While overall U.S. music unit sales, which includes songs, albums, vinyl, music videos and ringtones, climbed 10.5% to 1.5 billion in 2008, total album sales -- including 10-song digital track groupings -- fell 8.5% to 428.4 million, according to a report from Nielsen SoundScan.

Sales of physical albums like CDs fell 20%, to 362.6 million, and are off by 45% since 2000. Meanwhile, digital album sales were up 32% in 2008, to 65.8 million units, and digital track sales grew 27% to reach a record 1.07 billion.

The top-selling digital album of the year was Coldplay's "Viva La Vida" (617,000 units), while the top digital track was Leona Lewis' "Bleeding Love" (3.4 million units). The final week of 2008 was also the best week ever for music sales, which saw consumers make 65 million music purchases.

Nielsen's report also noted that more vinyl albums were sold in 2008 (1.88 million) than in any other year since its SoundScan service launched in 1991, and that two of every three vinyl albums were purchased at independent music stores.

The top-selling vinyl album of the year was Radiohead's "In Rainbows," followed by The Beatles' "Abbey Road."

Coldplay's Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends was the best-selling rock album of 2008, according to Billboard's year-end survey.

The British band's fourth studio effort sold 2.15 million copies and finished second overall only to rapper Lil Wayne's Tha Carter III, which moved 2.88 million copies to land in the top spot. The next biggest-selling rock release was Kid Rock's 2007 outing, Rock 'n'Roll Jesus, which finished the year at Number Four with more than two million copies sold, despite not being available at iTunes.

Three more rock artists made it to the year-end Top 10. AC/DC's Black Ice made it to Number Five with 1.9 million copies sold since coming out this past October, while Metallica hit the seventh spot with its September release, Death Magnetic, which sold 1.57 million copies. Finally, singer Jack Johnson got 1.5 million record buyers to Sleep Through The Static for a Number Nine finish.

The rest of the year's Top 10 included Taylor Swift, whose two albums finished at Numbers Three and Six, rapper T.I. at Number Eight and Beyonce at Number 10.

Despite topping the chart, Tha Carter III was the first year-end Number One album to not sell more than three million copies since SoundScan sales tracking began in 1991. Overall album sales were down 14.4 percent, from 500.5 million copies in 2007 to 428.4 million in 2008.

Digital downloads accounted for 15.4 percent of overall album sales this year, up from 10 percent in 2007. Nearly 1.9 million vinyl records were sold in 2008 -- the most since tracking began in 1991 -- and the first time since 2004 that more than a million were sold.

More than one billion individual tracks were sold as digital downloads, the first time sales have gone over the billion mark since the format was launched.

Former Dun Laoghaire Institute of Art, Design & Technology student Paul O’Brien won the competition to come up with a video for the new Coldplay single, ‘Lost?’, and hotpress online has published a short article on it:

O’Brien employs a blend of claymation and computer graphics to tell the story of a piano player who can’t find his dog, Seamus.

“I'm a huge Coldplay fan, almost to the point of being obsessive,” O’Brien admits. “Listening to the song gave me lots of feelings, but mostly drew me towards the idea of people trying to find each other. I’d played with the idea of a couple who’d been forced apart, but then felt it was all a bit complex. Stop-Motion lends itself to simpler stories and I thought a dog wandering away from his owner was a lot less complicated, yet could still bring viewers the same kind of emotions. The sets and characters took roughly two weeks to get ready and from that point the animation took probably another two weeks of sleepless nights!”The hard graft paid off with a spokesperson enthusing: “The band and I were blown away by the attention to detail, the characterisation and its sheer life-affirming splendour. Congratulations, Paul, and thank you for giving us three minutes of heart-warming brilliance!”

The clip – which can be viewed here – received its giant screen premiere before Christmas at one of Chris Martin & Co’s London O2 Arena shows.

The cover art on Fleet Foxes' self-titled debut album has won the Best Art Vinyl Award for 2008.

The artwork on Roots Manuva's 'Slime And Reason' came second in the Art Vinyl poll, while Coldplay's 'Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends' [pictured] was third. The cover on Fleet Foxes album, which was praised by critics, features an exert of Pieter Bruegel's painting, Netherlandish Proverbs. A selection of the most popular covers are due to go on display at Rough Trade East in London later this month.

More discussion on this in the Coldplay forum here [thanks Jenjie]

Could Coldplay about to completely change their sound?

Chris Martin has announced that over the coming year Coldplay will significantly be changing their musical style. Coldplay's frontman says the band have a lot to achieve before their impending 10-year anniversary. He told The Sun: "We feel bands need to fill their first 10 years, so we have lots to do before December 31st 2009. I know it's stupid, but that's kind of our deadline. We have to do something good by then."

In 2008, Coldplay enjoyed enormous success with their fourth album Vida La Vida or Death And All His Friends; but while Martin admits they have achieved some "pretty good stuff" since their debut album was released in 2000, the arrival of 2010 will bring a new era. He added: "I'll be 33 that year, and I always feel that marks a different phase of songwriting. So I just try to keep as busy as possible till then. Most of my heroes did most of their great stuff before they were 33. It's not that you can't do great stuff afterwards. You just have to have deadlines, otherwise you'll spend all day in the sauna."

What are you looking for with Coldplay's 2009 album? Let us know at the messageboard here [thanks deeterrocks101]

As yet unheard Coldplay track The Goldrush will be released on a 7'' vinyl of the forthcoming single 'Life in Technicolor ii', according to sources found today.

The expected release date for this is 2nd February 2009. Will Champion will apparently take lead vocals, similar to Death Will Never Conquer. For a time, the two songs were mistakenly thought to be the same as each other, probably due to Will's vocal contribution.

The lyrics to the song are included in the programme for the Viva La Vida Tour alongside the rest of the album's songs, indicating that The Goldrush was expected to become a live staple at future concerts. The Goldrush was originally supposed to by given away during the recent UK tour, but this didn't materialise. Chris Martin said: "We're also hoping to do this thing where we give away a song with every ticket. We have this song called The Goldrush, which Will sings. We want to play it as part of the show, so we'd like to give it away with the ticket. That way the only people that know that song will be the people coming to the concerts."

More details on the pending release of 'The Goldrush' at the Coldplay forum here [thanks Fer_Hiperfine]

Here is the tracklisting:

Side 1:

1. Life In Technicolor ii

Side 2:

2. The Goldrush

The lyrics are:

I went digging for gold

Down by the river

Over by the mountain

Where the prospektor had been told

I'm marching through the cold

We're marching through the cold

I went digging for gold

I went down with my brother

A bucket and a shovel and a book about the colour of coal

I'm marching through the cold

We're marching through the cold

There's a tiny little crackle on the telephone line

Saying what use the metal if the metal don't shine?

She said bring me back a diamond/ring 'cause I really want one

Now I been digging so long that I never see the sun

2008 closed with a bang for Coldplay. The band's fourth album, Viva La Vida Or Death And All His Friends, was officially elected 'Album Of The Year' by Mediatraffic.de site, which takes into account the indices of sales and marketing of the shares of music from around the world.

The 162,000 copies of the album sold this week have brought the total number of copies purchased to 6,570,400. There was also an increase in sales due to Christmas, and in the U.S. alone over 51,000 copies were sold during the last seven days. This makes a US total of 2,084,777 to date, the UK with 1,066,037 and Japan - 287,032.

Here's confirmation that Coldplay finished on top of the United World Chart. The top 10 was:

01. Coldplay, Viva La Vida Or Death And All His Friends (2008) - 6.552.000

02. AC/DC, Black Ice (2008) - 4.985.000

03. Amy Winehouse, Back To Black (2006) - 4.789.000

04. Duffy, Rockferry (2008) - 4.462.000

05. Leona Lewis, Spirit (2007) - 4.251.000

06. Soundtrack, Mamma Mia! (2008) - 3.911.000

07. Metallica, Death Magnetic (2008) - 3.611.000

08. Rihanna, Good Girl Gone Bad (2007) - 3.560.000

09. Madonna, Hard Candy (2008) - 3.250.000

10. Lil Wayne, Tha Carter III (2008) - 3.184.000

Read the full end of year report at the Coldplay forum here [thanks Coldpatrix]

Nielsen recently released its list of the 10 most downloaded songs of 2008 (below). Unlike last year's list, which contained seven tracks released by Universal Music Group, this year's selection features a more even distribution of the four major labels: 3 songs from UMG, 3 from Sony, 2 from Warner Music Group and 2 from EMI, which had no songs on last year's list.

Not surprisingly, EMI's two contributions are from Coldplay and Katy Perry, both of which were smash hits.

We won't know how much EMI, Sony or UMG made from digital sales for the calendar year until this spring*, but EMI reportedly made $148 million in digital revenues during the first half of its 2008 fiscal year, from April 1 to September 30. According to a report from owner Terra Firma, the label racked up $240 million in digital sales during the entire year ending March 31, 2008, before Coldplay or Katy Perry released their in-demand albums and accompanying singles.

We'll soon see whether EMI's resurgence will last and whether it will be due to more than four lads from London and a girl from L.A. singing about kissing other girls. The label has highly anticipated albums from Lily Allen and Keith Urban both due out by the end of March.

*Warner Music Group's fiscal year ended in September and they recorded $599 million in digital revenues for 2008 out of $2.9 billion in total revenues for the year.

Coldplay frontman Chris Martin insists the band has "lots to do" before the year 2010. He says he plans to keep as busy as possible through 2009.

He explained to the media in the new year, "We feel bands need to fill their first 10 years, so we have lots to do before December 31, 2009. I know it's stupid, but that's kind of our deadline. We have to do something good by then. We've done some pretty good stuff, but there's something about the year changing to 2010.

I'll also be 33 that year, and I always feel that marks a different phase of songwriting. So I just try to keep as busy as possible till then. Most of my heroes did most of their great stuff before they were 33. It's not that you can’t do great stuff afterwards. You just have to have deadlines, otherwise you’ll spend all day in the sauna."

Sales of recorded music fell sharply in 2008, as consumers continued to migrate away from the CD format, large retailers reduced floor space for music and the recession dampened consumer spending during the critical year-end holiday shopping period.

Total album sales in the United States, including CDs and full-album downloads, were 428 million, a 14 percent drop from 2007, according to data from Nielsen SoundScan. Since the industry’s peak in 2000, album sales have declined 45 percent, although digital music purchases continue to grow at a rapid rate.

The year’s biggest seller was Lil Wayne’s album “Tha Carter III” (Cash Money/Universal Motown), which sold 2.87 million copies, followed by Coldplay’s “Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends” (Capitol), with 2.14 million. “Fearless” (Big Machine), the second album by the 19-year-old country star Taylor Swift, was third, with 2.11 million. (Ms. Swift also scored the sixth-highest seller this year, for her self-titled debut, released in 2006, which sold 1.6 million copies in 2008.)The music industry has grown accustomed to dismal sales numbers, and this year even the good news comes with disappointment. “Tha Carter III” is the first release in SoundScan’s 17-year history to top the year-end list with sales of less than 3 million.

Sales of digital music continued to rise steeply last year. Just over a billion songs were downloaded, a 27 percent increase from 2007, and some record companies say they are finally beginning to wring significant profits from music on Web sites like YouTube and MySpace.

Read the full music article here

Courtesy of Coldplay's Messenger email service:

We wanted a special prize for our Christmas edition, so we've been saving this one. When the Viva La Vida album was released, Coldplay asked for some promo copies to be pressed up on vinyl. Just 350 copies were made and we have one to give away to you folks. Even better, it will be fully signed by the band. If you'd like to win it, simply email your details to competitions@coldplay.com before January 5th. Just one entry per person, please.

A reminder that there is a free online Coldplay Christmas gift available now. Here's the messenger again:

As a special thanks for all your support this year, we've just unveiled a couple of Christmas treats at Coldplay.com. Click here to go to the site and download a free MP3 of the belting Thin White Duke remix of Viva La Vida (it's available until January 5th). You can also watch a film of the band performing Jingle Bells with Simon Pegg at one of last week's London O2 shows. Silly Christmas headgear ahoy!

The big live news from Coldplay in September was that Cemeteries Of London had been soundchecked by the band in Strasbourg. At that point, the track from the new album Death And All His Friends had never been played live.

After some expensive looking high concept videos for their last few efforts Coldplay brought it back to the basics and where it all started from with their new video “Lost” from the top selling album Viva La Vida Or Death And All His Friends. The video was a performance piece with the band rocking an arena sized audience as Chris displays some creative dance moves then takes off in the middle of the crowd. Good thing Chris isn’t a rapper, he might be chainless after running into a crowd after a Hip Hop show like that.

The first of two 2008 live photoblogs came in September, direct from the tour venue in Lyon, and you were all right there with us discussing it as it happened (except those inside the venue, of course). September wasn't a very good month for punctuation, as Chris Martin explained: just landed in stockholm spent yesterday writing writing writing and eating cake tour so far best one we ever did audiences wonderful and catering also we are trying to find the right night to play glass of water which is good heavy and recently finished please excuse the lack of punctuation there are no full stops in sweden chris

Read the full September 2008 Coldplay review article in the Coldplay forum here

Leona Lewis is keen to work with Coldplay on her second album, according to reports. Lewis has previously spoken of her plans to work with a number of bands on the project – although she refused to name which ones.

The former X Factor winner is said to be looking to give the follow-up to 2007’s ‘Spirit’ a “rockier edge”. “Leona would love to work with Coldplay and knows Chris Martin likes her voice,” a source told the Sun newspaper. “She would love to sing a duet with him. If not, maybe he could write a song for her. Chris is open to all kinds of music and isn’t at all snobby about what some see as cheesy pop.”

Full discussion on a possible Leona Lewis & Coldplay collaboration in the Coldplay forum here

Coldplay Roadie Matt McGinn's new book is due to be published on 1 May 2009 by Portico. Here is the product description for said item:

If it's true that behind every great man there is a great woman, then behind every great band, there's a similarly skilled road crew...This book is the backstage 'on the road' account of Matt McGinn's life as a roadie touring with a band at the pinnacle of their success. The book charts the life and duties of a rock and roll roadie for the band Coldplay, who has been with them right from the start of their career (as well as his)."ROADIE" is stuffed with insightful and authoritative rock 'n' roll tour stories about daily roadie duties; the job; the road; the gigs, the band; the relationships; the fame; the failing equipment and the cold beers after a great show - as well as humorous and engaging anecdotes about Matt's relationship with Coldplay as they travel the world and become the biggest band on it.The book will have mass appeal to young musicians and bands as well as the upcoming technical staff who want to read about the duties and life of a roadie for one of the biggest bands in the world. The book also promises a foreword by Chris Martin as well exclusive never-before-seen photography of the band. "ROADIE" will be the first, and only, biography and book of the band approved by Coldplay. It is an authoritative, engaging account of a roadie's life and duty to the biggest band in the world. It is an insightful and entertaining look at the rock and roll touring industry. This the first and only book blessed by Coldplay. It includes a foreword by Chris Martin (Coldplay), along with exclusive photography.

About the Author: Matt is the only full time backline technician employed by the band and the key member of its touring force. He was present during the recording of the last two albums, has circled the globe over a dozen times, and during the last six years, Matt has risen to the top of the roadie ranks. This is his first book.

Read more on this exclusive announcement in the Coldplay forum here [thanks a-chan, ColdplayBirdsFly & Jenjie]

Nominations for the Brit Awards 2009 won't be revealed until 18th February 2009 but already people are talking on which group will pick up the gong after the success in 2008 of Coldplay, Take That and Radiohead.

Current market leader with Paddy Power in the betting for Best Group are Coldplay at 11/10, followed by Take That at odds of 6/4. You can be a bit more adventurous with your wager if you fancy backing an outsider and take Glasvegas at 20/1 or Last Show Puppets at 50/1.

Betting Odds (Paddy Power)

Coldplay - 11/10

Take That - 6/4

Kaiser Chiefs - 8/1

Girls Aloud - 10/1

Oasis - 12/1

Coldplay have announced a new outdoor gig date in September 2009 in Paris, and also news on Coldplay's Top Of The Pops performance that aired on Christmas Day. Here's Anchorman with more details:

Good morning - and a happy Boxing Day to you. We're pleased to announce that Coldplay will be playing at the Parc des Princes in Paris, France on 7th September 2009. Tickets go on sale on 7th January from livenation.fr.

Meanwhile, those of you in the UK can currently watch Coldplay's appearance on yesterday's Top Of The Pops Christmas special on the BBC's iPlayer here. They're on after 51 minutes.

Full discussion on the new Paris date at the Coldplay Live forum here [thanks Coldpatrix]

Courtesy of Coldplay's Messenger email service:

We wanted a special prize for our Christmas edition, so we've been saving this one. When the Viva La Vida album was released, Coldplay asked for some promo copies to be pressed up on vinyl. Just 350 copies were made and we have one to give away to you folks. Even better, it will be fully signed by the band. If you'd like to win it, simply email your details to competitions@coldplay.com before January 5th. Just one entry per person, please.

A reminder that there is a free online Coldplay Christmas gift available now. Here's the messenger again:

As a special thanks for all your support this year, we've just unveiled a couple of Christmas treats at Coldplay.com. Click here to go to the site and download a free MP3 of the belting Thin White Duke remix of Viva La Vida (it's available until January 5th). You can also watch a film of the band performing Jingle Bells with Simon Pegg at one of last week's London O2 shows. Silly Christmas headgear ahoy!

Coldplay, Duffy and the Kaiser Chiefs will all perform on the Top of the Pops Christmas special, it's been announced.

The winner of this year's X Factor Alexandra Burke, Girls Aloud and Dizzee Rascal will also appear on the show on Christmas Day at 2pm. As previously reported on Gigwise, the BBC cancelled the Christmas show earlier this year because of falling viewing figures. But the corporation later reinstated it, along with a New Years special.

Burke will perform her cover of Leonard Cohen's 'Hallelujah' on Top of the Pops. The singer will be crowned the UK's Christmas number one this weekend following her huge exposure on the talent contest.

More discussion on this in the Coldplay forum here

Coldplay played the final night of the 2008 Viva La Vida tour at Belfast's Odyssey Arena...

Setlist:

Life In Technicolor

Violet Hill

Clocks

In My Place

Speed Of Sound

Yellow

Chinese Sleep Chant

42

Fix You

Strawberry Swing

God Put A Smile Upon Your Face (techno version)

Talk (techno version)

The Hardest Part (Chris solo piano)

Postcards From Far Away (piano instrumental)

Viva La Vida

Lost!

Death Will Never Conquer (acoustic - Will vocals)

Green Eyes (acoustic)

Jingle Bells (acoustic)

Viva La Vida (remix interlude)

------

Politik

Lovers In Japan

Death And All His Friends

-------

The Scientist / Back For Good

Life in Technicolor ii

The Escapist (outro)

Picture by cooki2222

[discussion] [photos] [videos] [wiki reviews/setlist] (updated over the next 24 hours)

All done end of the year. OH and i got a high five from chris tonight. Exact same setlist as friday night except they did death will never conquer first then green eyes then jingle bells [thanks cooki2222]

Twas awesome stuff. Never expected all the lasers and big screens and dangling ball screen thingy and exploding balloons etc. The band were on top form, started off a bit quiet but got everyone into it after Violet Hill. After that the crowd were awesome. Took seeing them live to really appreciate Will, he can do everything and do it well. And more bands should stick a stage in the back of the crowd. When you realise your seats are at the very back and feeling pretty bad about it, having the band come from the other side of the arena to 10 feet on front of you is amazing. I am so jealous of the people surrounding them then. Probably the best show I've ever been too, singing, energy, and niceness of the band made my Christmas Eve eve. [thanks zorro37]

seats seats seats. coldplay should never do all-seated shows again. i thought it was hilarious when chris was full flight mid-song and then right next to him 2 latecomers come along with there beers and take their seats right beside him on the catwalk. also everyone seated during the first couple of tracks..somthing i was worried would happen and was embarrassing really.. that aside, a fun show..LIT2 was my fave and the C stage idea is amazing, worked really well i thought. [thanks ross_ander]

More on this concert including reviews, videos and pictures here onwards.

With a little under two years since their last visit to South America, Coldplay will return and will include a multi-stop tour, according to Chilean media sources today - the same sources that successfully predicted the last tour. Chile, Mexico, Brazil and Argentina are likely to be included in the itinery, with the possibility of additions such as Perú or Colombia.

Producers involved in negotiations are the same which took care of Coldplay's first 3 shows of 2007 - February 14th, 15th and 16th in Chile, when around 15000 people over the three nights saw them live in concert. Coldplay have confirmed tour dates up until March 19th, which is when a Latin America tour will start (possibly in Mexico). Coldplay's return would need a bigger stage - the 2007 concerts were in a 5000 people venue.

Read full details, discussions so far and the media article which led to the news here [thanks Lore]

Coldplay heads the list of Grammy nominees that will perform the songs of Neil Diamond at the MusiCares Person of the Year gala held during Grammy week. Adele, Foo Fighters, Josh Groban, Jennifer Hudson, Raul Malo, Tim McGraw and others will perform Feb. 6 at the Recording Academy fete at the Los Angeles Convention Center.

Luxury items, VIP experiences and celebrity memorabilia is auctioned to raise funds for MusiCares, the org that provides music people with financial, medical and personal assistance. The 51st annual Grammy Awards will be held February 8th at the Staples Center in Los Angeles.

This year, MusiCares recognized soul legend Aretha Franklin and hosted an extensive gospel tribute on its February Grammy broadcast. Those interested in more information on purchasing tables or tickets to the event are encouraged to call MusiCares at (310) 392-3777.

More discussion on this event in the Coldplay forum here

As 2008 winds down, the rumour mill for Glastonbury 2009 is already in full swing, with a host of famous names predicted as potential headliners for the world-famous festival.

eFestivals are speculating that Neil Young will be one of the main headlining acts, whilst Virtual Festivals are backing Coldplay, Bruce Springsteen, and the recently reformed Blur to fill the three headline spots. Other bands rumoured to be appearing are Kaiser Chiefs, Razorlight, The Specials, Klaxons, Lily Allen and Kanye West.

However, the organisers themselves have been quick to point out that no bands have yet been 100% booked. On the official festival website, Emily Eavis said: 'We have got some very exciting plans in the pipeline for next year, but nothing has been totally confirmed. Watch this space, though'.

Tickets for the festival are on sale now and can be purchased here. Please note that customers wishing to purchase tickets need to be registered, which can be done either by visiting the Glastonbury 2009 website, or by sending an SAE to Glastonbury, PO Box 2445, Glasgow G40 9AG.

A full announcement is expected from the organisers next spring, so keep checking back for updates here on Ents24.

You can grab a free download and watch a festive film, courtesy of Coldplay's official site. Here's Anchorman with full details:

Good morning. We've just unveiled a couple of Christmas treats on the site for you. Click here to get a free download of the slammin' Thin White Duke remix of Viva La Vida and to watch the band performing a special festive tune. They'll be available until Twelfth Night (aka Jan 5th). Happy Christmas folks. Anchorman.

And here's Prospekt with some more details:

As a thank you for all the incredible support you've given us this year, we've got a little Christmas pressie for you: the rather brilliant Thin White Duke mix of Viva La Vida. You can also click here to watch this little Christmas ditty recorded at the O2 with Mr Simon Pegg.

Coldplay played the second of two consecutive concerts at Dublin's refurbished O2 Arena as they continue through towards the end of their UK leg of the Viva La Vida tour. They continued with the brand new addition to the setlist... just for Dublin... Fairytale Of New York (Pogues cover, sang by Will Champion!)

Setlist:

Life In Technicolor

Violet Hill

Clocks

In My Place

Speed Of Sound

Yellow

Chinese Sleep Chant

42

Fix You

Strawberry Swing

God Put A Smile Upon Your Face (techno version)

Talk (techno version)

The Hardest Part (Chris solo piano)

Postcards From Far Away (piano instrumental)

Viva La Vida

Lost!

Green Eyes (acoustic)

Jingle Bells (acoustic)

Fairytale Of New York (acoustic - Will lead vocals, Pogues cover)

Viva La Vida (remix interlude)

------

Politik

Lovers In Japan

Death And All His Friends

-------

The Scientist / Back For Good

Life in Technicolor ii

The Escapist (outro)

[discussion] [photos] [videos] [wiki reviews/setlist] (updated over the next 24 hours)

Finally just arrived back home from one of the best gigs I've ever seen. I'll post a more in-depth review with many videos tomorrow but for now Bohs's review summed it up well. It was absolutely amazing. But while it's still all fresh in the memory, the highlights have to be Yellow, Fix You, Green Eyes and Viva La Vida. Bohs wasn't joking, the reception Viva got once the strings entered after Postcards was UNBELIEVABLE! [thanks deise59]

...Then another personal highlight of the night when the band left the stage and began ascending the stairs to a tiny platform in the middle of the crowd which just happened to be no more than about 6 feet away from where I was situated. I had debated this earlier in the night with my friend that they would come to the spot beside us to play the acoustic set, and luckily I was right I tried to collar Jonny as he came up the steps, I scream to "let me play Green Eyes" unfortunately it wasn't to be! Heart warming renditions of Green Eyes/Jingle Bells (which Chris proclaimed as a new song!) and Fairytale Of New York followed. Fairytale of New York went down a treat with the Dublin crowd as they ably assisted Will with his vocals on this. They promptly made a quick exit from their little platform and gave the crowd a little respite as a remix of Viva La Vida played.... I felt exhausted, elated, overwhelmed all the emotions you could imagine. I was just speechless, but I had a permanent grin on my face. One which is still here now as I write this! The gig maybe over, but the memory of this night will never fade away. Thank you Coldplay for one of the best nights of my life! [partial review excerpt - thanks bohs man]

Talked with Denise just one minute ago. Wonderful gig! She recorded a lot of videos and shot a lot of photos! Same setlist of yesterday, she is still outside waiting for the guys (they took a look to her banner about 'Crests Of Waves')... Denise met Chris yesterday in a casually way. He said Crests Of Waves was tried in soundcheck (even today) but it sounds ugly! Maybe one day in the next future will be performed... Denise will be tomorrow in Belfast, trying to talk with Chris again (or perhaps with the others), but today she shown his banner to Phil Harvey and he smiled! [thanks iriden & coldpatrix]

More on this concert including reviews, videos and pictures here onwards.

Coldplay's Auckland tickets are selling like hotcakes, TVNZ are reporting online today.

The band has announced a second show on March 19. Tickets have gone on sale and the first show is almost sold out, while the second is halfway there. Promoter Michael Chugg says they do not usually announce extra shows before tickets go on sale, but there has been so much interest in pre-sales they want fans to rest easy knowing they won't miss out.

Chugg says enthusiastic fans lobbied Vector Arena and Ticketmaster to get Coldplay to New Zealand in the first place, after Kiwis missed out on the 2006 tour.