Waterfall’ are immediately recognizable. While Coldplay’s original has some electro elements, the music is much more complex than Robyn’s stripped-down rendition. Instead of using the British band’s beat, which features layers of digitally-altered keys and melodic guitar segments, Robyn incorporates a simple whirring synth with a steady 808 beat. The combination of Robyn’s dance-pop touch and her sweetly captivating vocals yields a toe-tapping, ethereal version of ‘Every Teardrop Is a Waterfall.’ We’re sure Chris Martin and the rest of the Coldplay clan are jamming to the Robyn cover as we speak. The groovable ‘Every Teardrop Is a Waterfall’ rendition isn’t the first pop song Robyn has made her own. In the past, the ‘Dancing on My Own’ songstress has covered Kelly Clarkson‘s ‘Since U Been Gone‘, Prince‘s ‘When Doves Cry‘ and plenty of others. Robyn manages to keep the emotional quality of the lyrics, while simultaneously stamping the anthemic lovesick Coldplay tune with her own signature electronic dance-pop style.

Newly-founded online mazagine The Upcoming has reviewed Coldplay's performance at the iTunes festival last Friday (22nd July), giving it 5/5 stars. They wrote: "On the most packed, VIP-crammed and long-awaited night of the 31-day event, Coldplay took the iTunes festival to its climax. After the triumphant headline slots of Glastonbury and T in the Park, the band fronted by Chris Martin amazed a crowd of 3000 – on worldwide streaming – with lasers, confetti, giant balloons and, most importantly, beautiful songs. It’s incredible to see how many hits they have managed to put together in a 11-year career. The set started with new track “Hurts like heaven”, an upbeat song resembling Arcade Fire’s “Keep the Car Running” and Bruce Springsteen’s “Dancing in the Dark”. You can read the rest of the review here [thanks laura84]

Robyn covers Coldplay's Every Teardrop Is A Waterfall' on Radio 1's Live Lounge

The latest edition of Q Mazagine (Q302 - September 2011) is now on the shelves and there is a Hot List article on Coldplay entitled 'Laughing Boys'. You can see a screenshot of the article at the Coldplay forum now (scans to follow - hopefully!). According to the article, Every Teardrop Is A Waterfall is confirmed for the album, which is described as a 'vibrant' record. Other 'confirmed' tracks include Hurts Like Heaven (likely single), Charlie Brown, Princess Of China, Us Against The World and Major Minus. UPDATE: Read the transcript of the article now! [thanks mimixxx]

DigitalSpy are the first to write about the article. They focus on the Beehive (Coldplay's second studio, after the Bakery) and Coldplay's attempt at testing the material there with the aim of ensuring it translated well in an 'old village hall' environment. Here's their article:

Coldplay drummer Will Champion has revealed that the band tested their new material in an old village hall. Will said that the group wanted to make sure the tracks translated well to a live setting. Speaking about their secret rehearsal space, The Beehive, Will told Q magazine: "It's like an old village hall. A big space where we can play together. Often when you're making an album you can become alienated from one another in a studio environment. The Beehive was a deliberate move to get us playing together so we could get a feel of how the songs would sound as a live band as we were recording, instead of waiting until the record was done and then going out on the road..."

Will also confessed that the band will probably work on their new record right up until the last minute, saying: "We'll keep going until it literally has to leave to get mastered and pressed. They'll have to wrestle it out of our hands."

Coldplay's fifth studio album is expected to be released on October 24. Frontman Chris Martin reportedly registered new song titles earlier this month, including one called 'Mylo Xyloto', which has since been speculated to be a contender for the new album's name.

New photos of Coldplay - iTunes Festival, Roundhouse, London, UK (22nd July, 2011):

Images courtesy of Laura84 from the messageboard - click here for more photos!

More questions answered by The Oracle... (over 2000 questions now answered - submit yours now!)

July 27, 2011 - submitted by Valentina, Denmark

Q. Q Magazine has written a list of confirmed songs that will make the album cut, but I won't believe it until I hear it from you Oracle. Can you confirm or deny what Q magazine wrote?

The Oracle replies:

Within the first paragraph is the quote that the tracklisting "isn't quite there". That pretty much says it all really. The album is in the final stages and those confirmed songs have been recorded. It's worth remembering that magazines usually work around 2-3 months in advance. That interview took place in mid-June which was as late as Q could leave it before going to print for the September issue. At the time of print those songs may have been "confirmed" but it will be, as Will says, done at the last minute.

July 27, 2011 - submitted by Blake, United Kingdom

Q. Dear Oracle, I saw on the latest #42 blog that Coldplay are coming to Sydney after Brisbane. Are they playing a show/ doing an interview? What is the reason for the visit?

The Oracle replies:

They fly to Australia Saturday, perform on Sunday and have press on Monday before leaving for L.A on Tuesday. I can only deduce therefore that promo will be taking place in Sydney.

July 27, 2011 - submitted by Jen, United Kingdom

Q. Hey Oracle! Hope you're well. I love the globe-trotting pic that #42 included in the recent blog (#138). Would you know if it was his own fair hand that created it? Thank you xxx

The Oracle replies:

The original picture was from the plane seat's screen but Mister #42 sprinkled some #42 magic and created the image we see on his blog. Didn't you feel tired just reading it?

July 26, 2011 - submitted by Samina, United States of America

Q. What songs did Coldplay perform at the iTunes Festival this year?

The Oracle replies:

It was pretty much the same setlist as most of the other festival shows but with the addition of Moving to Mars making its live debut.

*Hurts Like Heaven

Yellow

In My Place

Major Minus

Lost!

The Scientist

Shiver

Violet Hill

God Put A Smile Upon Your Face

Moving To Mars

Us Against The World

Politik

Viva la Vida

Charlie Brown

Life Is For Living

The encore:

Clocks

Fix You

Every Teardrop Is A Waterfall

*I know some will say they began with MX, but I'm not counting that as a track...

July 26, 2011 - submitted by Catalina, Mexico

Q. Q. Hi Oracle!! How did you feel about the notice of Amy's dead?! I was shocked like WHAT??!! I mean I wasn't a BIG fan of her but I don't know ...I feel sorry for her, because she had everything, but again drugs take control. Anyway!! Saludos desde Mexico Querido Oracle.

The Oracle replies:

I was a huge fan of Amy's since her first album was released and have to admit to feeling deeply saddened by the news. We shall see what the post mortem results show; whether drugs were involved directly or not remains to be seen. Sadly they will have had some effect on her body over the extensive period of abuse. The same can be said of alcohol and smoking. I have to say that if the drug results prove negative, I still believe her addictions killed her; smoking, drinking and maybe even love.

July 26, 2011 - submitted by Katrina, Australia

Q. Hi ! Is there any chance the band might play a sneaky show anywhere in Brisbane before their Splendour in the Grass appearance on Sunday ?

The Oracle replies:

Not a chance at all. Honestly, they're barely in Aus long enough to play the show! Well, that's an exaggeration but it's a very short visit indeed.

Kuly 25, 2011 - submitted by Tamar, Israel

Q. Oracle, is it just me, or did Chris throw his guitar to the crowd at the end of God Put A Smile Upon Your Face at the iTunes festival?!

The Oracle replies:

No, but he does throw it down on to the stage at the end of the song, or at least he has on all the festival dates on this current stint.

July 25, 2011 - submitted by Sourjyo, India

Q. Why don't they perform Speed Of Sound live anymore? Talk and Fix You are still being performed and it's not even that old (compared to Yellow or Clocks).

The Oracle replies:

I'm glad they're not playing it; it's my least favourite single (sorry!) They can't play everything but Yellow and Fix You are hardly likely to ever be dropped from the live set. I don't know what show you've seen/listened to recently but Talk isn't actually on the current setlist.

July 25, 2011 - submitted by Asger, Denmark

Q. Hi Oracle. In the upper left corner of the two middle pages in the Viva booklet, just above Lovers In Japan there stands something like SAMMAJNYCV??, obviously an abbreviation. Do you have any idea of what it means? Asger

The Oracle replies:

Yes, I do. However... there's a mistake so it's actually incorrect. Doh! You have probably guessed that I am not going to tell you. I might do one day in the future but for now, let's keep an air of mystery about it.

July 21, 2011 - submitted by Maaike, Canada

Q. Hi Oracle, I hope you're well. Did the boys make their own clothes for the upcoming tour like they did for the Viva tour? If not, who did? Thanks! :)

The Oracle replies:

The band are involved in ideas for what their clothes will look like and did have a hand in certain customising of the Viva costumes but didn't actually make them. The same goes for the current clothes. Beth, their stylist, bought various pieces and got t shirts screenprinted etc. The band designed patches that were added and they all put bits of spray paint on them.

July 21, 2011 - submitted by Cody, United States of America

Q. So let's say you are an eleven year old boy eager to go to Hogwarts. Upon arrival you are sorted into one of the houses, which one are you sorted into?

The Oracle replies:

Slytherin. To be fair I could fit nicely into any house apart from Hufflepuff. I'd not make the most tolerant wizard. On March 18th, 2009, The Sorting Hat placed me in Ravenclaw. If you recall a year and a day ago I myself decided the fate of the band members. I placed Chris in Hufflepuff, Will in Gryffindor, Jonny in Ravenclaw and Guy in Slytherin.

July 21, 2011 - submitted by Samantha, United States of America

Q. What is written on Chris Martin's right hand in the Clocks video? There is an arrow pointing to something, but I can't make it out in the video. (At about 3:20 into the song).

The Oracle replies:

If you pause the video at 3.23, you will see Chris has an arrow on his little finger pointing up to Make Trade Fair.com written on his hand.

July 21, 2011 - submitted by Tom, Belgium

Q. Dear Oracle, Recently I heard certain artist can do this, so I was wondering; are the band's hands insured?

The Oracle replies:

I know that some pianists insure their hands, dancers insure their feet and singers insure their voices but no parts of the band's anatomy has been insured.

The insuring of attributes has been going on for a long while through the modern ages; Fred Astaire insured his feet, Betty Grable insured her legs and Dolly Parton has insured her... well, I think you can guess!

July 20, 2011 - submitted by Malin, Norway

Q. What is the meaning behind Everything's Not Lost? I can't make up my mind.

The Oracle replies:

It's pretty self-explanatory from the title alone. I just see it as a positive song about not giving up - don't think that everything is lost because there is always hope. I suppose it's their way of saying always look on the bright side of life. If you recall, I once said that Don't Panic was initially called Panic; the sentiment of that song feels the same to me so the title reflects that.

July 20, 2011 - submitted by Wesley, United States of America

Q. Have you seen the last Harry Potter yet? What was your favorite part?

The Oracle replies:

Indeed I have, I took a special friend to see it on the opening day. My favourite part is when Harry uses the pensieve to see Snape's memories. I have to say I was disappointed the end of the book (19 years later) was included though. I thought it was cheesy & unnecessary.

Three of the UK's broadsheet newspapers (as well as a couple of tabloids) have published online reviews of Coldplay's latest performance at the Roundhouse in London on 22nd July for the iTunes Festival. Generally the reviews have been positive, barring a couple of embarrasing errors. The Guardian made up a new Coldplay song entitled 'Fix It' but was later rectified, whilst the Telegraph still has Viva La Vida written as 'When I Ruled The World'.

Meanwhile, The Sun were more interested in reporting on which celebrities were present during the gig, rather than the gig itself, saying: "His Liverpool team may have had a pre-season nightmare up north but Stevie Gerrard has been living it up down south. The crocked Premier League captain hit the ale watching Coldplay in London just hours before his Kop mates were pumped by Championship side Hull City. One onlooker said: 'Stevie was having a whale of a time. He was down there with a load of pals. They were loving it. They were knocking back the beers and singing at the top of their lungs. Stevie was loving letting off a bit of steam. He had a big grin plastered across his chops throughout.'"

Read on for the full reviews...

This one is from the Independent, giving the performance only 3/5 stars: "You have to jump to this," Chris Martin commands before "Viva La Vida". Only it's not really a jumping song, they're not really a jumping band. Although the rangy Martin, bless him, regularly bounces on the spot like a welterweight. For this free event the indie four-piece are armed with a generous amount of gimmicky pyrotechnics and bombast – the Back to the Future theme announces their arrival, there's a fluorescent light show towards the finale, giant balloons are everywhere and pretty multi-coloured paper is fired from a cannon. Coldplay are a pretty polished and slick act these days. In fact, there's something a bit Vegas about Martin and his outfit. These are not gnarled individuals or twisted souls. They don't do politics, although one of their best songs and a highlight tonight is "Politik". They're not perverse, kinky or strange. And strange, in pop, is good. Their sound is calculating and stadium-friendly. There's little menace, spite or soul about them. And you can't dance to their solemn anthems. Sway possibly, raise your arm maybe. But it barely matters when Martin can bang out so many gorgeous pop melodies, the likes of "Fix You" and "Yellow".

Unfortunately, this freebie (As Martin jokes: "Twelve years ago we played up the road and had to give away all our tickets, turns out nothing's changed") in front of competition winners, well-heeled hipsters and celebs (Noel Gallagher and Jamie Oliver are here) is plagued by constant hubbub and chatter. "Everybody okay so far?" enquires a sweaty, slightly flustered Martin in a transatlantic twang. You almost feel sorry for this millionaire, with his Hollywood actress wife and hip-hop superstar pals (Jay-Z), as a section of the crowd don't feel engaged at such an intimate gig. Only on the rockier numbers, the Radiohead-like "Shiver" and "Violet Hill" in particular, where Coldplay look happiest, especially the imposing guitarist Jonny Buckland and ace drummer Will Champion, do the band manage to drown out the dinner-party hubbub. New songs, like the drone-heavy "Moving to Mars" and "Charlie Brown", are lost under the blather. However, they end impressively with the emotive "Clocks", the lovely "Fix You" and the new release, "Every Teardrop is a Waterfall", their Big Country-style stomp. For all their effort, and Martin's swagger and strong vocals, this wasn't as stirring as it could have been. It feels a tad flat. [independent]

This is from the Telegraph, giving Coldplay 4/5 stars: 'Twelve years ago we played 300 yards up the road and had to give away all the tickets,” Chris Martin, Coldplay’s singer, announced during the band’s free iTunes Festival show at the Roundhouse in Camden. “Turns out nothing’s changed.” Self-deprecating wit aside, to say that Coldplay have come a long way would be an understatement. The band have had four chart-topping albums in Britain, won six Brit Awards and seven Grammys and racked up record sales exceeding 50 million worldwide. Three years on from the album Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends, this sparkling performance suggests that Coldplay are ready to reclaim their crown as the biggest band in the world, and could be about to usher in their liveliest, most songful phase yet. Anyone who has seen the video to the recent single Every Teardrop is a Waterfall will know that their new thing is neon. Before they started playing, orb-like structures of varying sizes shot beams of fluorescent light out across the auditorium. It seemed like a statement of reinvention, an attempt to challenge those who have always found the band humdrum or dour. As it transpired, they had written some luminous tunes to match this gaudy new aesthetic. From the off, there was a vibrant swagger about the performance. The band opened with a new song, Hurts like Heaven, a pulsating rocker that belied its corny title. All driving drums and heartland hooks, it was unmistakably Springsteen-esque. What’s more, it really suited them. This apparent infatuation with the Boss reappeared in another new track, Charlie Brown, whose guitar lines smacked of Dancing in the Dark, while Martin emoted gruffly, “I took a car downtown where the lost boys meet”.

Although attired in military chic, Martin cut a colourful figure, coming across as an animated student speaker at a Sixties peace rally, but without the politics. Spending less time seated soberly at the piano, and more bouncing up and down with an acoustic guitar in hand, he cut a reinvigorated figure. The encouraging new tracks were punctuated with reminders of Coldplay’s knack for anthems. Past singles Yellow, In My Place, and When I Ruled the World inspired huge singalongs. Long after the conclusion of the last-named, its “whoa whoa” refrain was given a spine-tingling reprise by the crowd. A glance up at the gallery showed one and all on their feet joining in. Meanwhile, a supercharged Clocks, until now synonymous with the closing credits of weepy documentaries, was reclaimed with unlikely aggression by the band, another indication of a readiness to shake off their ponderous reputation. They closed with Every Teardrop is a Waterfall, a joyous update of U2’s I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For framed in chiming guitar figures and off-beat rhythms — and displaying a jaunty melodicism some might have doubted was in them. Based on this alone, the best may be yet to come from Coldplay. [Telegraph]

Here's the Guardian, with a review of 4/5 stars: It is telling that Coldplay headlining Glastonbury last month passed by almost entirely without comment. Among coverage dominated by anticipation of Beyoncé's Vegas spectacle and U2's questionable tax arrangements, Coldplay took to the main stage on Saturday night and proved yet again that they are the world's most efficient stadium rock band. Tonight's iTunes festival show seems intimate by comparison, until you learn that it is being streamed live to 23 countries. It's a point Chris Martin acknowledges throughout the evening, delivering earnest thank yous to "those people who have bothered to make the effort to watch us on the internet". He also wryly acknowledges this show is a free gig for competition winners. "Twelve years ago, we played 100 yards from here, and we had to give all the tickets away," he says, gesturing towards the Bull and Gate just down the road. "I guess nothing has changed."

Tonight's freeloading audience, both actual and virtual, bear witness to Coldplay at their most propulsive and sentimental. It's barely fathomable that a band able to unleash glorious torrents of sound such as The Scientist or God Put a Smile Upon Your Face then choose to weigh them down with sub-Adrian Mole doggerel, of which the nadir remains Politik's: "Look at the earth from outer space/ Everyone must find a place." However, nobody here could care less. The band unveil tracks from their imminent fifth album with their traditional self-effacement. "We've never played this song live before and, depending on the next five minutes, may never play it again," deadpans Martin, before Moving to Mars. As it turns out to be a sumptuous epic ballad with choruses that hang in the air like sighs, you suspect this will not prove its sole airing. The secret of Coldplay's world domination is simple: the songs. They encore with the gorgeous Clocks and the Samaritans-of-a-song that is Fix You, then surpass both with the new tune Every Teardrop Is a Waterfall. Those aching for their demise may have a long wait. • This article was amended on 25 July 2011. The original referred to the song Fix You as Fix It. This has been corrected. [Guardian]

This is the Evening Standard review - a perfect 5/5 stars from the journalist and 4.5/5 from the readers: As attitudes go, "we're going to give it everything we've got" is as good as it gets. Especially when it came as an early declaration from Chris Martin, whose Coldplay can and do sell out Wembley Stadium. This year's iTunes Festival highlight saw Coldplay playing their smallest show in years, somehow displaying the hunger which took them from the Barfly across the road. "We had to give tickets away when we played there a decade ago," Martin quipped to the audience of competition winners. "Looks like nothing's changed." Oh, but it has. Regrettably, they no longer dress as Bastille-storming French Revolutionaries (I do love a band in uniform) and, scandalously, they still omit Talk. But they had giant balloons, that extraordinary drummer Will Champion, a bucketful of hits (live music surely gets no better and no more heart-stopping than the timpani-infused Viva La Vida) and the live debut of Moving To Mars, which suggested that the game is far from up. Martin was crafty enough to thank the television audience and human enough to ask of guitarist Jonny Buckland "does anybody love him as much as we do?" The crowd were still singing as they left: it was that sort of night. [Evening Standard]

New photos of Coldplay - iTunes Festival, Roundhouse, London, UK (22nd July, 2011):

Images courtesy of Laura84 from the messageboard - click here for more photos!

Portishead's Geoff Barrow has hit out at Coldplay and the "fucking fireworks" they let off during their live appearances, an article on Pitchfork (via NME) has revealed. Portishead played before Coldplay at Rock Werchter in Belgium earlier this month (July 2) and then occupied the same slot at Main Square Festival in Arras, France the following evening (July 3), with the fireworks putting them off their stride.

We reported that Primal Scream were asked to turn their sound down during the T In The Park festival because of the noise towards other stages including the main stage where Coldplay were performing, but that doesn't mean Coldplay went running to the media to complain. But Portishead have to be different. Heaven knows how they celebrate new year. Tucked up in bed most probably. Here's an interesting take on their attack, courtesy of the Ology website:

Sometimes there’s just no predicting where grumpiness will come from, or at whom it will be directed. Today’s Grump is brought to you by Portishead multi-instrumentalist Geoff Barrow, who recently told Pitchfork exactly how he felt about Chris Martin and his Coldplay bandmates’ stage set-up. When asked what was his least favorite aspect about playing European festival dates, Barrow responded: "Playing next to Coldplay, with their water cannons or fucking fireworks or whatever the fuck it is. Come on."

The trip-hop icons played before Coldplay on separate dates in Belgium and France earlier this month. No word if Portishead have any beef with Beach House, Swans, Godspeed You! Black Emperor, or Grinderman, all of whom shared the bill at the Portishead-curated I’ll Be Your Mirror event last night at the All Tomorrow’s Parties festival. Can’t believe I’m defending Coldplay over Portishead… but shouldn’t fans get the most show for their dollar? I can understand being annoyed by the lavish spectacle, but it’s Coldplay’s prerogative to present themselves onstage however they want. If you don’t like it, don’t tour with them.

Well said, Ology. What do you think about Geoff Barrow’s gripe against Coldplay? Let us know at the Coldplay forum now!

New photos of Coldplay - iTunes Festival, Roundhouse, London, UK (22nd July, 2011):

Images courtesy of Laura84 from the messageboard - click here for more photos!

Coldplay finally reached down under as they headlined Sunday at Splendour In The Grass festival in Australia tonight (31st July 2011). The concert was streamed live across the internet on Virgin Mobile's Australia YouTube channel. The directing was a bit dodgy and all over the place but otherwise it was an enjoyable stream with YouTube doing their best to keep it up for everybody (at least those who had changed their country to Australia for a couple of hours...). Shiver and Everything's Not Lost were played again (despite them being withdrawn for the previous show at Fuji Rock festival), but Lost! was missing from the set.

Noteable highlights included a cover of the late Amy Winehouse's Rehab by Chris Martin immediately before Fix You during the encore. Will Champion celebrated his 33rd birthday by being sung to with Chris starting a rendition of "Happy Birthday To You" which the crowd joined in, with Will sporting two sparklers and a huge bunch of balloons on stage. Chris had guitar problems during God Put A Smile Upon Your Face and ditched his guitar early in the song, a minute going by before he was given another one. Chris jokingly said that Us Against The World was about Scott and Charlene from Ramsay Street.

If you are on YouTube later you can rewatch the performance at Virgin Mobile's channel via the link above. More live discussion on this show is at the Coldplay Live forum (40 pages and counting!). Thanks to everyone who has contributed on the forums, Youtube and twitters. We'll have more on this show over the next few hours/days!

Setlist confirmed):

MX/Hurts Like Heaven

Yellow

In My Place

Major Minus

The Scientist

Shiver

Violet Hill

God Put A Smile Upon Your Face

Everything's Not Lost

Us Against The World

Politik

Viva la Vida

Charlie Brown

Happy Birthday To You (sung to Will Champion)

Life Is For Living

-------

Clocks

Rehab (Amy Winehouse tribute)

Fix You

Every Teardrop Is A Waterfall

Image via live stream: Virgin Mobile Aus

Saw the show from start to mid-Scientist, then from mid-Clocks till the end. Nice to see an Amy tribute. How was the Will birthday tribute? I missed that. For the rest, seemed to me like business as usual, having seen so many shows of this Tour (via stream or delayed most of the time). They were sharp, doing what they can, but not the best show ever of course. I'd like to add that I like Everything's Not Lost and Shiver back again. They always seem to switch Shiver around with Cemeteries Of London, another song I love, but not as much. ^Yeah, the filming was pretty bad imo. Always those close-ups. Kaiser Chiefs were shot way better. [thanks Tryptophan]

All the new songs sounded better than they usually do live, the video was really jumpy and disorienting but the energy of the band was like this was their first gig, the crowd was really into it, Will had a birthday, Chris threw his balloons in the air and then cursed staining their environmentally friendly image, the opening chords of Fix You turned into an Amy Winehouse - Rehab tribute, and altogether the show couldn't have gone better. [thanks splintercell37]

Just putting it out there... Whoever was in charge of the cameras for the live stream has NO IDEA what they're doing! Seriously, they were practically showing footage of the toilets in the next village whilst the stage was going ballistic. We didn't see any fireworks, we didn't see any full stage shots - the best we got was some side-of-the-stage shot, we didn't get to see Will end the show with his drumming in ETIAW. It was all close-ups. What is this? Amateur hour? Yeah, the streaming was good. But seriously, all these shots of the crowd (and I mean the crowd way up the back where they're not doing anything) when there is intense energy on stage (like Fix You build up, ETIAW ending). Brilliant show though, really good to see them in such high spirits - I'm sure they're shot from all their travelling and probably having a hell of a time with jetlag. Apart from that! WOOOOO! COLDPLAY ARE IN AUSTRALIA! Great show! Happy Birthday Will you champ! (ay, see what I did there?!) I'll be looking out for those balloons! [thanks crestingwaves]

Caught the show from Everything's Not Lost onward. The show was at 8:45 a.m. EST for me and I couldn't get up that early sunday morning Highlights from that are obviously the AW tribute and the crowd. I havent caught a live show stream since the itunes fest but this crowd was something special. Could tell the band was really into it and was giving it a little something extra. Vividly remember the 'Balloons incident' (Chris releasing Will's B-day balloons and then regretting the environmentally unfriendly act), Chris's ad-lib at the beginning of Politik and long intro to Us Against the World. Only lowlight was not being able to stream properly in the beginning so i had to down the quality of the video and also the shoddy camera direction by the crew film this (too many crowd shots and overlay glitch during Charlie Brown). Just waiting now for MM to up the whole show so I can catch my favourite LP5 era song Hurts Like Heaven. [thanks jc90]

Guys were pretty energic and also I was energic too I put on the headphone then started to sing...The songlist was same other concerts. Did you notice that videoshoot?? The shoot was amazing. Especially in major minus,what the hell was that?? I think guys should use this MM shoot for their clip. Tonight's best performs are: God put a smile upon your face and politik (as usual) Chris throw away his guitar during gpasuyf and change the words during politik. ''Give me Splendour In The Grass on a night like this" and also we can clearly hear Jonny's voice, during politik. I saw only one Happy birthday will poster there would be more..anyway Chris & guys celebrate their best friends' birthday in front of thousand of people...wow.. in the end beginning of Fix You : 'They tried to make me go to rehab but i said 'no, no, no' tribute to Amy Winehouse. I don't like Amy but this tribute impressed me so much. death and life. [thanks jeremyy]

Screeshots of Coldplay from the live stream - Splendour In The Grass festival, Australia (31st July, 2011):

Images via live stream: Virgin Mobile Aus

Coldplay have registered the name, Mylo Xyloto (possible song or even album title?), according to the PRS database this week. It was found by a regsitered member of the database, who also happens to be a Coldplayer on the forum. It is also believed that the song 'Up With The BIrds', is another title that has been registered, and is also credited to Leonard Cohen as a co-writer, and contains samples. More discussion on this latest item is at the messageboard now. [thanks Spike, pansonic, Teco, rafaelchampion, JackZ, Gigi88, mycoldplaynet and everyone else who has contributed so far!]

Commenting on the find, Spike said, "I'm a member of PRS and (as a member) you can search their online database of registered songs. I typed in Chris Martin and looked at all the newly registered work under 'Christopher Anthony John Martin' and a song called 'Mylo Xyloto' was registered on 6th July 2011!!! The writers registered for the song are all of Coldplay and Brian Eno. Wither they actually call the album Mylo Xyloto or not or that might be the lead single (maybe released on October 10th because the first letters of each word being MX). 'Up With The Birds' has also been registered and Leonard Cohen is listen as one of the co-writers. Apparently the song contains 'samples' but it doesn't state where the samples are from. Might be a Leonard Cohen song. I think this could be the next single as well, it's the only song they've registered the length of (apart from ETIAW) and it's 3.30 - perfect radio time. "

Meanwhile, others have also contributed to the discussion, with ideas on the meanings of Mylo and Xylo. Your other theories are far to complex to go into discussion here, so it is worth checking out the whole thread - all the relevant posts so far are at the LP5 sub-forum now. Looking back at the ETIAW promo photographs taken several weeks ago, it appears that Mylo features in one of the images. JackZ: "Look behind Chris, people always thought that it said MX behind him but the X was cut off, but I always did think it had to say "MY" because it didnt look like an X to me, but now I notice the top of a letter behind him as well (possibly an L) and the O to the right."

Coldplay headlined their fourteenth festival of the summer so far, playing at the iTunes festival at the Roundhouse in London's Camden district last night (22nd July, 2011). The concert was aired on XFM as well as the iTunes platform across the world. Coldplay played Moving To Mars (watch!) live for the very first time in place of Everything's Not Lost. Life Is For Living returned to the setlist after a one-show absence (Oxegen). Other than those, there were no setlist changes from previous shows.

Celebrities present at the show included former Oasis man Noel Gallagher and chef Jamie Oliver. Tweets during the show came from people all around the world watching through iPhones, iPads and iPods - including one person watching the show whilst rowing in the middle of New York's Central Park lake. People who were actually at the show were still singing the Viva chant on the tube afterwards - Viva La Chalk Farm (Some happy folks sing the Woah woah woahhs, from Viva La Vida on their way home from the iTunes festival gig at the Roundhouse, much to the confusion of the non Coldplay-fan underground users).

During the show, Hurts Like Heaven trended worldwide on Twitter, as well as 'Coldplay Live Stream' being a promoted topic. Some more videos of the performance have already been uploaded here. There are also some screen captures taken from the iTunes stream. You can listen again to the streamed recording of the performance via our Multimedia forum where the set has been uploaded in MP3. More live discussion on this show is at the Coldplay Live forum. Thanks to everyone who has contributed on the forums, Youtube and twitters. We'll have more on this show over the next few hours/days! [thanks Snookerman, Bonus_Mosher, rafaelchampion & Juanma]

Setlist confirmed):

MX

Hurts Like Heaven

Yellow

In My Place

Major Minus

Lost!

The Scientist

Shiver

Violet Hill

God Put A Smile Upon Your Face

Moving To Mars

Us Against The World

Politik

Viva la Vida

Charlie Brown

Life Is For Living

-------

Clocks

Fix You

Every Teardrop Is A Waterfall

Photo courtesy of Neil Lupin @ Flickr

Just got back from the gig.. Me and my brother somehow got in. It was as DODGY as you get.. but who cares!? 10th gig and loved it. Especially as it was easily the smallest venue I've ever seen Coldplay in. Well expect a small thing called 'Pilton Party' which they played a million years ago.. Only thing is that crowd was AWFUL. My brother got spat at just for going a bit crazy during Politik. And generally they were dull as. It was definitely a 'competition winners' crowd but also the genuine Coldplay lot down the front were pretty tame. It's a shame that when they play in such an amazing venue they get such a shit audience. Chris seemed to know it too. He was like begging everyone to get involved and then just gave up. He was always sweating a shit load as it was HOT in there. I went up on my brothers shoulders for 'Yellow' and got told.. "I didn't win tickets to see your back" - OMG. Get over it. You WON tickets. For free. They cost you nothing. She was a miserable cow. Anyway.. rant over. Just wish people would realise it's a live concert and I'm there to have fun not just stand there like a statue. [thanks neb321]

The concert was very great, I loved the multicoloured lights and my favorite song was Politik, this song is, I think, the best of all songs of Coldplay, is deep and touching. Moving To Mars was a good surprise, the melody was absolutly magical and ambiance was hypnotical! I think the new album will be perfect, I hope Hurts Like Heaven will be on it because I think it is the best new song of them. This is very stimulating and enjoyable, we want running with colored man when we hear and see it So I hope we'll have this treasure on LP5. At the middle of show we had Violet Hill and I love it as always, it's amazing! [thanks Blue Glisten]

I have to say that I enjoyed watching this concert more than the other festivals that they played this year. It was brilliant. It was nice of Chris to remember about everyone else watching it at home too. and Jonny was awesome!!! [thanks funkenstein]

Don't remember who posted the Twitter message with : thinking about the setlist.... But I can say that they could have put a little bit more effort into the thinking part. Apart from Moving to Mars (which is great), everything stayed the same. I really don't understand that. They have got an amazing catalogue of great songs to pick from and yet they always pick the same. Still, I was moving like an idiot on the Ikea "ladder"I use as a chair. There perfomance is great, their songs are fantastic, but it would be nice to see some change one in a while. [thanks dedongel]

Unbelievable are ITV. And they just showed the most generic Coldplay song they could have - Viva La Vida and cut when Charlie Brown was about to start and then onto truly thick comments about the song 'I think that sounds really Christmassy with all the bells and everything'. Do me a favour! And I'm really wanting to kick that cockney **** in the face now. OMG! They're still talking to Vernon Kay and they're promoting Family Fortunes!! Do these idiots have any shame?! [thanks howyousawtheworld]

I thought that maybe they would play again Princess of China, because of the venue, but I supose they haven't much time to change the setlist as they are finishing the album. Anyways, thanks to iTunes for streaming it, I've could watch it with good quality. Oh, and thanks Chris have mentioned the people that couldn't make it to the gig. [thanks rousi]

A great show. Not the best, but still great! MtM...amazing...and very brave. On the stream at least it seemed to get one of the best receptions of the night. I'm amazed Chris didn't pass out in those hot conditions...and he looked to be struggling at times, but did amazingly well...very early on you could see sweat pouring off his wrists as he played the piano... I think you could also see the extra pressure the boys (particularly Chris) feel when they play in London, and so (I guess) why they don't do it so much. The crowd were pretty 'mixed' I thought, must have been hard work to play to at times. Damn those guests in suits, and casual gig goers. The true fans were exceptional though. Still think Lost could be, er, lost, and I personally hope MM will be too. HLH, MtM, CB, UAtW...all mindblowing. That's a third of an album right there of absolutely astonishing material for me. Hope everyone who got in had an amazing time - sure you did. [thanks Tonsu]

Amazing! The show was incredible! its like the 100000th time i see coldplay live but I still don't get tired of the clasics! hope you enjoyed Moving to Mars like I did! Its not a song that will be played often! once in a lifetime (well not that much, but is not a song that the band will play in their upcoming tour) Lucky the people that heard the "U" song at the soundcheck... Im pretty sure some people recorded it, i wouldn't be surprised if it would appear later in youtube (i hope not), anyway, good night, and see you in japan! (not literally). -Mnemonic Murals. [thanks Jack Bauer]

I just think that it's a real shame that every time you watch a Coldplay show, you know exactly what you are getting. I'm also a big Crowded House fan (don't know if this makes any of you nauseous, sincerely hope not) and they always do different stuff. You can even throw paper planes with your requests to them, and they always find time to fit them into the setlist. This might sound more harsh they I intend it to, but Coldplay doesn't show they are great musicians. They are great artists and performers, but "lack"the ability to surprise. Their is a great recording of them during their AROBTTH period (I think) where they play "spies". This shows how exceptional they are. (one night in paris recording). [thanks dedongel]

While you can't base quality on fame,it's also not fair to judge it based on whether a band mixes up its setlist. As others and I have said, Coldplay's show is very complex and the lighting/XF etc. can't easily be changed for more than a few songs. Yes, I know that technology exists, but they way they do it now is easier. Not about who is better, just different approaches. And like I said already here, 10 years ago, we wouldn't be able to see all these great shows. I'm grateful no matter what they play. [thanks TracieMorgan]

I agree with the people a few pages back commenting abbout the crowd. i watched the live stream and it seemed as though maybe 25% percent where actually into the songs and the rest were just standing there yet i must commend chris on continuenly trying to get them into each song. I thought it was a great performance but not as good as they were at T in the Park. [thanks connorb]

Hi Guys, First post but I've been lurking on here for a while. Luckily I was one of the competition winners and actually went to the gig last night. I've read a lot of negative comments about the crowd being shit or whatever but I still had probably the best night of my life, I was about 2 rows from the front and literally made eye contact with the band it was simply amazing. The only problem was it was DAMN HOT in there and a few too many people had there phones out for my liking. All things considered it was the best gig I've ever been to! I'm guilty of taking a few photos myself, but they came out pretty awful as I took them on my blackberry. Let me know if you want me to upload them tho. Song highlight was God Put A Smile Upon Your Face but What I really liked most was the laser show during Every Tear Drop... because it sort of sparkled when Chris put his hands through the mist. If anyone has a HQ link for the full show I'd love to watch it back! [thanks Inside_a_Bubble]

Little late, but: so happy they played Moving to Mars, that song is unbelievably beautiful and sounded fantastic live. ♥ I was secretly hoping Chris would have sung the first part one octave lower though, like on the EP. But yeah, he had kind of a tough (hot!) night, it wasn't a great crowd, it was a first time and he couldn't get the low notes during UATW either, so it was the right choice. But I just know he can do it. I know it. I keep getting surprised by their performance of Shiver lately, love it so much. Now I really can't decide on my favourite song anymore... Life's hard. [thanks Blue Nails]

Something about Coldplay in an intimate setting just blows me away every time. I loved this concert today and it was really cool to get the "people who couldn't be here watching on the internet" shout out during Life is for Living. That made me smile. I really do adore this band. [thanks Piano Evan]

Can't add a lot to the reviews posted already but I wanted to chime in with a few comments. This performance was terrific and I was so glad I ran home a little early to watch the stream. What jumped out at me: 1. How Chris Martin literally throws himself fully into his performance. Even if he is sick of playing the old songs like "The Scientist" we'd never know it. He gives "Yellow" the same depth of physical and psychic attention as he does the new songs. 2. How freaking hard Jonny Buckland works. Watch him; he completely leans into his guitar playing and produces majorly awesome guitar sounds. He's another one who puts himself fully into what he does. 3. How beautiful Will Champion's voice is. I don't know if he was a choirboy when he was a little boy but his vocals in "Us Against The World" were pure and stellar. 4. How busy Guy Berryman is during the gig. It was fun to watch him keeping the beat going with that bass, drumming, moving around, and of course singing more! And finally that jacket came off -- I was wondering if it ever would. In short, in my opinion, this is one of the hardest working bands in the music industry. They're wrapping up LP5 and still writing new material and giving us super shows like this one. Love 'em. [thanks JillyBlue]

Fantastic show. My ears are still ringing! I was one behind the barrier at the gig. Such as fantastic sound and a great setlist. I'm so glad they played Moving To Mars, very magical moment. My only qualm was being at the front and left I was at the mercy of Jonny's (wonderful) but very loud guitar amps, so I couldn't really hear Chris all that clearly. Nevermind. I see alot of people saying the crowd were pretty dead. Well, considering I'd been there since about 4 o clock outside queuing, my feet were pretty gone, but I jumped and went for it! Compared to the Foo Fighters, the crowd were alot more tame. With regards to the Pierces. I think they have a great sound, but it's abit MOR for me. I'd have preferred a slightly more energetic band to get me more pumped for Coldplay. Also. It was SO HOT. [thanks TheFoxThatBecameGod]

New photos of Coldplay - iTunes Festival, Roundhouse, London, UK (22nd July, 2011):

Photos courtesy of Neil Lupin @ Flickr

A reminder that Coldplay's iTunes festival performance today (Friday) will be streamed live across the internet via iTunes or XFM (for those without Applestuff.) We're having a listening party in the Coldplay Live forum for those who want to listen synchronously. We hope there will be some setlist surprises as per Phil Harvey's tweet, and if your wish-lists are anything to go by, it will be a highly anticipated gig. Here's the latest from Anchorman:

This Friday (July 22), Coldplay will perform at London's Roundhouse venue as part of the 2011 iTunes Festival. The whole performance will stream live to all 23 countries with an iTunes Store, via iTunes on PC/Mac and on the iTunes Festival app for iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch. For more information on how to watch, head to itunesfestival.com. Coldplay are due on at 9.15pm BST (click here to see what time that is where you are). And do tune in at 7.45pm to see the support set from The Pierces, whose wonderful album was produced by Guy. The show will also be broadcast live on Xfm radio, and via the station's website (NB: you'll need a UK postcode to listen online).

Wembley Stadium's postcode is HA9 0WS for those who have forgotten where you live in the UK.

Space shuttle Atlantis has already landed back on Earth, bringing to a close America's 30-year orbiter programme, but during its flight the astronauts were woken on two of the days with Coldplay music - the first was by Viva La Vida and the closing day was Don't Panic. Hear and discuss both of these out-of-this-world streams at the Coldplay forum now.

Use of music to awaken astronauts on space missions dates back at least to the Apollo Program, when astronauts returning from the moon were serenaded by their colleagues in mission control with lyrics from popular songs that seemed appropriate for the occasion. Usually picked by flight controllers or by crew members’ friends and family members, most wakeup calls are musical, but sometimes include dialog from movies or TV shows. The playlist is eclectic, ranging from rock, country, classical, bluegrass and jazz, to children’s choruses and songs from the countries of international crewmembers. The recording is usually followed by a call from the CAPCOM in Mission Control, wishing the crew a good morning.

Finally, the latest edition of the Coldplay Messenger (via email) has details of a new competition to win a signed Coldplay marker pen. The competition details are: For the Viva tour, a small batch of special Coldplay-branded marker pens were made, and given out to the crew. They disappeared very quickly, but we've managed to find one, which we're going to get signed and give away to you folks. If you'd like to win this super-rare bit of Coldplay memorabilia, then just email your name and address to competitions@coldplay.com before Tuesday 2nd August. (One entry per person, please.)

New photos of Coldplay (well, Chris Martin again) - Oxegen festival, Ireland (10th July, 2011):

Photo by peterneill @ Flickr

Coldplay's new album has been scheduled for a release on Monday 24th October, according to The Sun (one of the more reliable outlets, believe it or not) and other various online sources, including HMV and FNAC Musique, it has been revealed this week, although BOL (Netherlands) suggests the same week but on Friday 28th October. We are hoping for an official announcement this week, but whether that materialises will depend on whether Coldplay are in a position to reveal it. More on this is at the LP5 sub-forum on the messageboard now. Here's what The Sun had to say:

Noel Gallagher's first hurdle as a solo artist will be having to face Coldplay in a battle of the albums. The guitarist will have a job on his hands to stay at the top of the charts for more than one week this autumn. Chris Martin and the band are releasing their latest offering seven days later. The former Oasis star issues his first solo album, Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds, on October 17. It's certain to race to No1, but a week later, on October 24, is when Coldplay have scheduled the release of their fifth collection. It's not the first time Noel and Coldplay have been involved in a chart battle. Back in 2005 Oasis' Don't Believe The Truth hit shop shelves seven days before the rockers' third album X&Y. The reign of Don't Believe The Truth at No1 lasted just seven days. At least we can look forward to an autumn of brilliant new music.

Below are just some of your comments received since the websites started to announce the dates:

If the 24th October release date is to be believed then Coldplay will also have to compete with the X Factor machine with Matt Cardle's First Album. I'd hate it if this over advertised rushed heartless money making album beats the complete opposite LP5! [thanks stevene273]

More than likely that this will be the release date. These retailers get the sales info a lot earlier than we do as they do have to plan in advance after all. So 24th October it is then! [thanks howyousawtheworld]

Concerning the Sun article with the Noel Gallagher v Coldplay battle, Noel will be #1 obviously but only for a week, predicting sales of about 150-200k for the first week. Coldplay will no doubt become number 1, they will win the battle against anyone, VLVODAAHF sold 500k in the first 10 days in the UK, something around 320k from its late week release instead of the usual monday where which X&Y sold about 450k in a week which was a record at the time. Sales have generally improved since the last album and the album chart is the worst its ever been right now but its the calm before the storm, there will be releases from Hard Fi, Red Hot Chilli Peppers, Noel Gallagher and Coldplay all to come instead of Adele and Beyonce right at the top because they have no competition really. I'd say we are looking at very least providing a monday release 400k in the first week, I honestly think about 500-600k, maybe even a new record, EMI will be heavily promoting this and Coldplay's fan base has expanded and new fans won over because of ETIAW (the next single will win back any fans that disliked ETIAW) and the festival appearances, I bet a large amount of 'neutrals' who saw them live were amazed how good they are live. The third week sales will be about 150k imo while Noel will probably drop down to about 50-70k so its a no brainer there. [thanks 42rock89]

although October has always been the month in my head as a lot of people..it's not a surprise for me, but i'm still hopin for surprises ..anyway, i think the announcement could be someday in the first 2 weeks on august... i cant take it.. 3 months its too much! people climb mt Everest in 3 months.. [thanks pipp088]

There's no use hoping it's coming out in August-September because it's not, we're just waiting for them to officially announce which of the 31 days October is made up of will be the one, or more since the release date varies depending on the country [thanks iriden]

New photos of Coldplay (well, Chris Martin) at the Oxegen festival, Ireland (10th July, 2011):

Photo by peterneill @ Flickr

According to the Digital Store website, the Every Teardrop Is A Waterfall bundle, which includes the 7" single, CD and 7"x7" print has completely sold out. Supplies of the bundle are not currently available for purchase. It is not clear whether all of the three items are depleted or whether it is just one part of the bundle.

Meanwhile, with an impressive lineup and promises of being both "the biggest live music event in radio history" and a "once-in-a-generation gathering of artists," it wasn't a surprise that the recently announced iHeartRadio Music Festival, featuring our very own Coldplay, quickly sold out when tickets went on sale on Saturday.

Tickets for the inaugural two-day concert, taking place at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas on Sept. 23 and 24, were gone a mere 10 minutes after going on sale. The who’s who among the Top 40 lineup includes Coldplay, Lady Gaga, Bruno Mars, Carrie Underwood, Alicia Keys, Nicki Minaj, Kelly Clarkson, the Black Eyed Peas, John Mayer, Jane's Addiction, Jennifer Lopez, Steven Tyler, Kenny Chesney, Rascal Flatts, David Guetta, Sublime with Rome and special guest performances by Sting and Usher. Both nights combined are expected to attract more than 25,000 attendees, according to a festival representative. Hosted by Ryan Seacrest, the festival supports the launch of the iHeartRadio app, which allows users streaming access to radio programming. Each of the performances will stream live online, on mobile devices and through select radio station websites.

And the LP5 tour rumour mill is off an running - according to some French media websites, Coldplay will be performing in France in December, and also other dates in 2012. This could point to smaller venues (Bercy?) kicking off the LP5 tour with much bigger stadiums (Stade de France?) hosting the LP5 tour in the spring.

New photos of Coldplay - Oxegen festival, Ireland (10th July, 2011):

Photo by peterneill @ Flickr

More questions answered by The Oracle... (over 2000 questions now answered - submit yours now!)

July 18, 2011 - submitted by Dave, United States of America

Q. Will the boys play the same new stuff they have been playing at the Festivals, at the iTunes festival since it will be able to be downloaded? Will they want it to be out there before the actual album comes out?

The Oracle replies:

Phil tweeted last night that they were working on the setlist for Friday so expect some changes. I won't reveal what they are but it won't be identical.

July 18, 2011 - submitted by Jacob, United States of America

Q. You said in a previous question that LRLRL was recorded in different locations -how could that be? I've listened to the album as a whole, and the crowd's screams are consistent throughout, as if it was all taken at one concert. Thanks and glad to hear LP5's almost done! Jacob

The Oracle replies:

Didn't you click the link I gave in my previous response? I am taking Chris' word for it and besides, crowds/audiences pretty much sound the same when recorded but levels/mixes can make them sound more so.

July 18, 2011 - submitted by Eileen, United States of America

Q. Hi Oracle. Lately my best friend has been very distant from me. We don't talk or spend time together like we used to and I'm afraid we may be drifting apart. We have been through a lot together and he's the most important existence in my life outside my family. What should I do?

The Oracle replies:

Hmm, I might be wrong but has he got a new girlfriend by any chance? If he has, then I'm afraid it's one of those things; there's little you can do. If there's one thing I can't abide it's friends being ditched for lovers. If that's his reason, tell him to jog on as he's no true friend in my opinion. If he hasn't, it's not that unusual for friends to drift apart whether same sex or not. There could be many reasons he's distancing himself; work, new friends, perception of your relationship or maybe it's just part of growing up. There may be a reason he's not letting you know about. It's sad when friendships come to an end and I do hope your feelings for him are purely platonic or this could be causing you more heartache than you're letting on. If you have tried to make plans to see him and they're not coming to fruition, I suggest you write him a letter or talk to him. Tell him how you feel and be honest. I'd probably find a way to ask right out if there's a problem and see if there's a way to fix it.

Coldplay are undoubtably working hard to finish their fifth album in between festival headline dates, with the next appearance due at the iTunes festival in London next Friday (22nd July). Meanwhile, speculation is growing as to what the tracklisting for LP5 will be, and if you weren't aware on Twitter on Saturday, Chris Martin tweeted in the middle of the night: "Things sounding confusing at 5am."

Was he referring to the new songs and tracklisting? Or maybe trying to finish a song? Perhaps the whole album is finished, and he's having second thoughts? Or even, trying to write a brand new song (remember A Message? That was apparently wrote in the early hours one morning, sitting on a sofa naked).

So far the new songs amount to: Hurts Like Heaven (HLH), Princess Of China (POC), Major Minus (MM), Us Against The World (UATW), Every Teardrop Is A Waterfall (ETIAW), Charlie Brown (CB), MX and Moving To Mars (MTM). It is not yet clear which ones will be included on LP5 and which ones will be discarded. Whatever Coldplay's predicament, maybe Chris should read some of your comments to get him over the line...

HLH, Charlie Brown, Princess of China. I think Major Minus will make the album just because there's so much of its symbolism plastered over their sets/instruments/etc. But ETIAW and MTM I don't think will be on there. [thanks Baw8cc]

"Things sounding confusing at 5am." Things? I wander if that will be a song on the new album, he might not generally be talking about 'things' as in songs but maybe a new song title yay another song name I wander what the lyrics are gonna be like, what 'things' is Chris refering too, maybe the monday UFO that everyone is talking about argghhh!!!! Sounding? So it isn't rearranging the tracklisting or writing down the tracklisting, he is listening to something but would that mean there is a possible new song which could be 'things' as the previous word may somehow refer to maybe it is the new 'A message' that was written by Chris in similar circumstances before X&Y. Confusing? Maybe he is considering last minute changes, maybe he thought it didn't have enough production, wonder if the old version will leak and the 2nd version will be on the album like Talk. Or maybe the album is actually a masterpiece and he is trying to get the last bits together and he has so many masterpiece's he doesn't know what to do with them! At? Maybe that's when he made whatever decision he made at that time? Maybe LP5 is finished? Maybe we will have the tracklisting in a week? Maybe we will have a release date of the album? Maybe Princess of China is the next single, cant wait!!!! 5am? How important will 5am be in terms of figuring the new tracklisting? Had it been 4am Chris might of thrown a cheeky Lost Prophets cover in???? That is what you call maximum speculation and analysis of a tweet! ;P [thanks 42rock89]

Dude Chris is FREAKING AMAZING. If he was in fact up an hour ago at 5 am (well 12 pm here) he deserves so much respect. That is a very tough time to do anything coherent at all, even walk or put words into a sentence. That is true ambition and drive right there. This is a perfect example of why Coldplay is so amazing, beyond the music they make. They're four fantastic man who never cease to impress me or run out moments that make me love them even more. They should be called "The Fantastic Four", except the real deal in real life! As much as I love Moving to Mars I really don't think any of those three songs are going to be on there. I say that because I don't realistically think Coldplay would do that to us (make us pay for music on the album that we already had to buy the first time). The only time they ever released an EP, and then included a song from it on the next album was the Blue Room and that was 12 years ago. I think if any of the songs will make it, it will be my least fav. but still great ETIAW. But even then, Christmas Lights was (I believe) just a one-off thing. I think they released the EP to tie us fans over until the album comes out. And if they've had literally over 50 songs to work on, there's other ones they've probably finished I'm sure and could've given us instead. But they didn't. I picture this as the best of the songs that didn't make the album. And I know Chris had mentioned ETIAW as an important song in that article a few months ago. But they said the same thing about Glass of Water and Famous Old Painters for the last album and still ended up leaving them off the album so yeah. I don't really think Princess of China will be either- it sounds a lot like something from VlV and they're always looking forwards not backwards. The only reason I think they stopped playing it live those is because of the insane bassline that drowned out the rest of the music. Probably didn't work they way they had hoped. I am incline to believe Hurts Like Heaven, Charlie Brown, and Us Against the World will be on the album (or at the very least the first two). Hurts Like Heaven has the fuzzy man which seems really significant and is full of lyrics relating to graffiti so for me that one is a no-brainer. Charlie Brown receives such a HUGE response live I don't think they'll leave it off either. It's very anti-establishment with the riots and the running wild and freedom and in that respect reminds me of the White Rose movement they had talked about. Plus Phil had said "the crowd greets it as an old favorite, and one day it will be." So to me that's definitely saying something...

For Us Against the World, it hasn't been released and maybe it won't be after all. But I don't think Coldplay will discard it if just for the fact that the Chris/Will singing piece is so exhilarating it's enough to take your breath away. This sounds like one of the older songs because they originally wanted everything stripped down (which it basically is) and based on a very personal, intimate story. Whereas the other two are a lot more fleshed out, soaring, and sound related to a mass movement. It doesn't exactly fit with Hurts Like Heaven or Charlie Brown but It's still an amazing song regardless. [thanks Fix42YellowClocks]

I'm betting we hear a studio version of Charlie Brown and Hurts Like Heaven even if they don't make the album. The same goes for Princess of China, since I think it could be one of those massive singalong songs that are so great. As for what I'm pretty sure will end up on LP5: Major Minus - There's stuff about it written all over their clothes and instruments; Charlie Brown - Phil mentioned in a Tweet that CB will eventually be an old crowd favorite--why would they continue to play it if it weren't included on LP5 or an EP? And that's pretty much it. All of the other songs on LP5 are wildcards. [thanks ColdplayingfromKansas]

I think Hurts Like Heaven, Charlie Brown and Every Teardrop Is A Waterfall will be on the album I reckon, maybe Us Against The World, I think that will be 50/50. As much as I like Major Minus i'll be disappointed if it was on the album for the reason that it will be another song we already have unless its a different version which I doubt would happen. Also, the stage effects such as the spiral are on ETIAW and Charlie Brown and the walking man on HLH are major signs where as Major Minus and Us Against The World do not have them. Remember that there will be very most likely another single before the new album, maybe Charlie Brown but you never know, they could put out something even better than Charlie Brown! Edit - Hope Princess of China is on there, don't think they will leave it out, it sounds too good from what we have heard so far! [thanks 42rock89]

I suspect UATW and MM will both be on the album due to the "us against the world theme" as well as all the Major Minus Media stuff. I'm pretty confident MX + HLH will be the opening. Also feel like ETIAW will, unfortunately, be on the album. Charlie Brown, due to the fact Chris said one day this will be on of your favorites or w/e. I doubt MTM will be on it. PoC will also probably be on it since the band appears to not want it to be highly exposed. Looks like I expect everything but MTM to be on it :/ [thanks FlipBack]

MX/HLH is 99% the opening track because of the long intro and because they've always played the opener of the album that they were promoting as the first song during their tours (Politik during the 2002/03 tour, Square One during the Twisted Logic tour and LiT during the viva tour). Charlie Brown, seeing how it was received and Phil's post that says that it will be a classic, is very likely to be on the album too. UAtW and MM will probably be included too. I don't know about the other songs. [thanks SpaceMrk]

Charlie Brown and Hurts Like Heaven are certainties. Princess of China and Us Against The World I'm pretty sure will make it. ETIAW is highly questionable and the other two won't make it. Don't think we'll know anything till mid to late August. Until then I don't know if there'll be much to talk about. [thanks howyousawtheworld]

Not many of you seem to think that ETIAW will make it on LP5. But why would they ignore a song which already is a hit in many countries for the new record? On topic. I really hope for HLH and Charlie Brown. I'm not really sure yet about PoC. Have to wait for a good quality version of the track. [thanks R23]

I'm realtively sure, that "Charlie Brown" will be on the LP... don't know why. And "Major Minus" has good chances, too. It would be a highlight on the tour, if Chris sang it on a concert ... And also ETIAW will be on the album, beause it's the first single out of it. [thanks Mennesker]

What they said was this: "Dear friends, We're about to play a bunch of summer festivals so it's as good a time as any to put out a new song. 'Every Teardrop Is A Waterfall' will be available from download stores on Friday 3rd June at 12pm (BST), except in the UK where it'll be released on the stroke of midnight between Saturday 4th and Sunday 5th June. We'll also stream it here on Friday and give it a run out at Rock Im Park. Love Will" ---- I fail to see where they correlated it to the new album. Tell me where they said "This is the first single from our new album" because they never said that. And in fact it's very likely that it's not. It wouldn't make any sense to release it four months before the supposed release (and most realistic one as far as I can tell) in October if it was the first single. They normally do that less than a month beforehand. They didn't even FINISH deciding what songs are going to be on there yet. Or finish mixing all the songs for that matter. They didn't tell us the album title. Who knows if they even decided on it officially? So how would it possibly be before October? They still have to DO all of that. And promote it which takes forever if you don't know how capitalism works (it 'works' very poorly/awfully, I might add). Still have to make the millions of copies of the album once it's done. And still finish off the rest of the tour. For the last album they told us the title and tracklist in April, two months before it came out. That leaves it to come out no sooner than mid September. There you go. And like Coldplayingfrom Kansas said, those things aren't official. You can't trust what anyone says as we found out with that retarded "BBC 4 Chris Martin interview." Stupid bs. [thanks Fix42YellowClocks]

I'm not sure that any of theese songs will make it to LP5. They played Spanish Rain too, but It won't be on the album. And to be honest, I don't want any of the new songs on LP5. I perfer new songs. [thanks Phoebeo]

I at least want Hurts Like Heaven to be on it, it's my favourite from the new batch, it reminds me of Echo and the Bunnymen, or at least some late 80s/ early 90s indie rock, if you know what I mean...like something off the C86 tape but a bit more...colourful. The only thing I ask is that they don't end or start the album with Every Teardrop is a Shite Song, because (especially if it ended the album) it just seems like they're over emphasising it and trying to make it an anthem like Viva La Vida..(which it clearly isn't). [thanks QuestionsOfScience]

How hard is it to understand that they don't release a stand-alone single as the beginning of a new LP5 era? Of course ETIAW will be on the album - it's a single! Also, people think that Major Minus and Moving to Mars will be on the record. Well, think again! They are b-sides. Is it that hard to understand?! They have followed this pattern with singles and b-sides almost since their first record. Just listen to Moving to Mars, for instance. You can clearly hear background noise if you turn the music up. One of the biggest bands in the world would never record a song with that kind of quality and still put it on the record. The sound quality of Major Minus is good, but still just a b-side, even though it's maybe my favourite among the new songs. Us Against The World wont make it. On the other side, I think Charlie Brown will. I'm not sure whether Hurts Like Heaven and Princess of China will make it. 50/50 in my mind. Probably one of them. A last thing: Many of you base your song selection on whether they fit to the description we have got earlier (White Rose, grafitti etc.) Probably Major Minus is the song most inspired nby the White Rose movement, but that doesn't mean it will be on the record. That could mean that they were refering to this song when they talked about the album, but that the song simply was dropped out because it wasn't good enough. The album content is probably not the same today as it was in January. [thanks SimonBa]

These...are new songs. Hence why they are trying them out on tour. What you must realize is that the majority of their fan base knows very little about these songs and many have never heard them unless they've been to a festival. We are the minority that listen to them on our mp3 players and such incessantly. I'm pretty positive that all of these songs will be on LP5, even if they aren't the best songs they've ever written (i.e. ETIAW). [thanks the.hardest.part]

New photos of Coldplay - Oxegen festival, Ireland (10th July, 2011):

Photo by peterneill @ Flickr

Coldplay headlined their thirteenth festival of the summer so far, playing at the Oxegen festival in Ireland last night (10th July, 2011). The concert was part-aired on Irish radio station, RTÉ 2fm (Raidió Teilifís Éireann) starting with Major Minus. Unfortunately, Hurts Like Heaven, Yellow and In My Place were missed from the start of the broadcast. Shiver then co-incided with the station's 11pm news headlines so the song was abruptly cut off. Other than that it was a perfect stream.

Noteable highlights included an on stage collaboration with Irish folk legend, Christy Moore and a rendition of his song 'Ride On' - this replaced Life Is For Living just before the encore. During the show, Christy Moore trended worldwide on Twitter. Other than that song, there were no setlist changes... once again Shiver was performed in place of Cemeteries Of London. During Everything's Not Lost, Chris Martin said, "For all the shit we go though as a band, it makes it all worth while when you hear 60000 Irish voices singing [Everything's Not Lost] back at you."

You can listen again to the streamed recording of the performance via our Multimedia forum where the set has been uploaded in MP3. More live discussion on this show is at the Coldplay Live forum. Thanks to everyone who has contributed on the forums, Youtube and twitters. We'll have more on this show over the next few hours/days!

Setlist confirmed):

MX

Hurts Like Heaven

Yellow

In My Place

Major Minus

Lost!

The Scientist

Shiver

Violet Hill

God Put A Smile Upon Your Face

Everything's Not Lost

Us Against The World

Politik

Viva la Vida

Charlie Brown

Ride On (collaboration with Christy Moore)

-------

Clocks

Fix You

Every Teardrop Is A Waterfall

Photo by tato45 @ Flickr

Overall a pretty perfect show from the guys! Every single song sounded amazing--Clocks was the best I've heard it since the Twisted Logic tour. Chris's voice started to crack on ETiaW but that was to be expected, since he'd been singing his heart out all night. Unfortunately, Life Is For Living was dropped, but it was replaced with a brilliant surprise appearance of Christy Moore, who sang 'Ride On' with Chris. Shiver was played instead of Cemeteries of London, and we still have yet to see another appearance of Princess of China. Oh well. The crowd, the guys, the entire atmosphere was absolutely stunning, so I think it's safe to say that Coldplay has earned their 12 day break! Well done, guys! [thanks ColdplayingfromKansas]

The crowd were so into the concert and the boy's were RED HOT!!! Chris's vocals were so on, except for ETDIAW, but hey we forgive him, it really wasn't THAT noticable. Clocks was exceptional along with Politik and WOW GPASUYF they ROCK this song and I love. It more than the original way they played it years ago. Us Against the World is such a beautiful song that has grown on me. The way it starts with Chris, then Will, then JBoy comes in and then Guy slides in to finish up the song, just beautiful!!! The Christy Moore/Chris duo was great, I have to admit during the commercial I googled him, I had no idea who he was.... Thanks to all the members who show up on the thread "it seems to be the same one's" I enjoy reading everyones replies, and excitement for each festival!!!! [thanks MartinFan]

Hi boys, girls and all the madness in the world! I'll review the show from what I heard, as the livestream video was cancelled with no further advice and the only possibilitie was to hear it from a live radio... Tonight's show was one of those concerts that a coldplay fan must have on his/her mp3. The sound mix was perfect (good job Miller!), the boys went mad and gave all of their energies on all the songs despite of the little hours between this and "Toldplay in the park" performance yesterday! After this festival, the discussion should be which was the best performance yet, if "Glastonbury's", "Toldplay in the Park" or tonight's "Oxegen"! They've created an astonishing atmosphere for all the songs, Chris interacted a lot with the audience, and at times, you could hear the crowd singing along over Chris, sounded exciting! After an outstanding version of Charlie Brown with nice vocals, they replaced "Life is for Living", Coldplay did a cover of "Ride On" with Christy Moore, a special folk Irish performer, that was charmfully welcomed on stage! That was the only change in the setlist... . They've also performed Shiver and the epic live versions I have to highlight of this night were: Everything's Not Lost -Jonny Boy guitar sounds made of that song the best performed live yet; Politik -Also, thanks to Jonny Boy guitar sounds and sound mix, Politik sounded in what I call, a very UFO way!; Then, Clocks, Chris piano solo was marvelous, as well as Jonny Buckland guitar sounds... they don't stop getting better!- In the end, with "Every TearDROP is a Waterfall" Chris interacted with the crowd as in the old times (like he did with "The Scientists" during Twisted Logic Tour era)... Although he cracked his voice a few times during ETIAW, it didn't count as a negative score for what it is one of the best Coldplay performances of this summer festivals! Coldplay, keep up the good work! -FMFMEAISLI!- [thanks Coldplero]

So, I flew in on Saturday morning (just a matter of hours after being released from hospital... don't worry I'm fine, well sort of...) to meet up with who else but Chelsea and Johanna and go and see what all the fuss was about! We were scared, really scared that they would be too tired and drained by now to put on a good show. We thought it might disappoint after hearing about Arras and really, 2 shows in 2 days at the end of this run, could have easily proved too much for them... how wrong were we? FUCKING WRONG!!! This was by far, by far the best I have ever seen the guys. They were so freaking happy, so excited and energetic and ready to put on the show of their lives... and they did just that. When MX started up I was about to hear my most anticipated song (I really was so excited for HLH that I never thought much about how the rest of the show might be haha) but wow, it blew me away. Jonny just comes out kicking with that song, pretty brave imo, but super-cool, it gets the crowd so up-for-it and buzzed...this is a keeper for years of setlists to come mark my words, it just works live. Yellow was a huge shock for me last night, I mean I love the song, always have, but it was different yesterday to the previous 4 times I have seen it live, it sounded crystal clear and better arranged somehow, I dunno, it was really good though! Violet Hill, In my place and Lost were the same, the sound quality was unbelievable and these songs which don't normally do much for me after seeing them so often, were totally different this time! :S Major Minus is cool, won't be a keeper and won't make the album for me, but it certainly rocks live and makes the studio version sound even worse now! The scientist sing-along is the best I have heard personally. Guessing it was because of the location but I've only ever seen them in the UK before too so I don't know why this was better... it just was And Shiver... okay wait, SHIIIIIIVEEEER!!! Woah, that was insane! I remember thinking that the Crisis versions were unbeatable but I never thought I'd hear the full-band version really. Ms Gilchrist was so excited for that so I'm gonna let that be her moment ... but wow, it was a real special thing for any Coldplay fan. GPASUYF was Jo's moment actually, but I'm stealing some of this for moi. It was perfect. Best song of the night for me, hands down. That is a masterpiece with the new intro and it ended with Chris launching his telecaster about 20 feet (7ish metres Jo!) into the air, wow. Loved it, I hope it never gets dropped again, ever!!! UATW was sublime. Us 3 just looked at each other and we couldn't even talk. It was really beautiful and when Guy comes in it is just like watching them from years ago for me, but all grown up now :'-) Loved it so much. Everythings Not Lost was amazing too, won't see that again so I'm prett happy they played it, the crowd all new it and those who didn't found it easy for lyrics haha. Politik was... it was Politik! What more can I say, still in my top 2 songs. Viva was great actually, the new piano intor is a smart-move for me. But here is my other huge hignhlight... CHARLIE BROWN ... omg That is the other keeper, it is gonna be soooo so huge when released. Should be the first single of LP5 for me, it is a hit, a huge hit, and the crowd were even singing the riff! I loved it, such a great live tune! A really cool duet followed with some Irish bloke, it took the place of Life is for Living which disappointed me a tad, but it weas so special and unique, and every irishman knew the words! Clocks was perfect as always, Fix You was nice, and Every Teardrop was very energetic, the crowd loved that one too. All in all, I'm in a rush so I'll just say this, the best gig I've ever been too, not doubts on that, Flawless and special. Loved it. [thanks Craigie-J]

New photos of Coldplay - Oxegen festival, Ireland (10th July, 2011):

Photo by tato45 @ Flickr

More questions answered by The Oracle... (over 2000 questions now answered - submit yours now!)

July 14, 2011 - submitted by Crathan, United Kingdom

Q. Was the album that Coldplay are letting people have for free leftrightleftrightleft recorded at Glastonbury? Just wondered.

The Oracle replies:

No, LRLRL was recorded in different locations over a period of time but way before Glastonbury. We've had it available to download on our site for over two years. Click here to read an interview with Chris talking about the free giveaway.

July 14, 2011 - submitted by Erica, Ireland

Q. Hey Oracle, saw Coldplay at Oxegen on Sunday, they were absolutely incredible! Haven't heard any reactions or anything from them yet so I was just wondering how they found it and if they enjoyed it?

The Oracle replies:

They had a great time! I am sure we will hear more about Oxegen given that Christy Moore joined them onstage and I happen to know that will have been like Christmas for one Mr. Will Champion particularly!

July 13, 2011 - submitted by Rebekah, United Kingdom

Q. Did Guy enjoy playing in his hometown at the weekend? Did he go home to stay?

The Oracle replies:

Yes, he did enjoy playing Scotland again but the band didn't stay as they travelled to Ireland immediately after to play Oxegen on Sunday night.

July 13, 2011 - submitted by Kieran, United Kingdom

Q. Hey Oracle! After watching Coldplay via the BBC at T in the Park and Glasto, I saw that the setlists were virtually the same; is this usually the case for a tour/string of festivals? Don't the guys get just a little tired of the same order every night? AND the big question - why did they only play one X&Y song? In fact, Fix You is kind of a given for a Coldplay concert, so why essentially no songs from X&Y?

The Oracle replies:

Yes, it is very usual for bands to play the exact same set at festivals. Not just at festivals, but there's also little movement during a tour with few songs changing in and out. If you have seen Kings of Leon or Foo Fighters or Pulp or Beyonce over the summer, they have all stuck to the same set. Bruce Springsteen does like to mix it up and bar a few tracks will have a different show every night, however, Bruce doesn't have the visuals/lights that Coldplay have. I know Radiohead once did a tour and changed the setlist every night, but had planned the tour to be that way deliberately. I know a few people have been asking the same, "why only one song from X&Y?" and you're probably looking for a different reason than this: because they only chose Fix You from that album. It obviously means they didn't feel anything fits into the set coupled with not wanting to. They played Hardest Part on the last tour so it's not like they've ignored it as a whole since the Twisted Logic tour.

July 12, 2011 - submitted by Kalon, United States of America

Q. Hello Oracle, I just watched the astounding video from T In The Park of Why Does It Always Rain On Me / Fix You. What an excellent performance! Can I ask you, why does Chris say "I'm playing this for my mom tonight?" I hope she's alright! Also, why were his eyes closed the entire performance? My best wishes to the band and yourself, Kalon.

The Oracle replies:

Chris said "I am playing this for my Mum tonight". She's fine! She was there watching so he dedicated the song to her. I realise that Fix You may seem sad to many people in sentiment but it's often the song in the set that Chris will dedicate to a friend or family member. As for the eyes being closed, that's not unusual for most singers... there is no real explanation as it's both a natural reaction and habit. It certainly shows they're feeling the music.

July 12, 2011 - submitted by Lorraine, Spain

Q. Dear Oracle, Do you know why the band chose Vitoria Airport to go back to England instead of using Bilbao's one? Cheers.

The Oracle replies:

The band do not own their own plane but hire one to transport them and their entourage* . It's very usual for such aircraft to use smaller airports that don't necessarily handle commercial flights. It's quicker, more economical and much easier. *The word entourage always conjures up an image of a lot of people to me and indeed it can be; they do manage to practically fill the plane.

July 11, 2011 - submitted by Will, United States of America

Q. Good afternoon, Oracle! Where was the music video for ETIAW filmed? I noticed at the beginning of the video one of the buildings looked awfully familiar to the Sears tower in Chicago. Thanks!

The Oracle replies:

I can't confirm where the opening shot is exactly, but yeah, it is actually somewhere in America. The rest is London's Docklands as previously mentioned.

July 11, 2011 - submitted by Nathan, United Kingdom

Q. Dear Oracle, I was a T in the Park this Weekend and had the most amazing time! Loved the Coldplay performance. I am here to ask you advice on another matter. Just before Beyonce came on I spoke with a girl called Julie, she was amazing. We hit it off really well but as you can expect it was hard to really get to know her. As she was unable to see over a lot of the heads I offered to put her on my shoulders for Beyonce. I did this for a good few songs! We then stood and held each other! As Beyonce finished her set, she left with her mates and all I had a was a first name. All I have done for the last few days is think about her. Do you think that I am making too much of this moment? And just treat it as something which was great then. I am a true believer in fate and perhaps she may come into my life again! Thanks Oracle

The Oracle replies:

I believe in fate too but as you were at a festival feeling the love, I'd say the chances are it was a beautiful shared moment and nothing more. These kind of things happen a lot when 80,000 people get thrust together. I was also there and it wasn't just the spirits that appeared high; I reckon a few people had been having a tipple or two making people even more friendly.

Anyway mate, if she didn't stick around for Coldplay, maybe she's not the girl for you. Unless of course, she is reading this...

Tickets for Coldplay's Los Angeles gig for the Grammy Foundation will be available via Ticketmaster with an artist fan club pre-sale beginning today at 10am (local time). Promoter Goldenvoice will hold its own pre-sale starting Thursday at 10 a.m. and accessible via the password MAJORMINUS. The general public onsale begins Friday at 10am with prices ranging from $45 to $150. All times PDT. There will also be a limited number of tickets offered through Samsung and AT&T. For more info, click here for the Samsung AT&T Summer Krush Concert Series website and here for Goldenvoice’s Web HQ. [thanks Jason-DeBord]

For those unable to make it to the other recently announced iHeartRadio music festival in Las Vegas, the show - which is being held to publicize the launch of Clear Channel's new free digital radio service, iHeartRadio - performances from the festival will be streamed live online through mobile devices and select radio-station sites, that is according to Edmonton Journal today.

Irish website RTE online has some excellent pictures of Coldplay performing with Christy Moore at the Oxegen festival on Sunday night for a rendition of his 1984 hit Ride On. Coldplay surprised the crowd when they welcomed the Irish legend onstage to join them at Punchestown. Earlier in the day, Moore wrote on his website: "Coldplay have invited me to sing a song with them in my native place. These are the fields I roamed as a boy. Just had a rehearsal with Will, Chris, Jonny and Guy. We had such a nice time that we rehearsed the song twice! I welcome Coldplay to the Short Grass County. May their spirit and generosity stay with us as they continue on their way."

Meanwhile, a day earlier, the T In The Park festival turned into a clash of sounds between Coldplay and Primal Scream, writes the IBTimes. It seems festival authorities at the T In The park music festival had to repeatedly ask Primal Scream sound engineer to turn down the volume as their sound was drowning the main act being performed by Coldplay on another stage. Spokeswoman for the the annual music festival held at Kinross, Scotland told Scotland's Daily Record, "We have people in place to monitor sound levels and Primal Scream's sound engineer was told more than once to turn down the levels onstage. Eventually he was made to turn it down."

Primal Scream were performing in the King Tut’s Wah Wah tent. The Band attracted nearly 12,000 fans who were packed into the tent to listen to them perform their legendary album Screamadelica. Primal Scream frontman Bobby Gillespie said it was hardly an issue. According to him, it must have been the sound of the 12,000 screaming fans singing the lyrics that must have drowned out Coldplay. He said to the Daily, "We just came to do our thing. We are not in competition with any ofthe bands. We're happy to play anywhere they want us..."

A member of Primal Scream's management said: "We didn't think it was that loud. Anyway, what are we supposed to do now, go back and do the gig only quieter this time? Coldplay clearly had a difficult time following Beyonce. That would be hard for any act. But Bobby isn't bothered. When we told him about the complaint, he said, 'Job done'. This is all a bit like complaining that kids are playing football in the street and somebody going to speak to the parents about it."

Coldplay’s publicists and DF concerts denied that Coldplay’s Chris Martin was upset. The representative claimed that he was unaware of any complaints about noise level.

New photos of Coldplay with Christy Moore - Oxegen festival, Ireland (10th July, 2011):

Photo by RTE (Ireland)

UPDATE: Coldplay have now confirmed this appearance! Anchorman: We're pleased to report that Coldplay are playing a special one-off show at LA's UCLA Tennis Center venue on Wednesday, August 3. The net proceeds from the show, which is part of the Samsung AT&T Summer Krush concert series, will benefit the GRAMMY Foundation's GRAMMY in the Schools music education initiative for high school students. Selected highlights from the concert will then air at midnight that night on ABC's Jimmy Kimmel Live! show. Tickets for the fundraiser are priced from $45 to $150. We have a special presale for Coldplay fans, via ticketmaster.com, which begins at 10am PST tomorrow (Wed July 13th) - using the password TEARDROP. The general sale then begins at 10am PST on Friday, July 15th, again from ticketmaster.com.

Coldplay are launching Samsung AT&T Summer Krush Concert Series in Los Angeles on 3rd August according to reports from Billboard today. You can catch up with all the latest on this breaking story at the Coldplay Live forum now. Read on for the report.

Summer Krush is a free concert series designed to showcase the capabilities of the newly released Samsung Infuse 4G, available exclusively through AT&T. Coldplay will launch the nine-city series with a concert on August 3rd at the Los Angeles Tennis Center on the campus of UCLA. Select songs from Coldplay's performance will air that same evening on ABC's "Jimmy Kimmel Live!"

Beginning next week, a limited number of free tickets to the Coldplay show will be available through registration at samsungsummerkrush2011.com, a Summer Krush spokesperson tells www.Billboard.biz. Tickets will also be available to purchase, priced from $45 to $150, on July 15 through ticketmaster.com and Ticketmaster outlets. Net proceeds from the Los Angeles concert will benefit the Grammy Foundation's Grammy in the Schools music education program (grammyintheschools.com).

Through mid-September, Summer Krush will visit mostly 2,500-capacity venues in Dallas, Nashville, New York, Seattle, Atlanta, San Francisco, Chicago and Orlando. The artists for those markets will be announced in the coming weeks, a spokesperson says. Along with hour-long live music performances, each event will feature interactive activities and the chance to win prizes, including the Samsung Infuse 4G and a Summer Krush-branded guitar. A limited number of free tickets for the concerts will be available through radio promotions and online registration at samsungsummerkrush2011.com.

Since Launching in 2007, Summer Krush has featured performances in select U.S. cities from such artists as Mariah Carey, Jay-Z, Kelly Clarkson, Good Charlotte, Gavin Rossdale, Nas, Ludacris, Big & Rich, the All-American Rejects, Ne-Yo, Jimmy Eat World and Paramore.

Samsung regional marketing manager Stacey Portnoy recently told Billboard that Summer Krush has helped boost phone sales in markets that the series visits. "From a sales perspective, we can track by city," she said, declining to reveal the cost of producing Summer Krush. "We have a strict [return on investment] process that we have to go through to get this program approved every year. So we do have to provide some sort of quantitative data."

New photos of Coldplay - Oxegen festival, Ireland (10th July, 2011):

Photo by tato45 @ Flickr

UPDATE: Coldplay have now confirmed this appearance! Anchorman: We’re pleased to announce that Coldplay will be performing at this year's iHeartRadio Music Festival in Las Vegas, on September 23rd at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. For more information - including ticket contests and pre-sale links - head over to iheartradio.com/vegas now.

"Coldplay will headline a iHeartRadio/Clearchannel music event at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas on 23-24th September, if reports today are to be believed. If true, an announcement is expected very soon - tickets go on sale next Saturday! Coldplay are already playing the Music Midwest festival in Atlanta on 24th September so it would effectively mean a trip across the US in a day if Coldplay were playing at MGM on 23rd. You can catch up with all the latest on this breaking story at the Coldplay Live forum now. Read on for the report. [thanks Baw8cc]

As lady luck would have it we’ve been scouring the internet, our ninjas and sources to get the good word on what is happening with iHeartRadio, Clearchannel and this big announcement on Monday morning at 8:15am by none other than Ryan Seacrest. Well here it is folks, as promised IHeartradio and ClearChannel are throwing the biggest concert of our current lifetime. It’s the Iheartradio Music Festival and it’s happening September 23-24th in Las Vegas, NV at the MGM Grand. Here are the artists already playing...

Kenny Chesney, Rascall Flatts, Carrie Underwood, Kelly Clarkson, Lady GaGa, Coldplay, John Mayer, Jennifer Lopez, Black Eyed Peas, Alicia Keys, Niki Minaj, David Guetta, Bruno Mars, Usher.

iHeartRadio is also going to announce some major changes. You’ll still be able to listen to your favorite Clear Channel Radio Stations but you’ll also have a more Pandora like radio interface. So now thanks to thedroidguy, you don’t have to twist and turn all weekend wondering what iHeartRadio is doing. Oh and tickets go on sale next Saturday at 10:00am.

New photos of Coldplay - T In The Park festival, Balado, Scotland (9th July, 2011):

Photo via BBC

In arguably their best festival performance of the summer so far, Coldplay headlined T In The Park last night (9th July, 2011), which was broadcast live in the UK on BBC3 and BBC HD, and an unofficial online stream was also found courtesy of magictv.co for those who could not receive the TV channels. Noteable highlights include a cover of Travis's Why Does It Always Rain On Me? just before Fix You during the encore. Fix You was dedicated to Chris Martin's mum. Chris also hilariously fucked up his solo part of God Put A Smile On Your Face earlier in the set, and Guy was given a huge introduction and ovation as he walked onto the stage during Us Against The World.

There were no setlist changes... once again Shiver was performed in place of Cemeteries Of London - but prior to the show Guy had said in an interview that Shiver would not be played. As Shiver began, Chris whispered something in Guy's ear - make your own minds up what was said! During the show, Shiver trended worldwide on Twitter.

If you are in the UK you can rewatch the performance via BBC's iPlayer now, and also via our Multimedia forum where the set has been uploaded in various formats. More live discussion on this show is at the Coldplay Live forum. Thanks to everyone who has contributed on the forums, Youtube and twitters. We'll have more on this show over the next few hours/days!

Setlist confirmed):

MX

Hurts Like Heaven

Yellow

In My Place

Major Minus

Lost!

The Scientist

Shiver

Violet Hill

God Put A Smile Upon Your Face

Everything's Not Lost

Us Against The World

Politik

Viva la Vida

Charlie Brown

Life Is For Living

-------

Clocks

Why Does It Always Rain On Me? (Travis cover)

Fix You

Every Teardrop Is A Waterfall

Photo via Gigwise

WOW, is this performance WAAAY better than Glastonbury or what? The boys seem tons more relaxed, their playing is tight, the crowd are hot, the HD picture is stunning, the sound mix is great (Chris's vocals not lost in a sea of backline). And yes, that was the best Major Minus I have heard, hands down. Wonder if they have been asked to drop some parts of the set to meet curfew / BBC Three & HD off air time? (Due to Beyonce overrun). I haven't seen Gothenburg and Werchter (I confess I don't need to see every televised performance on this festival tour, nor am I passing judgement or looking down on anyone who has been watching all the streams) but I prefer tonight to Glastonbury - for one the sound mix has been vastly superior, in my opinion... [thanks RC34127]

I LOVED the show tonight! Coldplay was just amazing. Chris' voice sounded fantastic and there was only one minor error throughout the whole show during GPASUYF, but it was fine, Chris shaked it off and kept going. Fantastic playing by all four boys. I thought it was really sweet when Chris put Guy in the spotlight during Us Against The World. Guy was all smiley--> It was also sweet that he dedicated Fix You to his mum. Coldplay showed lots of energy tonight and they looked very happy to be playing. The crowd was fantastic as well jumping and singing along. I was watching from the comfort of my room but I was singing and dancing along as well to every song. I'm also very glad that BBC decided to show the whole show instead of the good chunk they kept mentioning. Truly, another great show by Coldplay tonight, and I can't wait to see them live again in person.... [thanks iduran20]

Not one of the best performances so far and a pretty average crowd at best.. but they can only get better. When compared to Glastonbury, Gothenburg and Werchter for example, i think this performance doesnt necessarily stand out for me, all the more so even though it has been specifically televised. [thanks Lukestar1991]

This was incredible! Couldn't agree more when people say that it was one of their best. Glastonbury succeeded this one for me, but it was nonetheless spectacular. As previously stated, Chris' voice continues to sound great--loads better than it did near the end of Viva (though, I still thought he sounded wonderful). The Travis cover was lovely, of course. And I'm sure it meant a lot for Guy to play there as well. You could see how happy he was throughout the show and especially at the end (he was the last to go off stage and certainly didn't appear as though he wanted to!). Makes me incredibly envious of anyone that gets to see them while they're playing this setlist. Shiver, Life Is For Living, Everything's Not Lost....If only RXP Festival hadn't been cancelled....(Yes, I'm still bitter.) [thanks xmonstermaggie]

Guy lied to us about Shiver. What was the crowd singing during the drum part of GPASUYF? Liked how Chris wanted everyone to go nuts when Guy joined along during UATW. Absolutely love the pre-Viva piano part after Politik. I couldn't stand that guy they kept showing I think three times during the concert, the one the host commented on. I like the different songs Chris plays before Fix You. I thought when Chris was swinging his jacket around during Fix You, he was going to hit Jonny and mess him up. ETIAW, very good. Overall rating: 8.0 Rock Am Ring was 10. I compare every concert to that. [thanks Drew42LP5]

Have to say that this concert was awesome to watch! Jonny was in top form today, as well as the other guys. But man, that guitarplaying! Best version of IMP that I've heard so far, with the 'oops' from Chris and the Beyonce reference with 'to the left to the left'. Also the crowd was alive and kicking ass =D. Overall amazing! People were very lucky to be there and to be able to see that live. [thanks LoversInJapan]

The show was just amazing. On par with Glastonbury or maybe even better. The band played the best version of Major Minus since Rock am Ring and Fix You was also great with Chris dedicating it to his mum. I'm loving the new version of GPASUYF and tonight's version was the best yet, I've never seen Will pound those drums as hard as he did tonight on that song. Guy also got a huge applause as he was in his home country and was really energized tonight. I felt the band and crowd really brought it tonight. Chris hasn't sounded so good live since probably near the end of the AROBTTH tour in 2003. GREAT effort by the band tonight. [thanks ChadBC]

What a great performance from the guys! I was getting a bit worried that the entire concert wouldn't be broadcast (even moreso because the guys started late), but overall a very rewarding experience. The guys really seemed to be enjoying themselves (especially Guy!). There was only one minor mess-up during GPASUYF, but everything else went very smoothly. Major Minus, Shiver, and Lost! sounded particularly good, and there was a very good singalong from the crowd with Viva. Politik was epic, as always, although there could have been better participation from the crowd on Everything's Not Lost (I suppose there weren't too many there that were familiar with it, though, since it isn't one of their more popular songs). The encore was spectacular, and I love that Chris sang a bit of 'Why Does It Always Rain On Me?'. In my opinion, better than the Glastonbury performance. Well done, Coldplay! [thanks ColdplayingfromKansas]

I found the show absolutely amazing, loved each performance (as usual it's Politik the breath-taking one for me), and 'Why does it always rain on me' was an added value, it was so nice from the guys to tribute Travis, who are Scottish and among those bands who inspired them. The crowd looked great too, even though I have to agree with the guy who said that those close shots on ppl who did not know the lyrics were not that nice! [thanks Steph589]

I really think this was better than Rock am Ring, because it seemed that they had more energy today, and they were also a lot tighter in their performance. It was great to see them use their excitement in the right way, to make the music more powerful, and not as in Glastonbury, where they used all the adrenalin to overdo it and make mistakes. The crowd sounded amazing as well. Although not singing along with Glastonbury-power, they really showed how excited they were and showed their appreciation to Coldplay. Also good to see that they never "fell asleep", they were consistently alive and it seemed like they enjoyed every song. Jonny was great, Guy enjoyed himself, Will had a lot of energy and Chris was focused and didn't do any major fuck ups. Shiver and Everything's Not Lost were the songs I doubted before the show started, but they both worked really well and surprisingly I enjoyed them really much! But I still missed Cemeteries of London, as well as Speed of Sound and Lovers In Japan. Hurts Like Heaven wasn't as good as in France, and Major Minus not as good as at Glastonbury, but except from that, they did everything so perfect that I'll give them a 9,5 out of 10. [thanks hente44]

They had this stupid Golden circle thing going on, whereby you had to queue after each act to get in, we were almost crushed to death trying to get in before Coldplay. People were surging and the barriers were really narrow, it was scary. The guards did absolutely nothing. Some people were being sick or were too inebriated on whatever to function, others were launching drinks into the air and crowd surfing. One idiot was even standing on someone's shoulders. People were lurching so much we managed to get from row 11 to row 4 by the end. Those who were compos mentis though were brilliant, it really was a spectacular crowd. They all went wild for Guy when Chris was being very sweet and bigging him up massively. The Why Does it Always Rain on me cover was inspired too. Can't wait to watch the whole thing back. But no T is definitely not for me, but it was an experience. [thanks mimixxx]

Watched the performance on iplayer. Fantastic stuff as ever. I think Chris's voice in this set was the strongest it's ever been. Probably the stongest vocal performance I've seen from him. The encore they gave was probably the best encore they've ever done and the small Travis tribute in there was really great. And Every Teardrop Is A Waterfall - probably the best reception it's ever been given. It seemed they loved it. And I thought the reception Guy got from his home crowd especially in Us Against The World and the end when Chris held his arms up when they applauded the crowd was really wonderful. They were clearly proud of him! [thanks howyousawtheworld]

Any act following Beyonce Knowles onto the main stage at T in the Park on Saturday was going to have their work seriously cut out for them, so kudos to Chris Martin and co for giving it a go. The start they made was impressive, bucking the tradition of closing a festival with fireworks by sending multi-coloured rockets crackling through the air as they took to the stage, beginning with the hurtling, Arcade Fire-sounding Hurts Like Heaven and then the old fan favourite Yellow. The latter song was lit up by a red signal flare amidst the crowd, a new trend at Scottish gigs that's already earned perpetrators threats of expulsion at this year's T. What followed this opening was a set which, despite a healthy dose of Martin's customary earnestness, was pretty much a textbook example of how to work a festival crowd with a series of effortlessly affecting guitar anthems. Addressing the Beyonce issue early, Martin cheekily added the "to the left, to the left" lyric of her Irreplaceable to In My Place and warned "we don't really have her curves - we don't really have anything she's got, so you can go home if you want." Major Minus featured an arena-standard guitar line in the style of U2's The Edge from Jonny Buckland, Lost saw multicoloured balloons thrown into the crowd and The Scientist, featuring just Martin, his piano and the entire audience on backing vocals, had the singer bait the crowd's affections to perfection when he changed the song's lyric to "nobody said it was easy / I'm going to T in the Park." Every song was warmly familiar, from Shiver to God Put a Smile Upon Your Face to the heart-warming highlight Everything's Not Lost and the symphonic Viva La Vida, their welcome reception from the crowd topped off by Martin's proud introduction of bassist Guy Berryman as being "from Kirkcaldy, Fife." // **** out of 5 stars. [via Scotsman]

New photos of Coldplay - T In The Park festival, Balado, Scotland (9th July, 2011):

Photo via Gigwise

Coldplay tonight will headline the T In The Park festival in Kinrossshire, Scotland for the first time since 2003. Catch all the latest discussion and previews to the concert at the Coldplay Live forum now (includes CHATROOM!). If you missed the online interview with festival organisers you can read it here which explains how Coldplay were approached to headline in 2011.

Guy Berryman will have his work cut out at this year's T in the Park - he's hoping to perform twice. Prior to Coldplay's set he is hoping to get on stage later with American sisters The Pierces, whose career he resurrected when he produced their breakout album You & I. Allison who sings and plays guitar alongside sister Catherine, said: "We've talked about him coming on stage and playing a song or two. He's told us about T in the Park and said he loved going home and playing one of his favourite festivals."

Don't forget (how could you) that the full Coldplay set will be broadcast live from the main stage on widescreen and in high definition on BBC3 and BBC HD from 10pm (BST). For those outside the UK there will be a live stream available online - details here [thanks Londonerr]

New photos of Coldplay - Main Square Festival, Arras, France (3rd July, 2011):

Pictures by parsenlive.fr]

More questions answered by The Oracle... (over 2000 questions now answered - submit yours now!)

July 8, 2011 - submitted by Nick, United States of America

Q. I was looking up the song Moving to Mars the other day, when I stumbled across a documentary called Moving to Mars, directed by none other than Mat Whitecross! I was was wondering if the song and film were related in any way. The general lyrics of the song seem to fit the film, what with it being about two families being forced out of Burma and into an entirely new world in the UK. Since Mat directed a couple of videos for Coldplay's songs, is this a kind of way to pay him back, by writing a song for/about his film?

The Oracle replies:

A couple of people have spotted this but as you were the first to ask... Yes, the song's title was inspired by Mat's film of the same name.

July 8, 2011 - submitted by Vito, Brazil

Q. Dear Oracle, What's the meaning of the letters that are placed at the end of each band's tweet?

The Oracle replies:

They're simply the initials of whoever wrote the tweet: PH = Phil Harvey; A = Anchorman; C = Chris; W = Will; G = Guy; J = Jonny; Hmm, maybe I should get an O up there...

July 7, 2011 - submitted by Jakob, Sweden

Q. Will there be any Roadie #42 blog-post on the Coldplay gig from Where The Action Is festival in Gothenburg? I really love that blog and I would love to read about what he, and perhaps the band, thought of their performance and the Swedish crowd. Love from Sweden!

The Oracle replies:

I'm aware that if fans had their way, there'd be a blog from every show. Each gig is special and that's even more so if it happens you are at a particular one - I totally relate to that. However, #42 simply doesn't have enough time to blog after every show. Sometimes he mentions a particular crowd, an occurrence or any shocks/surprises the show threw up, but generally he writes when he has time to fill you in on what's been happening. There's obviously one or two where he feels a greater need to report (such as Glastonbury) but rest assured, everyone is having a great time on this festival tour, so if your show isn't mentioned, it's nothing personal.

July 7, 2011 - submitted by Una, Finland

Q. Hi Oracle! I was just watching Coldplay In My Place music video and I have one question... Who are the two people on stairs? :)

The Oracle replies:

I assume that's after the last question I answered... In that case, that is DEFINITELY tagged so I'm afraid you'll have to go and check In My Place tags.

July 6, 2011 - submitted by Connor B, Australia

Q. Hey Oracle :) I was just wondering whether there are any plans to release the lyrics for the new songs that Coldplay have already played live? Sorry one last question :P is there any chance you could tell me the first line of Hurts Like Heaven? There's so much confusion on coldplaying.com about the lyrics. Thank you do much! :) Can't wait for the album.

The Oracle replies:

There are no plans to publish lyrics on the website of the new songs that are being played live. We've added ETIAW, MM & M2M to the Recordings section of course, complete with lyrics. Unless any of the others are released (as either single or on the album), we won't be putting them up. We haven't done that before so it's not a new thing by the way. I actually hadn't really noticed the opening line to Hurts Like Heaven as that's the point I am usually still cheering their entrance! The first one is tricky to work out but something like "Do you ever get the feeling you're a bridge to the park / bridging the part? Do you ever get the feeling that you're missing the mark?" I could be wrong though and probably am. *EDIT: So, it turns out some people think it's "Written in grafitti on a bridge in a park", which makes a lot more sense! Will try to get confirmation.

July 6, 2011 - submitted by Fede, Italy

Q. Hi Oracle. Why is Simon Pegg the only tag written in pink on the Oracle page ?

The Oracle replies:

Ha! I'm so sorry for laughing but go back to my page and I bet you that whatever word your cursor is hovering over is pink. No tags are pink until you move your mouse over it.

July 6, 2011 - submitted by Nick, United States of America

Q. Dear Oracle/Coldplay, Why did you cancel the New Jersey gig on September 18. I was finally going to see a Coldplay show and now all I have is this feeling of utter rejection and denial. I am so sad. =;( (that bye the way is a super duper frowny face), Nick

The Oracle replies:

We didn't cancel our RXP TakLiberty Festival appearance, RXP have cancelled the entire festival "due to unforeseen circumstances".

July 5, 2011 - submitted by Ciara, United Kingdom

Q. Dearest Oracle, My friend and I were lucky enough to make the Open'er festival (what a night!!!) During the set, before Fix You, I thought Chris mentioned missing Stef/ Steph? Was I mistaken? If not, who is he/she and what connection do they have with the Band? Thanks ever so and to all in the Coldplay camp for an unforgettable evening.

The Oracle replies:

Yes, Chris mentioned Steph during

July 5, 2011 - submitted by Perabeles, Mexico

Q. Hey Oracle! Well I'm wondering if Coldplay will be in Glastonbury next year, because I'm starting to save money, planning to do a hunger strike or something like that, I love u guys. Please come to Mexico in 2012.

The Oracle replies:

Good grief, I hope nobody does anything so extreme to get to see a band! Don't worry Perabeles, you have plenty time to save up as it's highly unlikely that ANY band would headline Glastonbury two years running so rest assured they will not be playing Glastonbury next year. Aside from that, I can guarantee it because there is NO Glastonbury festival next year anyway.

July 5, 2011 - submitted by Simon, Germany

Q. Dear Oracle, Can you tell me why Politik was never released as a single? Chris often says he thinks it's one of their best songs - and it certainly is better than the single In My Place (which, of course, especially live, also is enjoyable). Best regards, Simon

The Oracle replies:

That is quite an interesting point you make and will be difficult to explain but I shall do my best. I think it's almost always obvious which songs (by any artist) are singles, which are album tracks and which are b sides - though in the case of Prince, Oasis and Coldplay for instance, their b sides are often as good if not better than singles, such is the high standard. It's not like songs are written with anything but the finished album in mind at the start, but once it takes shape, you can tell which are openers and closers even if selecting the running order proves tricky. I guess singles have a feel about them too; a commercial radio friendly appeal. Politik (genius as it is), wasn't a quintessential airplay song.

July 4, 2011 - submitted by Andreas, Germany

Q. Precious Oracle, Do you know where this image has been taken? It always makes me think of Nevada. Please turn my ignorance into knowledge! I really like it and use it as wallpaper on my PC and all my portable devices. Cheers, Andreas

The Oracle replies:

You know, I knew you meant that photo even before I clicked the link. It was actually taken one state over from Nevada, though they had just left there.

The band had played Las Vegas (April 29) and then travelled to headline Coachella (California). That photo was taken not far from the festival site, near Palm Springs.

July 4, 2011 - submitted by Elise, France

Q. Dear Oracle, I heard that ETIAW official's clip was filming in Paris ? Is it true ? If it is, when the guys were filming and where was it exactly in Paris ? Thanks a lot for your answer, Best wishes.

The Oracle replies:

No, I think you may have misunderstood the reference to Paris in Roadie #42's blog. It was referring to the graffiti artist whose name is Paris. It was filmed in London's Docklands area.

New photos of Coldplay - Main Square Festival, Arras, France (3rd July, 2011):

Pictures by parsenlive.fr]

Coldplay headlined the Spanish BBK Live festival in Bilbao last night (7th July 2011) with no reported setlist changes from the previous show in Portugal. We say 'reported', because the online stream that was anticipated from EITB was pulled at the last minute. According to the Spanish radio, it was Coldplay's audio technician who refused permission for the stream, TV or radio coverage of the show. However, you can see a little bit of the show here and here via Spanish media websites ABC and EITB respectively. You can also download a short MP4 of last night's Coldplay show at the Multimedia forum now.

Thanks to the reviews now coming in we know there were no setlist changes... once again Shiver was readded to the setlist in place of Cemeteries Of London - so the setlist was the same one as Glastonbury, Rock Werchter and Where The Action Is Festivals. The same new tracks from the previous festival performances were also played - MX/Hurts Like Heaven, Major Minus, Us Against The World, Charlie Brown and Every Teardrop Is A Waterfall.

There have not been many reviews or photos online so far so we've delayed the publishing of our full review, but more live discussion on this show is at the Coldplay Live forum. Thanks to everyone who has contributed on the forums, Youtube and twitters. We'll have more on this show over the next few hours/days!

Setlist confirmed):

MX/Hurts Like Heaven

Yellow

In My Place

Major Minus

Lost!

The Scientist

Shiver

Violet Hill

God Put A Smile Upon Your Face

Everything's Not Lost

Us Against The World

Politik

Viva la Vida

Charlie Brown

Life Is For Living

-------

Clocks

Fix You

Every Teardrop Is A Waterfall

Buenos dias desde Bilbao. just quick a update since as far as I could understand they didn't stream the gig (boooooooo). The setlist was the same as Glasto (finally got Shiver ), the crowd was amazing, and the band was on top form. Oh we saw Xabi Alonso getting in vip queue for the taxi. [thanks iriden]

I was listening Radio 3 and I didn't listen that it was Coldplay's technician, they just said that in the last minutes they have been told that neither Radio 3 nor Eitb.com would be able to broadcast the show... They didn't know for sure what was happening but it was clear that they had the rights... so they were upset... This is really weird... They have been announcing repeatedly on the radio and the website... [thanks ellis]

I hope they stream the next shows of Coldplay! Now, Coldplay or the responsibles of this rude decition make an explanation of what happened or why they've cancelled it. It's rude to cancel in such a way a first act that calls on thousands of fans from around the world trying to watch them... I hope they give bbkstream the recorded show or something like that but not the money back, (unless they share it among all the fans?) [thanks Coldplero]

Band and crew seem to be top people and none of them will probably cancel something like that broadcast on purpose or out of sheer mischief. I'm just happy we all had the chance to watch some festivals and will be able to do so many other times this season. Besides, I'm happy for the extra material on the website - 42 reports, videos and stuff. I'm not into many bands but I think not everybody treats their fans so well. [thanks Suzana Fong]

New photos of Coldplay - BBK Live Festival (7th July, 2011):

Coldplay headlined Portugal's Optimus Alive Festival last night (6th July 2011). There was another slight change to the setlist again - this time Shiver was readded to the setlist in place of Cemeteries Of London - so the setlist was the same one as Glastonbury, Rock Werchter and Where The Action Is Festivals. The same new tracks from the previous festival performances were also played - MX/Hurts Like Heaven, Major Minus, Us Against The World, Charlie Brown and Every Teardrop Is A Waterfall.

There was no live stream available of last night's show which led to rumours that Coldplay were playing a new song (possibly Princess Of China), but this turned out to be just that - a rumour. Optimus Alive had a live stream of the festival but they did not have the rights to broadcast Coldplay's show. More live discussion on this show is at the Coldplay Live forum. There are some excellent photos (mainly of Chris Martin) available now on Flickr courtesy of Palco Principal's photostream. Thanks to everyone who has contributed on the forums, Youtube and twitters. We'll have more on this show over the next few hours/days!

Setlist confirmed):

MX/Hurts Like Heaven

Yellow

In My Place

Major Minus

Lost!

The Scientist

Shiver

Violet Hill

God Put A Smile Upon Your Face

Everything's Not Lost

Us Against The World

Politik

Viva la Vida

Charlie Brown

Life Is For Living

-------

Clocks

Fix You

Every Teardrop Is A Waterfall

Photo by Palco Principal @ Flickr

I just arrived from the concert. It was really great, Chris sounded great, the guys did a fantastic job and it was really wild at times. I have videos and photos, but I was a bit far away, not sure how it turned out. Idk if there's anything extra I could add. Well, before Us Against the World Chris said "This song is called Us Against the World and it was written specifically for portuguese people." Which got people laughing and then he said something else but I couldn't hear it. He also said they loved Blondie and dedicated one of the songs to them. It was a really diverse crowd, sure these guys get to everyone. It was awesome to see them 5 years after!! And I was so happy they did Shiver and Everything's not Lost, I hadn't seen the setlists they have been using, so it was a nice surprise. I also loved how they did God Put a Smile Upon your Face. It was one of the best moments of the night, it really got the crowd going. I just can't wait to have them back. [thanks whiteshadows]

I was at the very right side of the stage, second row and around my area I had REALLY lovely & nice people who helped me to enjoy this show even more. The crowd was really going berserk at times but since everyone missed out on the VLV tour, this is even more understandable. I thought queueing up and the whole entry itself was quite poorly arranged. The run to the stage was over 1 km, so I only ended up at my spot and not any better. But it was completely okay, some of my pics turned out pretty good considering the distance but for some obvious reason, I have most of them from Guy. I will post some of them on saturday when I get home as I am currently on my friends computer and need to resize the pics first. I was a bit concerned at first as one of the other bands (Grouplove) had major sound problems (sound went down completely or better the speakers went down) so I had huge worries that Coldplay may suffer from this as well but the sound was just perfect & Chris's voice more than brilliant. [thanks littlemissmessy]

I'm sorry, I've got to say this in Portuguese... QUE PUTA DE CONCERTOOOOOOOOOOO!!! it overcame all my expectations, really... I couldn't ask for a better concert, seriously, it was the best fuckin' evening in all my life. [thanks aRushofLeonor2TheHead]

Well, I was there and made it to the front row. The whole thing was phenomenal!!! I had tried to lower my expectations so I wouldn't feel sad or anything afterwards but there was no need to because I was blown away from beginning to end. It's not that strange considering it was my first Coldplay concert. However, I had been following the festivals they played at, watching the livestreams and everything, so I knew what was coming. But I really didn't. The setlist was basically the same, except for Shiver, as you know, and that was a complete, pleasant surprise. I couldn't believe they were playing that since we-know-who is always mentioned as being against playing it. Speaking of which, I had the misfortune (the only one though) of being in front of the camera and the man blocked my view of Guy for quite some time and of Chris a few times during the show. BUT I don't care because I still got a great experience out of it. Saw a few roadies I recognized and Phil walked in front of me a couple of times, as he was taking pictures right in front of the stage. Little trivia: he smelled like coffee. I was so blown away by everything, from the way they sounded so great live, the fact that they seemed genuinely happy and pleased with everything, the crowd that was really good and sang for most of the show (the new songs were not as well-known for most people), the lights, the confettis (I have a few M's and X's )......... everything was astonishing and overwhelming. I couldn't ask for a better show, really. It doesn't matter if it was a truly exhausting day, for me, because in the end, that hour and a half more than made up for everything! I didn't think I could love them more,yet I do. They were truly wonderful. [thanks LoverInJapan]

New photos of Coldplay (well, mainly Chris Martin) - Optimus Alive Festival, Portugal (6th July, 2011):

The Atlanta Music Midtown festival, which ended in 2005 after a mostly successful and frequently buzzed-about 11-year run, will return Saturday, September 24th, at Piedmont Park - and Coldplay will headline, the official site has confirmed today. Catch all the latest discussion and previews to this new festival date at the Coldplay Live forum now [thanks LiTii & _Tash]

Here's Anchorman's announcement: We're pleased to report that Coldplay will headline this year's Music Midtown festival, which takes place in Atlanta's Piedmont Park on Saturday, September 24th. Other acts playing include The Black Keys, Cage the Elephant, Manchester Orchestra, Young The Giant, Band of Skulls, Joy Formidable, The Constellations, Mona and The Postelles. General admission tickets cost just $55.00 + $1.00 for Centers of Hope. They go on general sale on Saturday, July 16th @ 10AM EST at www.musicmidtown.com, www.livenation.com or charge by phone at 1-800-745-3000.

Two stages will bookend the park during the noon to 11 p.m. event, featuring headliners Coldplay and The Black Keys and a slew of burgeoning alternative bands such as Cage the Elephant, Band of Skulls, The Joy Formidable and Atlanta-based Manchester Orchestra, writes the Access Atlanta website, in a preview of the festival, and a background to its history and subsequent changes. Tickets go on sale July 16 and will cost $55 for the all-day fest, which will also include an artists market, food vendors and two VIP areas.

Peter Conlon, president of Live Nation Atlanta who co-founded the event in 1994, will again steer Music Midtown as it re-enters the market with a scaled-down approach. But the setup, he points out, isn’t much different from the festival’s inaugural year. “This all started as three stages over two days,” Conlon said last week in an exclusive interview with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution at Empire State South in Midtown, not far from the site of the festival’s glory years.

Though Conlon realizes that Music Midtown 2011 isn’t boasting a head-spinning lineup tantamount to past years -- 2003’s event trumpeted 150 acts ranging from Sheryl Crow to Def Leppard to Tony Bennett -- his current plan revolves around prudence. Organizers are working on adding a Friday night single-act concert as well. “The basis is to really build acts and to get people to come and enjoy music. We need to build our core audience again,” Conlon said.

Conlon’s longtime promoter partner and co-founder of Music Midtown, Alex Cooley, is now retired and isn’t involved with the festival reboot. The decision to resurrect Music Midtown began last fall with discussions about location and permit approvals, and Conlon started booking acts in April. But really, the ghost of Music Midtown never disappeared, even after Conlon ended the festival after its 2005 incarnation near the Atlanta Civic Center. That weekend was plagued by bad weather and perceived competition from the Vibe Music Fest at the downtown Georgia Dome. Conlon, who said he lost $3 million that final year, was left feeling a lack of support and cooperation, figured, “If you guys don’t want it, fine.”

But since then, he said, no matter where he went, “every waiter, every bank teller,” would ask him when Music Midtown would return. Now Conlon feels confident he has the support of the city, a venue suited to a day and night of standing and, if Mother Nature plays along, ideal fall temperatures.

Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed voiced his support of the event – and Piedmont Park – in an interview Monday afternoon. “In my mind, this is the most special venue in the city. The venues in the past were always challenged, but at that time, the park wasn’t in any condition to handle the capacity of people,” Reed said, noting that the city is not providing any funding for Music Midtown. “But because of the critical investments made by the city and the Piedmont Park Conservancy, it’s now in condition to do what it’s meant to do -- be an important public gathering place.”

While the Music Midtowns of old could attract 200,000 to 300,000 fans over a three-day weekend, Piedmont Park’s capacity wraps at about 55,000. The location also means about 85 percent of attendees will utilize MARTA, as they have during the annual Green Concerts at the park. Reed said that while neighborhood reaction is always a concern, he’s confident that Music Midtown can thrive in its new locale. “This is not a long-term commitment,” he said. “We’re going to try it with a group that is really special in Coldplay, and if the community doesn’t feel it was a good fit, we’ll revisit it at that time. But I happen to believe it’s going to work very well.”

Conlon, too, is both hopeful and cautiously optimistic. “This year will determine if Music Midtown goes forward or not,” he said. “Hopefully this is the first year of a new run.”

New photos of Coldplay - Main Square Festival, Arras, France (3rd July, 2011):

[Photos by Benoit Darcy @ Flickr]

Coldplay's headline set at Thursday's BBK Live festival in Bilbao, Spain, will be broadcast live and in full on the EITB (Euskal Irrati Telebista) website, according to their announcement today.

The 6th festival of Bilbao BBK Live kicks off on Thursday, July 7th and continues until dawn on Saturday July 9th at the Kobetamendi (Kobeta mountain) location. Those unable to attend this year will be able to view some of the concerts via eitb.com's live streaming facility - including the headline set from Coldplay.

You can read and discuss more on the BBK Live festival and Coldplay's set at the Coldplay Live forum now. The Festival organizers have released the schedule and line-up for each day of the three-day event, which you can read in its entirity here at the EITB website. Coldplay with hit the stage at 11.40pm (10.40pm BST) on Stage 1.

New photos of Coldplay - Main Square Festival, Arras, France (3rd July, 2011):

[Photos by Benoit Darcy @ Flickr]