Should Chris Martin be worried about Jonny Buckland?

Coldplay guitarist Jonny Buckland has admitted that he would give music up for the chance to play for his favourite football team Tottenham Hotspur, NME report today.

The lifelong Spurs supporter made the confession when asked by the club's official magazine, Hotspur, during an interview if he would trade his multi-million selling rock star life for the chance. "I wanted to be in a band from age 11," he joked, "but I wanted to be a footballer from the age of five. But there's still time!"

Buckland revealed that Chris Martin supports Michael Jackson and Uri Geller's club of choice, Exeter City, and that the band have a Coldplay football team of their own. "It's just a six-a-side thing," he said. "We try and find some locals to play with wherever we are in the world. There's me and Will (Champion, drummer), a couple of guys from the crew and we've got a security guy in goal. He's a man mountain, so it's really hard to score past him."

Coldplay played the Nissan Live Show at Hammerstein in New York City last night.

The setlist is below, and you can read more on this show including fan reviews and pictures here and here [thanks CookyMnstr, StephBerryman & ericjones]

Setlist:

Life In Technicolor

Violet Hill

Clocks

Lost! (Jay-Z present but no performance from him)

Chinese Sleep Chant

42

Yellow

Strawberry Swing

Viva La Vida

Lovers In Japan

Death And All His Friends

(Question & answer session)

Coldplay played the Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, last night in support of the latest album, Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends. There were no surprises in the setlist.

Setlist:

Life In Technicolor

Violet Hill

Clocks

In My Place

Speed Of Sound

Cemeteries Of London

Chinese Sleep Chant

42

Fix You

Strawberry Swing

God Put A Smile Upon Your Face (techno version)

Talk (techno version)

The Hardest Part (piano - Chris)

Postcards From Far Away (piano instrumental)

Viva La Vida

Lost!

The Scientist (acoustic)

Death Will Never Conquer (acoustic - Will singing)

Viva La Vida (remix interlude)

------

Politik

Lovers In Japan

Death And All His Friends

-------

Yellow

The Escapist (outro)

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

Highlights were the confetti in LOVERS IN JAPAN and Politik was by far one of the best songs they played! The stobes were amazing at the Q, the lighting effects, everything was perfect. Chris made a hilarious comment about how the band members were getting old, they needed to start investing in wigs like Cher (he said this with a towel on his head). He said he was just going to try it out for a bit. I wanted something new to be played! Chris made a comment that he was going to play a rare B-side that noone would ever have heard before, but then he broke out into an encore of Yellow! The crowd didn't seem too energetic, I mean everyone was satisfied, but not everyone was ecstatic like me and my girlfiend were.... [thanks Corey07]

Coldplay was nothing short of wonderful. All the lights, lasers, moving lights, light & video projection balls, and confetti. The band all moved to the edge of the stage for technol remix renditions of God Put A Smile On Your Face into Talk, and while it was completely different than the original versions it sounded quite neat.

Chris Martin stayed out on the side, edge of the stage and did The Hardest Part on the piano solo with the drummer. After Lost! the band went off stage, reappeared in the back of the crowd and played The Scientist acoustic, which was wonderful and Death Will Conquer with Will on vocals. After a remix of Viva La Vida played over the speakers and the band opened the encore in the pure dark with Politik, which was the highlight of the show for me. The driving piano and song is just amazing live and the red lights were perfect for it. They closed with Yellow, which was perfect for the crowd but not me. The Escapist played over the overhead in the dark, the set was over at 10:17 PM after almost an hour and forty minutes. Through out the set the backdrop banner changed three or four times, the little light balls constantly changed colors and designs, and the video footage on the screens and in the little balls were great and makes me hope for a DVD of this tour.

The crowd was great through the whole show, Chris talked the crowd quite a bit, and the band sounded good. I would have liked more songs from the first two albums because those are easily my favorites but I can't complain because the show was so good overall. We had pretty good seats off to the right of the stage, in the middle club level. [thanks TMS2787]

More on this concert inlcuding reviews and pictures here onwards [thanks Merwithani, Arazmire & Corey07]

More questions answered by The Oracle...

October 21, 2008 - submitted by Cindy, Netherlands

Q. Dear Oracle, can you tell me when and where the video for Viva La Vida 2 was filmed? It looks like Holland, and seeing Anton Corbijn filmed it, it probably is Holland. If so, too bad I missed them.

The Oracle replies:

It was shot in the Netherlands by, as you say, Anton Corbijn which is also why is bears more than a passing resemblance to another of his previous videos for Depeche Mode; Enjoy The Silence.October 21, 2008 - submitted by Javier Rebull, Mexico

Q. Hi great Oracle, I have a big question for you, I saw and heard a video where Coldplay sing Clocks in a live concert but the questions is Chris sing the last part "Home, home Where I wanted to go" and repeat this part more or less 8 or 9 times. Do you know what live concert is that?

The Oracle replies:

That refrain was often added to the song on tour (2002) so it could be any of them. Maybe try searching for Glastonbury 2002 as a start.

October 21, 2008 - submitted by Samantha, United Kingdom

Q. Why are bingo wings called bingo wings if they've got nothing to do with bingo?

The Oracle replies:

Apparently it has everything to do with bingo! It's a derogatory term that comes from a stereotype that many ladies who play bingo have excess flab under their arms. It's horrible isn't it?

The Cleveland Leader is proud to partner with Rock the Vote to offer Clevelanders the chance to win a pair of tickets to tonight's concert at the Quicken Loans Arena featuring British exports Coldplay and Duffy.

Duffy is a up-and-coming blue eyed soul singer from across the pond. Her debut album 'Rockferry' has won praise on both sides of the Atlantic. The 24 year old from Wales stormed the Adult Contemporary Charts with the single "Mercy". Her debut album 'Rockferry' debuted on the Billboard Charts at number 4 and her career looks like it can up from here. Coldplay really needs no introduction. The band has had meteoric rise in popularity since their debut album "Parachutes" came out and hit single 'Yellow' dominated Alternative Radio. Since then, the band has become regarded as the U2 of their generation as albums "A Rush of Blood to the Head", "X&Y", and "Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends" have cemented their claim to be regarded as rock royalty. To enter the draw, please provide the correct answer to the following question:

Q. What was the title of Duffy's debut EP?

Please email the answer to contests@clevelandleader.com by 4:30 PM. The winner of the tickets will be contacted at 5 PM and tickets will be left at the Quicken Loans Arena box office where you will need a photo ID in order to claim your prize.

More on this and discussion on tonight's show at the Cleveland live thread here

This just in from Coldplay.com:

Good afternoon. Further to yesterday's announcement of the opening acts for the upcoming UK/Irish dates, we're pleased to reveal that the main support for the tour will be Jon Hopkins (one of the principal collaborators on the Viva La Vida album). Jon will be playing at all the shows, from 29th November to 23rd December. here to check out his MySpace. Anchorman

You may remember Coldplaying reported that Jon Hopkins (one of the principal musical collaborators on the new album) supported the Brixton/Barcelona/MSG Free shows and lasalso at six shows earlier this year between 14-29 July during the first leg of the US tour.

Coldplay have been around long enough to know how to work an arena better than Jason Spezza, reports the Ottawa Sun.

But last night, the current kings of British pop brought a bagful of tricks to their gig at Scotiabank Place that only the very best can. The band that might be the next U2 -- singer Chris Martin, drummer Will Champion, guitarist Jonny Buckland and bassist Guy Berryman -- launched their North American tour here last night and judging by their show, few bands even come close to Coldplay in a live setting.

Back in June, the reviews for their fourth CD Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends were glowing, thanks in part to producer Brian Eno, who lit a creative fire under the band as he did for U2 with The Unforgettable Fire almost 20 years ago. Eno inspired the band to aim higher than on previous efforts. Now, after only four discs, Coldplay is being compared to the best bands ever.

They lived up to that billing last night with a spectacular show at Scotiabank Place in front of 13,000 adoring fans.

With Delacroix's "Liberty Leading the People" draped across the back of the stage and round video screens that looked like giant Chinese lanterns hanging throughout the arena, the band opened in theatrical fashion with prerecorded chunks of The Nutcracker playing in the dark. The joint erupted in a huge ovation as soon as they heard the first notes of the instrumental Life in Technicolor and Martin's plaintive vocal wail on Violet Hill and all those piano triads that signalled the band's most radio-friendly tune Clocks.

Combining the best of their previous CDs -- Parachutes, A Rush of Blood to the Head and X&Y with a hefty dose from Viva la Vida, the band has plenty to choose from.

Dressed like one of the French soldiers in Delacroix's painting, Martin performed like a man at top of his craft. Charming as well as a prolific performer, he bounced lightly between piano and guitar, occasionally punctuating his performance with pratfalling dances like Charlie Chaplin.

The early setlist included In My Place, Speed of Sound, Cemeteries of London, all choreographed with an atmospheric light show that recalled a Middle Eastern desert tent. Even more miraculous was the superb studio-quality sound.

They had all 13,000 on their feet for Fix You, Strawberry Swing and a pared-down version of Talk, after which the band left a playful Martin alone at the piano.

"Another British band, Oasis, didn't have such a good time when they were in Canada a couple weeks ago and that's caused a horrible rift between our two countries," he joked, referring to the band being attacked in Toronto in September.

"I hope we can bridge that terrible gap tonight," he concluded before playing a solo piano turn on The Hardest Part, with drummer Champion moving beside Martin for Viva la Vida and Lost.

Later, in what seemed to be a calculated but playful move, the band joined fans down at a 100-level suite at the back of the arena, playing a bare bluegrass version of The Scientist.

Coldplay wound things down with Lovers in Japan and Yellow. As concerts go, it was brilliant, choreographed from start to finish with gorgeous playing, a varied setlist and enough theatrical magic to take your breath away.

The only thing missing was a little messy raw rock energy to add a little danger to the show. Oh, who am I kidding? This is Coldplay, after all.

More on this review here onwards [thanks mimixxx]

Coldplay began another North American tour last night in Ottawa, Ontario, in support of the latest album, Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends.

Start - 8:45pm - End 10:35pm

Setlist:

Life In Technicolor

Violet Hill

Clocks

In My Place

Speed Of Sound

Cemeteries Of London

Chinese Sleep Chant

42

Fix You

Strawberry Swing

God Put A Smile Upon Your Face (techno version)

Talk (techno version)

The Hardest Part (piano - Chris)

Postcards From Far Away (piano instrumental)

Viva La Vida

Lost!

The Scientist (acoustic)

Death Will Never Conquer (acoustic - Will singing)

Viva La Vida (remix interlude)

------

Politik

Lovers In Japan

Death And All His Friends

-------

Yellow

The Escapist (outro)

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

A few funny moments (which you'll see in the vids) like Chris saying Oasis forgave Canada for the little 'incident' last month and that the 2 countries have made up. Chris was quite energetic (purposely tumbling from the piano to the ground at times). Crowd really got into it but still frustrating to see lots of people leaving before the final encore. Got tons of butterflies this time. Awesome night... looking forward to some 2009 dates. [thanks open6l]

More on this concert inlcuding reviews and pictures here onwards [thanks open6l, ryansn, Lore & redcurry]

Eight lucky Latin American fans will win a trip to Miami and Houston to watch Coldplay's shows and twelve more will win a Viva La Vida album CD in a competition courtesy of Warner Brothers Latin America (WBLA).

Miami: To enter, visit wbla.com then choose your country, and click on the 'inside the music' icon. Fill the form with your personal information, and then answer approximately 20 Coldplay-related questions. The winners chosen will be the eight people who answer questions correctly in the quickest time. Winners must have a passport and American visa.

Houston: There is also a contest at starmedia.com to win a paid trip to Houston to see Coldplay at the Toyota Center on November 18th, including a meet and greet before the show!

The deadline for entries is 31st October. More details and discussion on these competitions here [thanks Pris]

Coldplay.com have confirmed the support acts for Coldplay's UK/Irish tour, which kicks off in Sheffield on November 29th. Three bands to share UK support slots which are as follows:

29th November - 10th December: Eugene Francis Jnr and the Juniors

11th December - 23rd December: The High Wire (apart from London dates)

London dates to be split as follows:

14th December: The Domino State

15th December: Eugene Francis Jnr and the Juniors

16th December: The High Wire

Click on the bands' names to check out their MySpace profiles. And look out for interviews with all three on the official site soon.

More questions answered by The Oracle...

October 17, 2008 - submitted by agustin, Argentina

Q. The other day I saw Coldplay's "Live at BBC". There I saw that when they played Viva la Vida they showed a TV where you could see the guys playing violins and similar instruments. Do they really know how to play them?

The Oracle replies:

The guys are not really playing the string section of that song. The TV clip is just a visual prop. That said Will is a multi-instrumentalist and can play the violin.

October 17, 2008 - submitted by Vanessa, United Kingdom

Q. The word "applicable"... is the accent on the "i" or on the second "a"? My fiance and I tiff over this often. The best way to settle this, we figured: we say it however Chris Martin says it. Please settle this score for us, o'wise one!

The Oracle replies:

Oh you definitely want to leave the second a alone! You can either put the accent on the first a or the plic. I hope you and your fiancee no longer tiff over it, or should I say your husband...as of tomorrow! Congratulations and have a wonderful wedding.

October 17, 2008 - submitted by Laura, Argentina

Q. Hello dear and loved Oracle. What means Coldplay, literally, what means? God bless you and bless me.

The Oracle replies:

There isn't a translation for Coldplay as a singular word. It was made by putting the two words cold and play together. As previously mentioned the name originates from Phillip Horky's book: Child's Reflections, Cold Play. If you do translate cold and play though that wouldn't give you a clearer meaning into the band name as there isn't one!

Coldplay: How We Saw the World... Part 1 repeated on UK TV tonight...

If you haven't yet seen it, or want to re-live the moment again, you can see Coldplay's 2006 live performance at Toronto’s Air Canada Centre, featuring a mix of songs from old favourites Clocks and Yellow to more recent hits Speed of Sound, Fix You and Talk. Tonight at 22:00h on TMF (channel 358). [thanks mayurshikotra]

Coldplay filmed the show on 22-23 March for potential use in an upcoming DVD, but never made it to disc. Taking a page from the Beastie Boys, who drafted fans to shoot footage for their upcoming movie 'Awesome: I ... Shot That,' Coldplay launched a contest to find five fans to handle the same duties.

FaceCulture.nl spoke to drummer Will Champion and bassist Guy Berryman in a Coldplay video interview, during their visit to Rotterdam, Netherlands near the end of their European tour [thanks Martin - FaceCulture].

They talked about Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends, the previous albums being a trilogy, Brian Eno, Violet Hill (did you know that song is 12 years old?), recording on a mobile phone, songwriting, live energy, setlist, Blur, Lost, Viva La Vida, Life in Technicolor, Prospekt's March EP, the new song Glass of Water and lots more... also check the news items for live footage from the concert in Ahoy Rotterdam (2nd October 2008). Click on the seven parts below to watch each volume:

Coldplay - 2008 - I - Trilogy, falsetto, revoltuion in own sound, Brian Eno, Viva La Vida

Coldplay - 2008 - II - Violet Hill, old ideas transforming into songs, recording on mobile phone

Coldplay - 2008 - III - 1st album, progression in songwriting, live energy, set list, favorite live songs

Coldplay - 2008 - IV - Lost, Blur, Blur-song Sing, lyrics of Lost, bad lyrics, Life in Technicolor

Coldplay - 2008 - V - EP Prospekt's March, songs on the EP, differences with Viva, song Glass of Water

Coldplay - 2008 - Nieuws - Nieuws over Viva La Vida, Violet Hill en live spelen

Coldplay - 2008 - News - News about Viva La Vida, Violet Hill and playing live

Coldplay's Grammy submissions for this year's Grammy awards have been announced - and the band have entered eight seperate categories.

This doesn't mean they will be nominated in all eight however, but it means that their record company has submitted them for the voting period. If Coldplay received enough votes during this time they will be shortlisted in the relevant categories. The submissions are as follows:

Album of the Year - Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends [info]

Record of the Year - Viva la Vida [info]

Song of the Year - Viva la Vida [info]

Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals - Viva la Vida [info]

Best Rock Album - Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends [info]

Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals - Violet Hill [info]

Best Rock Song - Violet Hill [info]

Best Short Form Music Video - Viva la Vida [info]

More on Coldplay's Grammy submissions for 2008 here [thanks Death Hill]

Eight lucky Latin American fans will win a trip to Miami and Houston to watch Coldplay's shows and twelve more will win a Viva La Vida album CD in a competition courtesy of Warner Brothers Latin America (WBLA).

Miami: To enter, visit wbla.com then choose your country, and click on the 'inside the music' icon. Fill the form with your personal information, and then answer approximately 20 Coldplay-related questions. The winners chosen will be the eight people who answer questions correctly in the quickest time. Winners must have a passport and American visa.

Houston: There is also a contest at starmedia.com to win a paid trip to Houston to see Coldplay at the Toyota Center on November 18th, including a meet and greet before the show!

The deadline for entries is 31st October. More details and discussion on these competitions here [thanks Pris]

Coldplay are planning to play a massive one-off gig in the grounds of Knebworth House in Hertfordshire, the BBC confirm.

Chris Martin revealed the news exclusively to Zane Lowe on Radio 1 on Thursday night. Though no arrangements have been confirmed, the frontman explained that Coldplay are trying to book a show at the site. In 1996 Oasis played two shows in the grounds, while Robbie Williams played three in 2003.

Martin explained to the DJ: "We're trying to book a place that rhymes with Blebworth. We realised there's a lot of people who don't like us in Britain but, you know, they don't have to come."

However, the singer revealed Coldplay aren't out to beat Robbie Williams' three-night run, which saw an estimated 375,000 people attend. "We're not gonna do three [nights], Robbie did three," he explained. "We'd be happy with one. Then the next day can be some kind of caravan conference."

Chris Martin also played the band's collaboration with Jay-Z on the radio for the first time. The rapper has contributed a verse to Lost+, a new version of the band's song Lost! from their 2008 album Viva La Vida Or Death And All His Friends.

The track is set to appear on their forthcoming EP Prospekt's March and the download of the Lost! single. The new version features Jay-Z contributing a rap, mentioning The Notorious B.I.G., Jesus and Judas, after the second chorus.

"That's the first time I've ever enjoyed a Coldplay song," Martin explained after the playback.

Coldplay Messenger has published Number 4 Volume 1 earlier today. Here are some of the best bits:

Yesterday evening Coldplay.com launched a contest for you folks to create a video for Lost? (the acoustic version of the upcoming single). As Prospekt explained in his brief, you can "use any medium you like: animation, Claymation, stop motion, video camera, super 8, comic strip, photography" to conjure your video. We'd just like them to be creative, original and imaginative. The maker of the best video - as chosen by the band - will win an all-expenses trip to London to see one of Coldplay's homecoming shows at the O2 in December. Click here for full details of how to enter and to hear Lost?

Since we were last in touch, it's been announced that Coldplay will release the Prospekt's March EP at the end of November. Click here to read a letter written by Chris explaining the EP, here to watch a video of the band debuting one of its songs in Antwerp (with Albert Hammond Jr), here to check out when the EP and a special edition of the album will be released where you are and here to admire the artwork. If all that leaves you feeling suitably inspired, then click here to pre-order your copy from the Coldplay US/Rest Of The World shop (it'll arrive in the UK/Europe store next week).

If you missed it or haven't subscribed to Coldplay's Messenger email service, you can read today's volume here [thanks Jenjie]

Viva La Meeta & Greeta! Win Tickets To Private Coldplay Soundcheck Party courtesy of 98.7FM (Los Angeles)

Starting at noon on Friday, the station will tell listeners what songs you're listening out for and they will be played at the weekend. When they do, caller 98 @ 1/800/782/7987 will win exclusive tickets. Click here (on Friday noon) to see the song list.

And... if you're a Rock-a-holic... meet Coldplay at a 98.7FM private soundcheck party. The only way into the private party with Coldplay is to be a Rock-a-holic... and to do that click here

More on the soundcheck party here onwards [thanks talkingonsquareone89 & Jessica]

Make a video and win a trip to see Coldplay in London!

Coldplay have just launched a new competition to find the best fan-made video for Lost? (the acoustic version of the new single). The prize is a pair of ultra-VIP tickets to see Coldplay in London in December. There are backstage passes and the best seats in the house on offer, and they'll even pay your travel and accommodation expenses. The winning entry will also be posted on the front page of Coldplay.com for all to see.

To enter the competition, simply upload your video to YouTube, then email the URL to lostvideos@coldplay.com. The closing date for entries is Monday, December 1st 2008. The best entries will be selected by the Coldplay.com team and shown on the official site. The final winner will be chosen by Coldplay and announced on Friday, 5th December 2008.

Click here for all the info and to hear the track. Once you've entered them, you can post your entries for feedback here [thanks SwallowedInSea]

GUIDELINES

DO be creative. Make your own stuff.

DO use any medium you like: animation, claymation, stop-motion, video camera, super 8, comic strip, photography…

DON’T use anyone else’s material [i.e. please don't splice together your favourite scenes from Spideman 3 and Mean Girls].

DON’T bother with Coldplay live footage or photographs as there’s plenty of this on Youtube already.

COMPETITION RULES

1. This competition runs from Thursday 16 October 2008 until the closing date for entries, Monday 1 December 2008. No entries will be accepted as eligible after midnight (GMT) on this closing date.

2. If you are under the age of eighteen (18) you must obtain permission from your parent or guardian before you enter this competition.

3. Only one entry will be accepted per person for this competition, and this will be the first entry received.

4. The competition prizes are as follows: Two (2) VIP tickets to a Coldplay show at the O2 in London, travel to and from the show, hotel accommodation for the day and night of the show, placement of the winning video on the homepage of coldplay.com.

5. The prize winners will be selected on merit by the coldplay.com panel and the band. Their decision will be final. Winners will be contacted by email. Only the winners will be contacted personally.

6. The prizes must be taken as stated and cannot be deferred. There will be no cash alternative. Once prizes have been allocated and despatched they cannot be transferred. Coldplay.com reserves the right to substitute prizes of equal or greater value at any time.

7. Coldplay.com does not accept any responsibility for late or lost entries. Coldplay.com shall not be held responsible for any inability to submit entries as a result of computer service, systems and or server failure, error, interruption, defect or delay or any other technical malfunction. Proof of sending is not proof of receipt.

8. Entrants must supply full details as required above, and comply with all rules to be eligible for prizes. No responsibility is accepted for ineligible entries or entries made fraudulently. Deeming an entry void is at Coldplay.com’s absolute discretion.

9. This competition is not open to employees or contractors of Coldplay, Coldplay.com, EMI Records Limited, Universal Music Publishing Limited, any person directly or indirectly involved with Coldplay, Coldplay.com, EMI Records Limited, Universal Music Publishing Limited or the running of the competition, or their direct family members.

10. Coldplay.com’s decision is final and binding in every situation including any not covered in these rules and no correspondence will be entered into.

11. Coldplay.com reserves the right to cancel or change this competition at any stage, if deemed necessary in Coldplay.com’s opinion.

12. Prizes unclaimed after seven (7) days following notification by email will be deemed to have been forfeited and Coldplay.com reserves the right to either offer the prize to the entrant who is next selected, or to re-offer the prize in any future competition.

13. Results will be announced on Coldplay.com.

14. This competition and the rules of the competition are governed by the laws of England and Wales. This competition is void where prohibited by local law.

15. Entrants will be deemed to have accepted these rules and to agree to be bound by them when entering this competition. Please click on the box below to show compliance and understanding.

In a Radio 1 exclusive tonight Chris Martin announced that Coldplay are looking to book at least two nights at the famous Knebworth venue. The band’s management have been making enquiries and need permission to play the legendary castle, which has been host to the likes of Robbie Williams and Oasis.

Knebworth had been a major venue for open air rock and pop concerts since 1974. In 2003, Robbie Williams performed at Knebworth over a three day period, drawing crowds of over 375,000, and a further 3.5 million who watched live on television and online. This was reputedly the biggest UK pop concert ever and caused a huge traffic jam on the A1(M) as an estimated 130,000 cars tried to reach the venue.

More news on this to follow, in the meantime you can join the Knebworth discussion here onwards. If you missed tonight's exclusive airing of Coldplay's Lost+ featuring Jay-Z you can get it (as well as the full Chris Martin interview) here if you are logged in to Coldplaying [thanks magodeoz & Lore]

More questions answered by The Oracle...

October 16, 2008 - submitted by Kelly, United States of America

Q. I am a male named Kelly. Some people consider this a girl's name. In Ireland and the UK do people consider Kelly a girl's name. Also what were the blacked out songs on prospekt's letter saying that the "tracks would be chosen from the following." and should I put a question mark inside the quote because I do wish to end the sentence there(now what punctuation do I use?).

The Oracle replies:

Coldplay's head of security is a guy called Kelly. The lead singer of The Stereophonics is called Kelly. Then there's Kelly McGillis, Kelly Osbourne and Kelly Brook so you see it is a name used for a boy or a girl. The ? should be outside the quotation marks because the sentence you're quoting isn't a question itself. The answer to the question though is one that I will meet you half way with. Two of the blacked out titles are Viva la Vida and Postcards From Far Away. The other two can tease you some more.

October 16, 2008 - submitted by maria isabel, Mexico

Q. hola oracle

i really love Coldplay, my favorite song is clocks. ok, here is my question: i just notice that Fiona Apple (she is great, i love it too) support to Coldplay in the north american tour on 2006, what they think about Fiona?? they like her music?? sorry about my english, is not my mother tongue thanks!!!!

The Oracle replies:

Well the band tend to take out artists that they like. If the truth be told I got very excited about Ms Apple going on the road with Coldplay as I had been a fan for ten years at that point. I didn't get to see the shows but was full of questions for the crew. Apparently Fiona was very quiet and kept herself to herself. I know she appears to have an air of moodiness about her and it seems she didn't dispel that opinion. Boo. Incidentally, Apple is actually her middle name not her family/surname.

October 16, 2008 - submitted by Alyssa, United Kingdom

Q. Oracle, how can I convince my Mum to cough up the cash to let me go to an expensive Coldplay concert. (I can't get a real job yet).

The Oracle replies:

Well the cheapest ticket is £38.50 and I realize that isn't cheap to many but given that they only tour every time an album is out, there's time to save up in between. I know we don't tend to do that so it creeps up on us, so how about you ask all your family if they would consider chipping in to get you a ticket as an early Christmas present?

BBC Radio 1 to debut new Lost+ (Feat. Jay-Z) single - Thursday 16th October 7.00PM BST

Tomorrow night on BBC Radio 1 at around 7pm UK time (EST+5), Zane Lowe will play Lost+ (the new version of Lost! which features Jay-Z), when Chris Martin delivers it to the station. Click here to listen online wherever you are.

Join the discussion on the exclusive airing of Lost+ here [thanks dRafT.]

A reminder that you can also listen to the BBC Radio 1 webstream ahead of tomorrow's airing of Lost+ via the Coldplaying toolbar - which you can download here. If you have any problems with the toolbar please log them here as soon as possible.

More questions answered by The Oracle...

October 15, 2008 - submitted by Robin, Germany

Q. Dear Oracle: Here in my Coldplay sheet book there's alwas a line under the title of the song wich says: words and music by ... [the 4 coldplay members]

But as I see here, words & music for "Talk" by Guy B.,Chris M., Karl Bartos, Jon B., Will C., Emil Schult & Ralf Huetter. Who are those three other guys? Mr. Huetter and Mr. Schult even seem to have German names... Thank you a lot =)

The Oracle replies:

They are indeed German names;, they are members of German band Kraftwerk. The main riff of Talk comes from the Kraftwerk song Computer Love. They gave their permission to use it but are of course credited with writing it.

October 15, 2008 - submitted by friend of the oracle, United Kingdom

Q. Isn't the video where they throw food at each other Mat Whitecross' vid for Bigger Stronger?

The Oracle replies:

In a word, no, the Bigger Stronger video has a brief food scene but there's no throwing of it. It's on our timeline or you watch it here.

October 15, 2008 - submitted by Abi, United States of America

Q. How did u come up with the name 4 Viva la Vida? I mean the song doesn't even say Viva la Vida once.

The Oracle replies:

There's no rule to say that the title has to be included in a song's lyrics, many Coldplay songs don't (Amsterdam anyone?) Viva la Vida took its name from a Frida Kahlo painting of the same name.

In fact there are thousands of famous songs that don't, for example Bohemian Rhapsody, Smells Like Teen Spirit, The Unforgettable Fire and *Peace Frog to name but a few.

*Any excuse to be able to listen to this!

This fall, Coldplay's 'Viva La Vida' World Tour returns to North America and they have partnered with Oxfam in their fight against many global issues. Here is your chance to join other Coldplay fans in standing up to poverty, hunger, and social injustice.

Bid now on pairs of VIP tickets to the upcoming shows here and read the feedback from previous buyers here. Some of the auctions are coming to a close soon so make sure your bids are entered soon. [thanks JR1015]

Terms:

Item can not be resold. Tickets will be left at will call day of show. Seat location will not be determined until show day but will be premium location.

Did you know...

- 40% of the people on our planet--more than 2.5 billion--now live in poverty, struggling to survive on less than $2 a day. They bear the brunt of global crises such as rising food costs and climate change.

- Many poor people spend up to 80% of their income on food, and now food prices are rising? The prices for many staples like bread and soybeans have already doubled in many countries.

- More than 1,000 Oxfam volunteers across America have worked at Coldplay shows, introducing more than 100,000 Coldplay fans to Oxfam’s work?

Climate change hits poor people first and worst: those in developing countries are 20 times more likely to be affected by weather-related disasters?

For more info:

www.coldplay.com

www.oxfamamerica.org/whatyoucando/act_now/music

The first dates of Coldplay's 2009 tour have been announced via Coldplay.com. They are playing three shows in Japan in February. There will undoubtably therefore be speculation that Coldplay will be playing Australasia around the same time.

The three Coldplay shows confirmed for February 2009 are:

Feb 12th - Tokyo, Saitama Super Arena

Feb 14th - Osaka, Kobe World Kinen Hall

Feb 15th - Osaka, Kobe World Kinen Hall

For more information click here. On sale dates will be announced soon.