Coldplay played the first 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. A 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)

Pictures: state.ie

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

Hello. First time posteer, long time reader. Just back from the O2 and what a fantastic show! Never considered myself a huge Coldplay fan. Always thought (and still do) that their best album will be their greatest hits but found myself loving VLV so got a ticket when they went on sale. So glad I did now. Fairytale went down like a house on fire being Dublin. [thanks kmurph]

yep, they played fairytale of new york and will sang it! What an amazing show..... I was in the very front row! [thanks marcus_on]

Yesterday was absolutely amazing, the irish crowd is great and everything went smooth, they tried to make us sit but it was impossible and everyone stood up the entire time and danced on the floor. Will singing Fairytale of New York was a real surprise and it was even greater listening to all the crowd singing with him (apart from us since we didn't know the words)...and I got it on video with Jingle Bells as well. Setlist was the same as London except for the abovementioned cover of The Pogues, Chris sang also Back for Good at the end of The Scientist. I was front row close to the B-stage but my camera sucks so my pics won't be all that great. [thanks iriden]

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

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

December 19, 2008 - submitted by from Frederika and Nils, Germany

Q. Where do the Coldplay Crew get all the butterfly-confetti from? Perhaps from a butterfly pooping pony out of Katy's world, like in the movie Horton Hears a Who?

The Oracle replies:

A company based in Illinois called Strictly FX who also provide the 30+ blowers that shower us with the butterflies during the show! It's the biggest confetti drop anywhere.

December 19, 2008 - submitted by Mark, United Kingdom

Q. Hi Oracle, whats the name of the Chris Martin and Ash song from Shaun of the Dead and where can I get it?

The Oracle replies:

There are three Ash songs in the film's soundtrack, Orpheus, Meltdown and a cover of The Buzzcock's Everybody's Happy Nowadays featuring Chris on vocals. You can actually find it on itunes.

December 19, 2008 - submitted by Anita, Canada

Q. Is the cover version of Marvin Gaye's "What's Going On?" sung by Bono and Chris, Chris and U2, Bono and Coldplay, or with both bands? And when did they produce the cover version? Thank You

The Oracle replies:

Bono was the brainchild behind this charity record that featured an array of artists. The aim was for the proceeds to benefit The United Way's September 11th Fund and Artists Against Aids Worldwide. Chris featured on the London Version along with Bono (and The Edge) so it was neither a U2 nor a Coldplay venture. This was back in 2001 after the aforementioned September 11th atrocities.

December 19, 2008 - submitted by Alistair, United Kingdom

Q. What was the classical piece of music played in the warm up before Coldplay came on stage at the O2 concert 16.12.08.

The Oracle replies:

The Blue Danube by Strauss comes straight after Jay-Z - I Just Wanna Love U (Give It 2 Me) that indicates it's showtime.

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

December 18, 2008 - submitted by Daan, United Kingdom

Q. Dear Oracle thingy magingy all-knowing Jim bob person, Having read through fourscore Oracle postings, my question is probably too much related to Coldplay for you to answer, but it's about Green Eyes. When I listened to it for the first time, I thought it was a gem because I immediately thought it was about Gwyneth, and that extra meaning just transformed it into a sparkly rainbow of a song. But I just read on a forum that Chris denied it's about her during a performance, at the time saying coldplay was gonna stop performing it too because it was always wrongly associated with her. Ok, so what is the real story behind this song? According to something else Chris said, it's got something to do with an "American friend". I hope that's not too personal a question for him. If he says it is, just tell him I'm a UCL student and he'll be like "way to go! I'll tell ya". Let me take this opportunity to say they are quite an inspiration to all UCL students, that 4 ordinary guys, well clever but ordinary, homey chaps, can make it big like that.

The Oracle replies:

Cheeky! Green Eyes was written about an "American friend" yes but also about Jonny. It has been played sporadically but I guess Chris got sick of being asked and rested it for a while, but since it was written before they met... you can see that it isn't.

December 18, 2008 - submitted by lucy, United Kingdom

Q. Hi Oracle, In the Roadie's blog for Sunday 14th it says that they rushed to BBC Television Centre to do a show. Do you know which one it was, or is it still to be broadcast?

The Oracle replies:

The clue was in the photo! They were filming for the Top of the Pops Christmas special that always airs in the U.K on Christmas Day. We have more details in news.

December 18, 2008 - submitted by Alison, Ireland

Q. I've been told that the concert tomorrow night (19th December) has been cancelled - is this true???????

The Oracle replies:

I don't know where you heard that, but it's on as far as we know! See ya there!

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

December 17, 2008 - submitted by Tyler, United States of America

Q. Why doesn't Coldplay switch up the setlist more often? They've been playing the same songs for a while now, excluding the inclusion of Life in Technicolor II...do they not realize that they have more than 25 songs in their catalog?

The Oracle replies:

Well they do mix it up a little but when you've put as much time and effort into the incredible lights and visuals it would take a lot more time to get that sorted for a new set list, which they're short on. That said, it's only people who go more than once (but not consecutive nights) who will notice the small changes that have taken place over the past seven months. Green Eyes is in, Trouble is out, Yellow has not only moved but started as an acoustic song on Stage C, Stage B had The Hardest Part added, Yes did make an appearance and so on. Most bands do stick to the same set list on tour it's only your Bruce Springsteen, Radiohead et al who make the main feature of the shows a change of songs. Coldplay's huge production lends itself to being less flexible but is so worth it!

December 17, 2008 - submitted by Agathe, France

Q. Cher Oracle, It's a technical question, why is not there RSS feeds on the site ?

The Oracle replies:

There definitely is because our MySpace and Facebook pages have the official site's RSS feed on them. If you click News on our main page you will see a list of top tags on the right hand side. Above that list is the standard blue RSS logo. Click that and you're off and running. Also, have you seen the share button?

December 17, 2008 - submitted by Janelle, United States of America

Q. I have a question about the lyrics to Yes. When Chris sing's " So up they picked me by the big... and they let go." What is in between big and they let go? Thanks a lot.

The Oracle replies:

Oh we could have so much fun if we were playing Blankety Blank! He actually says, "toe" but it's raised a chuckle from me!

Mexico's Search & Destroy has posted an audio interview with guitarist Joe Satriani. You can listen to Joe Satriani talking about Coldplay's Viva La Vida during his podcast here (the Coldplay clip starts around the 13m20s mark).

According to The Pulse, Coldplay's record label, Capitol/EMI, had forced YouTube to remove a video clip that mashes up the band's song "Viva La Vida" with Joe Satriani's "If I Could Fly". Satriani recently sued Coldplay, claiming that the British quartet plagiarized his 2004 tune for their 2008 hit. The video, which plays a segment of each song separately before layering them together, has been widely accessed by music fans to compare the tracks and debate whether Satriani's claim could have merit.

Satriani filed a copyright infringement suit in Los Angeles on December 4, one day after Coldplay was nominated for seven Grammy Awards, including record of the year for "Viva La Vida". He is seeking a jury trial, damages and "any and all profits" attributable to the alleged copyright infringement.

Full discussion on the Joe Satriani case in the Coldplay forum here

Coldplay played the first of two non-consecutive concerts at Belfast's Odyssey Arena last night as they continue through towards the end of their UK leg of the Viva La Vida tour. They continued with Jingle Bells replacing Death Will Never Conquer. Pictures from the concert are in the Coldplaying Gallery.

Setlist: [thanks cooki2222]

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)

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)

heyyyyyyyyyyy people! my friend took the most amazing pictures of the gig from 19th, we haven't had a chance to get them uploaded yet - we were at kings of leon tonight so things have been pretty hectic well... that was the 6th time I've seen Coldplay, and it was the most amazing gig I have ever EVER been to. after a poor performance in belfast 2005 (another end of tour gig) I was a little dubious about this gig. but i had nothing to worry about. they were in such good form, high spirits, more professional and mature than i've ever seen them. the laser show absolutely blew me away - i can't wait for you all to see the pictures!!! [thanks ::Hayley::]

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

Coldplay.com have announced a second date in New Zealand, with another show at the Vector Arena, Auckland on Thursday 19th March 2009. Tickets for both shows go on sale from ticketmaster.co.nz on Monday 22nd December at 9am local time.

New Zealand missed out on Coldplay's last world tour, rumoured to be because Auckland lacked a decent venue for them to perform in. They have performed there previously at the 2001 Big Day Out. Their last New Zealand performance was at the Auckland Showgrounds in 2003. Promoter Michael Chugg said: "Finally, fans can take a well deserved deep breath. The wait is over New Zealand. We will be bringing Coldplay’s Viva La Vida tour to Vector Arena next March and it’s going to be huge."

Meanwhile, Coldplay have also officially announced that they will be appearing on the two Top Of The Pops specials coming up over the festive period on BBC1 in the UK. They're performing Viva La Vida on the Christmas Day show which begins at 2pm, then they'll be playing Life In Technicolor ii on the New Year's Eve show, which starts at 5.35pm.

Slipknot frontman Corey Taylor has blasted Coldplay's music, claiming their current album Viva La Vida is "self-celebratory".

The singer, speaking on Zane Lowe's show on MTV 2, was asked to describe his thoughts on the band's current offering and launched into a foul-mouthed tirade against it. Pulling no punches, Taylor said there was absolutely nothing about Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends that he liked. "That is one of the most self-celebratory pieces of **** I've ever ******* heard in my entire ******* life … I ******* hate that album. It's music to wipe your ass to. Go suck a ******* ****. Are you watching Martin? Suck it. Go eat a bag of ****," he stated.

Coldplay's fourth record is the fastest selling album in the UK this year, spending four weeks at number one when it was released in June. It has also topped the charts in 35 other countries, and has sold over two million copies in the US alone. (That's something to f****** suck on is it not, Taylor?)Meanwhile, Coldplay frontman Chris Martin recently told the Daily Mirror the band fall out and split up on a regular basis but usually patch up their differences pretty quickly. He revealed the last bust-up came last week when it emerged they were being sued by US rocker Joe Satriani, who claims they lifted the guitar riff from one of his songs.

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. 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

The 40 million album-selling, Grammy Award-winning, Earth-dictating Kings Of Soft Rock called in on Xfm for an exclusive interview, talking the early days, Brian Eno and how they shaped the ‘Coldplay sound’…

Currently on a sell-out tour of the land’s arenas, frontman Chris Martin and drummer Will Champion spoke to Xfm Manchester’s Clint Boon before venturing off to headline the city’s MEN Arena. Listen to the five-part interview at the XFM website here and read the excerpts of each part below. You can enjoy full discussion on the exclusive interviews in the Coldplay forum here [thanks lara]

Part 1 – They talk about building the ‘Coldplay sound’, secretly penning reggae tracks, and ‘Chris Martin’s Analogy Of The Week’.

Part 2 – They talk about what it was like to work with Brian Eno, the future of the album, and being behind U2 in the Biggest Band pecking order.

Part 3 – They talk about who the next Coldplay could be, and how the music industry has changed over time.

Part 4 – They talk about the early days, realising their success, and Chris Martin’s offstage insecurities.

Part 5 – They talk about being affected by critics, and the influence of Manchester.

Radio 1 are hosting a free Coldplay festive track until tomorrow on their website. Here's Coldplay.com's Anchorman with more details:

Good afternoon. Over on BBC Radio 1's site, you can currently download a free MP3 of Coldplay's version of Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas, which the band recorded for the BBC at Maida Vale studios a couple of years ago. Click here to get it - but you'd best be quick, it's only available until 8am tomorrow morning (UK time). Anchorman.

ps - Commiserations to Coldplaying who were very narrowly defeated by Green Day in the semi-final of the Absolute Radio Rock-off (they got 49.8% of the vote). Well done for getting that far chaps, and thanks to everyone who voted for them.

[thanks to Anchorman for promoting our Rock-Off push since early December, it's been quite a ride! And good luck to Green Day, who will play either James or Pink Floyd in the final.]

Chris Martin also thinks the band's recent London gigs could have been better

Coldplay's Chris Martin has admitted that the band's 2000 single 'Shiver' was essentially a Jeff Buckley rip-off, NME are reporting today. The star was speaking on the Chris Moyles Show on BBC Radio 1 today (December 18) when he made the admission. "It's a blatant Jeff Buckley attempt," he told Moyles. "Not quite as good, that's what I think. We were 21 and he was very much a hero, and as with those things it tends to filter through."

The frontman also revealed that he thinks the band's recent London gigs should have been better. The band played the UK capital's O2 Arena earlier this week (December 14, 15, 16). When Moyles asked the singer how he thought the London gigs went, Martin replied, "I would give them a three out of ten". However, the frontman did admit afterwards that he was notoriously difficult to please, saying that the score was "good for me".

More on Chris Martin on the Chris Moyles show here onwards [thanks mimixxx]

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

December 16, 2008 - submitted by Peter, Ireland

Q. Oh oracle oh oracle... i have a predicament... i have tickets to Monday 22nd December's show in the o2 Dublin but am now unable to attend due to a family homecoming for xmas... i have tried desperatly for a swap for the sunday show to no avail.. should i give up on a swap or persevere??

The Oracle replies:

Get yourself on www.coldplaying.com's forum and ask if anyone wants to swap...

December 16, 2008 - submitted by Julia, United Kingdom

Q. Hey, Oracle.I've heard Coldplay's previous name was Starfish. Why'd they change it?

The Oracle replies:

Er because it was c**p! C'mon it's not the greatest name is it?

December 16, 2008 - submitted by Caroline, United Kingdom

Q. Absolutely loved the gig at the MEN on 11th Dec ... after the exhilaration of each show how do the band wind down? I have never heard crowd singing like it ... to hear your own songs like that must give them a massive buzz!

The Oracle replies:

Apparently the crowd was even louder there on Friday 12th. They do love the buzz without a doubt and it takes them a while to wind down. If they're hanging around at the venue they'll chill out, have a drink, say hello to friends or go back to the hotel or home but they couldn't go straight to sleep! Come to think of it, do you find it easy to wind down even after watching them? It always takes me ages to get to sleep especially when I've got the Viva whoa ohs in my head...

December 16, 2008 - submitted by Francisco, Guatemala

Q. Dude! An green question: what's the best thing for the environment to do, throw the waste paper in a basket or into the toilet?

The Oracle replies:

Recycle it! Don't throw it into a toilet, that's not good. Unless of course it's toilet paper.

December 16, 2008 - submitted by lucy, United Kingdom

Q. Hi Oracle went to the Sunday O2 gig and every second of it was TOTALLY FANTASTIC, especially the butterfly bit. It seems to me that every gig they do is the best ever - but have they every actually DONE a bad gig? And does every gig feel like the best to them too? Or do they just get used to it every night?

Thanks very much. Love Lucy, Cornwall xx

The Oracle replies:

They don't do bad gigs but they definitely have days where they feel it's not been their personal best. Performing live is like that for practically everyone. For whatever reason, shows can feel very different even if they're playing a similar or same set every night. They feed off the crowd too so if you want to improve the chances of it being a great gig to the best gig, go NUTS!

Coldplay played the third and final night of three consecutive concerts at London's O2 Arena as they continue through towards the end of their UK leg of the Viva La Vida tour. Coldplay's friend, and British actor, Simon Pegg once again made an appearance on harmonica during the performance of Green Eyes on the C-Stage... and Coldplay also played a special extra song... Jingle Bells!

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, ft Simon Pegg on harmonica)

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)

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

Thouroughly enjoyed myself last night, but wish I'd driven in rather than relying on public transport. Catching my last train home meant missing the 2nd encore! Not a venue I'd do again unless I managed to get seats on the floor or first level, it wasn't great up in the clouds and the atmosphere was a bit lacking. Couldn't really have a dance without the fear of falling 100 feet!! Saying that though I thought the performance was great and Simon was very funny. All in all though Birmingham a few weeks back was a better show imo, I left the NIA with more of a buzz than last night - but I think that was mainly down to where we were sat! [thanks jon_r]

Useless afternoon waiting for them to arrive, we've been told quite quickly that they had arrived earlier for a soundcheck though (we thus new we'd have a special song). Got told before the beginning of the concert that flags were forbidden in that venue... WHAT A JOKE. This actually worried me and I felt quite bad at the beginning of the show though I did wave my VLV one a lot. Anyway decided to stand up right at the beginning of LiT and luckily people in my block stood up too, so I spent the concert jumping and dancing, which help when you want to enjoy it (not like on sunday...). Saw R#42 working hard before the beginning of the show and started to think I could have thrown him my banner, though I was too far away... then during VLV remix, desperate to see no one was enjoying that important part of the show, I decided to run toward the roadies area next to the stage on Guy's side (where R#42 was) where I threw my banner randomly... it landed in a roadie box XD Guess they'll find it as a Christmas gift ahahaha. Anyway I really enjoyed the show (better atmosphere in my opinion, at least in my area). Quite good performance from the band, Chris reminded everyone 2 times that he seemed quite disappointed by the Londoners : changed some lyrics to something similar to ''London crowd is miles away from what a coldplay crowd should be'' (wasn't exactly that, and I don't remember during which song it was, but it was at the very beginning of the show... we'll find out with some videos I guess). Then during In My Place (as far as I'm remember, not sure again) he emphasized A LOT the ''come on and SING TO ME''... I think that worked quite well. Happy me. (though I'm not doing all seated venue anymore). I tried to get closer to the C stage during Hardest Part in order to leave London with a clear picture of Chris' face in my head (ahah, didn't manage to see him on sunday, being in the upper tier), but was asked to come back to my seat after 20 seconds hehe. We left the venue around midnight, I'm sure the band was still there and I guess we could have meet them by leaving later but we had no idea how we would have managed to come back after midnight, we thus had to stop stalking (which made me saaaaad). [thanks Khalplay]

Highlight tonight Jonny wearing reindeer ears and the others santa hats during Jingle bells think it was almost better than monday though can't split them. I had the clearest head on view and wasn't destracted this time by a certain arse off Mr Buclkland this time so could really take it all in for the loudest cheer bit instead of left vs right we had boys vs girls, Jonny was in charge of the boys (chris called this the Brave Heart Roar) and Guy incharge of the girls ( He called this the Take That squeal) to which Guy laughed and most probably blushed for Jonnys solo in IMP Chris introduced him along the lines as Coldplays version of Slash. trying to upload vids, managed one but YT very slow tonight, only down side were some annoying people who decided to get drinks during at least 3 songs I was recording. Chinese sleep chant which I had to delete because they knocked me leaving and coming back and they did it again during LIJ..they seemed more interested in the drink than the band and didn't give anyone else any consideration plus they knocked over my bottle of water.. other than that it was perfect. Can't wait to here Politik in that Stadium next year [thanks bello-lo]

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

Coldplay are planning to make their 2009 world tour X-tra special for fans, by throwing in lots of surprise guests - including Simon Cowell. The lads are hoping that the X Factor judge - he of high-waisted trousers fame - will agree to a special cameo appearance in the show.

Chris Martin tells the Mirror: "I've never met Simon, but I keep wanting to ask him to do a bit in our concert next year. At the end of one song I want him to come on screen and say, 'That was absolutely terrible!' I think he'd be up for it... but now I've given away a surprise."

Meanwhile, while Alexandra Burke is grabbing all the headlines, Coldplay remain loyal to previous X Factor winner Leona Lewis. Raves Chris Martin: "Leona is phenomenal. She is world class, that girl. We saw her singing in LA - she's as good as anybody and I've got nothing but respect for her."

Simon Cowell

Leona Lewis

More exclusive Coldplaying live updates from London's O2 Arena in the UK, from those in the venue (and outside it) at the third and final of three consecutive Coldplay concerts tonight. Keep up-to-date with them all here onwards. Times are GMT (local time). So far, here's a summary (most recent first):

11.07pm: And sadly its come round too fast. The end is here. What an incredible gig. Amazing atmosphere, great venue, and the best band in the world. Every single song was brilliant and the new songs stand up easily as good as the old ones. Thanks Chris, will, guy and johnny boy! You are quite simply the best! See you next year at wembley. [thanks rushofbloodUK via Opera Browser @ O2 Arena]

11.00pm: it's a mricale... you can hardly here me sing... [lit 2] [thanks Chavi & Carlaatje]

10.56pm: chris says tnx for coming but says bye bye i hear escapist[thanks Chavi & Carlaatje]

10.55pm: WooHoo...."live- "oh love, dont let me down..." awww, and he actually let me hear Chris sing it this time, lol) [thanks Kimchi & xxKels]

10.53pm: callerr! lit2 :D i'm recording but singing along too so soryy[thanks Chavi & Carlaatje]

10.50pm: They're back and its The scientist [thanks rushofbloodUK via Opera Browser @ O2 Arena]

10.43pm: Wow Lij amazing! And i got a butterfly! Woo. Now its DAAHF. Don't leave yet people! [thanks rushofbloodUK via Opera Browser @ O2 Arena]

10.32pm: [this] should be jingle bells then [thanks Chavi & Carlaatje]

10.26pm: LOL they played jingle bells and wearing christmas hats! [thanks rushofbloodUK via Opera Browser @ O2 Arena]

10.25pm: Pete says now playing JINGLE BELLS!!!! [thanks Kimchi & xxKels]

10.25pm: another call simon is going nuts on harmonica [thanks Chavi & Carlaatje]

10.20pm: simon pegg is talking... he says he's leaving the band after 2nite [thanks Chavi & Carlaatje]

10.19pm: C stage now! I wonder who it could be! Why it's simon pegg! And he's 9 years old! [thanks rushofbloodUK via Opera Browser @ O2 Arena]

10.17pm: Viva la vida was every bit as good as i knew it would be when i first heard it back in the summer. Just meant to be sung with 20, 000 people! Amazing! Oh and lost was good too! He he [thanks rushofbloodUK via Opera Browser @ O2 Arena]

10.10pm: in my place phone call yeah baby [thanks Kimchi & xxKels]

10.09pm: talk and the hardest part [here] excuse our mushiness in the mddle there [thanks Chavi & Carlaatje]

10.07pm: LOL @ strictly come dancing comment! Its the hardest part now folks! Stripped back chris on the piano and harmonys by will amazing! [thanks rushofbloodUK via Opera Browser @ O2 Arena]

10.05pm: another call :D talk.. i love that remix. now time for the hardest part.... chris is talking, he said something funny cos i heard them laugh... [thanks Chavi & Carlaatje]

10.03pm: God put a smile with talk! Love it! My fiancee just said this should be called the halloween mix! [thanks rushofbloodUK via Opera Browser @ O2 Arena]

9.59pm: I recorded and am uploading now... edit it's already done [fix you dec 16th] [thanks Chavi & Carlaatje]

9.59pm: Strawberry swing! Fantastic - now we're on to b stage! What a great gig! Love it [thanks rushofbloodUK via Opera Browser @ O2 Arena]

9.50pm: oh dear here i go again.. fix you on the phone. i can hear chavi sing along to fix you .. [thanks Chavi & Carlaatje]

9.46pm: Chinese sleep chant into 42! Woo hoo [thanks rushofbloodUK via Opera Browser @ O2 Arena]

9.43pm: the crapy quality but fastes video EVERRRr... [coldplay violet hill o2 london 16 december 2008] [thanks Chavi & Carlaatje]

9.33pm: speed of sound on phone now [thanks Chavi & Carlaatje]

9.28pm: in my place phone call yeah baby [thanks Chavi & Carlaatje]

9.25pm: OMG chavi just send a video from violet hill I'm going to upload NOW [thanks Chavi & Carlaatje]

9.11pm: Eek there's literally minutes left. We're in our seats, the warm ups are all done. Here we go! Jay z is playing- surely the boys will be next! [thanks rushofbloodUK via Opera Browser @ O2 Arena]

8.13pm: chavi's in the high wire was on, is going to step outside for hpkins he's porb on by now. she saw some roadies today but didn't see the band come in as they were early.. according to security they did an extra soundcheck.. so new song maybe? [thanks Chavi & Carlaatje]

Gary Barlow thought Chris Martin was "taking the piss" when he said he wanted Coldplay to support Take That. Gary, 37, was amazed when the usually serious musician revealed his love of the boy band. He said: "It's amazing! I think Chris wrote it on his website. We thought he was taking the p**s, but he wasn't. He's genuinely a fan!"

Chris' original posting read: "I would open for Take That. We were in the dressing room the other day and, for whatever reason, we started singing 'Back For Good'. We sang the whole thing, word for word, with all the right chords on our piano, without having to learn it or anything. It was great. So I'd like to use the Coldplay website to announce that if Take That want us to open for them, we'll do it."

Gary also revealed he is thrilled to be enjoying success with Take That, who reunited in 2005 after a 10-year break, and says he and his bandmates - Mark Owen, Howard Donald and Jason Orange - are getting on better than ever.

He added to Britain's Star magazine: "There are no rows in Take That! It's usually quite obvious who will sing what. Especially Mark's stuff, I think it's always obviously for him. And then with mine, no one else would want to sing lead, so I have to!

"I never really take offence about anything. The other lads never really say anything offensive to me, but I never worry about being able to speak my mind either. We've all known each other for so long."

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

December 15, 2008 - submitted by Sari, United States of America

Q. In the live photoblog from Birmingham it appears that Chris's shirt changes from white to a reddish color. Is this just because of the lighting that the picture were taken in?

The Oracle replies:

It's actually a shade of purple. Although the lights are a similar colour, it's not that giving the hue; when they come on after Stage C set it's a different top.

December 15, 2008 - submitted by Matthew, Croatia

Q. is the fifth person on Roadie #42 - Blog #62 that's with Coldplay on the C- Stage Brian Eno?..thanks for answer...

The Oracle replies:

No, it was Simon Pegg. He played harmonica during the set.December 15, 2008 - submitted by Tom, United Kingdom

Q. How do I get free tickets for gig at Brixton Academy in June? Thanks.

The Oracle replies:

The free gig at Brixton was last June (2008) so I'm afraid you're 6 months too late.

After the tidal wave of hype that brought so many new band's to the worlds attention last year, 2008 was always going to be the year that welcomed the return of established names. And with new releases from Coldplay, Kings of Leon, Lil' Wayne and Kanye West to name but a few, that was certainly the case. But, as our Top-50 albums of 2008 shows, there was still a considerable surge of new talent which, alongside the big-guns, helped provide yet another unforgettable year of album releases.

18. Coldplay - 'Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends' - Coldplay could have spent the last two years recording nothing but white noise and still achieved the multi-million sales figures of their previous three albums. Thankfully, however, with the help of Brian Eno they created ‘Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends’, Although Eno’s production role was not as radical a departure for Coldplay as many had expected, the album still contained instant singles in the shape of ‘Viva La Vida’ and ‘Violet Hill’. Coldplay dressed for war in 2008 and, with arenas as their battlefields, they delivered again.

See the full top 50 list at Gigwise here

Coldplay played the second of three consecutive concerts at London's O2 Arena as they continue through towards the end of their UK leg of the Viva La Vida tour. Coldplay's friend, and British actor, Simon Pegg once again made an appearance on harmonica during the performance of Green Eyes on the C-Stage... and thanked Coldplay for making his ‘dreams come true’!

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, ft Simon Pegg on harmonica)

Death Will Never Conquer (acoustic - Will singing)

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)

Just back gr8 night, was fantastic, venue is terrific. Coldplay were brill, best song for me was Death AAH Friends, the new stuff more than stands up, strawb swing was gr8 too, if I had to choose, weakest was Yellow, getting bored of it now, it's like seeing Oasis play DLBIA or Wonderwall. Anyway, crowd were hot, Simon Pegg played harmonica during Green Eyes I think it was, was superb overall, goodnight. [thanks tonethestone]

we're back ! sorry didnt give any updates... we didnt get to see the band but they definitely saw us. Camille wants to say something, she's on a R42 high right now.. Khalplay says : yeah, it was worth the wait : we saw few black-tinted-windows cars in which we're quite sure the band was (confirmed by a security guy) BUT the main important thing IS : we SAW R#42 looking at us, smiling behind the not-that-tinted-glasses ! WOWOWOW tomorrow I swear we'll get him XD [thanks Chavi]

The show was good, I was danced my little ass off as always, probably upset the people behind me but who cares?! I was twenty feet away from Chris as he sang The Hardest Part solo, and having seen them six or so times from the start of the X&Y tour I never even heard that once...I feel so glad and blessed. I had a ring on my finger from the girl I love like no other (and a girl I have to run off and find what she's been posting in my absence!! ) I met Chavi and she is just as wonderful and kind as she appeared in her Chrissy signing vid. My only regret is that I didn't meet Lauren (Lauve) but it is only a matter of time. My goodness the highlight of the night was hearing 'now my feet won't touch the ground' throughout the various songs...no CoL but they better bloody play it tomorrow or there will be trouble of the kmchi kind [thanks kimchi]

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

Coldplay will visit New Zealand following their eleven arena shows in Australia next March, promoter Chugg Entertainment confirmed today. The band will play at Auckland’s Vector Arena on Wednesday 18 March 2009 with tickets going on sale to on Monday 22 December from www.ticketmaster.co.nz. The show will be part of their Viva La Vida world tour, in support of their new album Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends.

New Zealand missed out on Coldplay's last world tour, rumoured to be because Auckland lacked a decent venue for them to perform in. They have performed there previously at the 2001 Big Day Out. Their last New Zealand performance was at the Auckland Showgrounds in 2003. Promoter Michael Chugg said: "Finally, fans can take a well deserved deep breath. The wait is over New Zealand. We will be bringing Coldplay’s Viva La Vida tour to Vector Arena next March and it’s going to be huge."

Tickets to the show go on sale from Ticketmaster on Monday at 9am. However a pre-sale will be offered to Visa card holders from 9am local time on Friday 19 December and run through until 5pm on Saturday 20 December, unless tickets sell out earlier.

Are you going? Want to know who's getting tickets? More on this at the dedicated Auckland discussion thread here

More exclusive Coldplaying live updates from London's O2 Arena in the UK, from those in the venue (and outside it) at the second of three consecutive Coldplay concerts tonight. Keep up-to-date with them all here onwards. Times are GMT (local time). So far, here's a summary (most recent first):

10.40pm: OMG HE CALLED ! LOVERS IN JAPAN!!!! he is on Guys side, out of confetti range , but very close he says! He gets to eat it tomorrow night though, floor seats! [thanks xxKels & Kimchi]

9.31pm: New text: "Speed of Sound now, The song you opened my eyes and heart to, OMFG, I love you...." [thanks xxKels & Kimchi]

9.15pm: KIMCHI BELTING OUT VIOLET HILL TO ME! JONNY SOLO ROCKIN!!! [thanks xxKels & Kimchi]

9.10pm: WOOOOT! PHONE CALL, KIMCHI SCREAMING, BAAABY!!! Blue Danube just on now! [thanks xxKels & Kimchi]

8.30pm: Chavi from the outside: she says they think the band and Phil came in around 4ish, and Guy a little later... well at leasts that's something [thanks Chavi & Carlaatje]

8.04pm: í'll just post what she texted this afternoon as it was quite exciting: ''holycrap dear lord! we're at the bakery, and someone delivered a package, a roadie, i think it was a sound engineer, openend the door, blue suv in front. 'ahh someone just came in, came out with the roadie loaded package into cxar and left, roadie ran back inside.. prob saw i was filming.... [thanks Chavi & Carlaatje]

8.39pm: Ok! They are rolling! kimchi text just said Hopkins is now on, undoubtedly boring them to sleep soon...... [thanks xxKels & Kimchi]

8.02pm: My Kimchi and his friend are getting the Starbucks fix(Kimchi on phone to me now). He is going on inside to check everything out, says Chrissy is already in the house! [thanks xxKels & Kimchi]

7.06pm: Kimchi says he has just met up with Chavi, who is not attending the show, but is present! [thanks xxKels & Kimchi]

The time has again come to have a good long look at the music world around us and ask "What albums did we like this year?"

All you have to do is make a list of 5 to 25 original albums released in 2008. Rank determines the points an album gets. Your list should be added to this thread - but don't delay - the deadline for submissions ends this Wednesday, December 17th at 4:00pm EST (9:00pm GMT), so make sure your vote counts and enter your list now! [thanks Space Cadet]

Coldplay was the hottest iTunes album download this year: Its Viva la Vida was crowned the best-selling album of 2008, while Leona Lewis' Bleeding Love was named the top-selling single.

Coldplay's CD has sold more than two million copies since its release in June, and has sold more than 500,000 copies digitally - most of which was through iTunes, according to the band's representative. ITunes does not release its sales figures, its spokesman said in releasing its list.

Jack Johnson's Sleep Through the Static was the No 2 selling album, while the soundtrack to the film Juno, Lil Wayne's Tha Carter III and Sara Bareilles' Little Voice rounded out the iTunes top 5. Two more film soundtracks were in the top 10 - Once and Across the Universe - while Jason Mraz' We Sing. We Dance. We Steal Things, OneRepublic's Dreaming Out Loud and Lewis' Spirit rounded it out.

Bleeding Love sold 3.2 million digitally, according to her label, J Records.

According to iTunes, the title track of Coldplay's album was its No 2 most downloaded track, followed by Low by Flo Rida (featuring T-Pain), Katy Perry's I Kissed a Girl and Rihanna's Disturbia.

Rihanna also made the top 10 singles with Don't Stop the Music, while Lollipop by Lil Wayne and Static Major, No Air by Jordin Sparks and Chris Brown, Sara Bareilles' Love Song and Natasha Bedingfield's Pocketful of Sunshine also made iTunes top 10 downloaded singles list.

Coldplay played the first of three consecutive concerts at London's O2 Arena as they continue through towards the end of their UK leg of the Viva La Vida tour. Coldplay's friend, and British actor, Simon Pegg made an appearance on harmonica during the performance of Green Eyes on the C-Stage... and confirmed he was playing all three nights! [thanks mimixxx]

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, ft Simon Pegg on harmonica)

Death Will Never Conquer (acoustic - Will singing)

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)

Photo: peggster.net

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

Meeting all the fellow Coldplayers (and a few more besides) was great, and the whole build-up to the concert was fantastic. However, it sounds like most of us ended up sitting/standing next to fuddy-duddies, which dulled the atmosphere somewhat.This has nothing to do with the band, who were fab as always. I had people either side of me who weren't very animated and didn't seem that "into" the show. The guy to my right informed me he hadn't even bothered listening to VLV (even though he had the album) and I even had to explain to him who Will was!! Furthermore, the woman to my left hardly left her seat, let alone be "animated". This is the problem with all-seater concerts, and this show has merely served to reinforce my negative opinion of them. I had so much more fun in Cologne because I was in the front standing area and therefore surrounded by like-minded individuals. There I was in a state of euphoria from start to finish, and that was far from the case this evening. At the 02 I even noticed that there were some people in the front row who weren't even animated. What a waste!! What a pity all the Coldplayers couldn't have stood together somewhere. That would have been far better for all of us, I'm sure. I had a good seat to the side of the stage (Block 114), and so count myself lucky in that respect, but I didn't leave the venue "on a high" as I did in Cologne (and indeed at every other Coldplay concert I've been to). At ALL of those other concerts I was standing, so that speaks for itself. However, I hope the band/promoters learn from this and never do all-seater concerts again. [thanks mc_squared]

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