Coldplay's final Ghost Stories show ends in style at the BBC

Coldplay's final Ghost Stories show ended in style at the BBC

It was Coldplay's final concert of the Ghost Stories era this evening, as they wrapped it up in style with a tremendous live set in front of just a few hundred privileged fans, at the BBC Theatre in London. It was such a rush for the band, who had just about covered every corner of the BBC studios. The band were up and ready for the big (but intimate!) show that evening.

Soundcheck - Paradise and Ink

An hour before Coldplay performed their soundcheck, word quickly spread of the band appearing on Radio 2 for a quick chat and to warm up for their TV appearances. Chris Martin introduces the first song of their warm up in humourous manner :

We're going to sing a song by Coldplay, called Paradise

Chris was asked by a fan who had written (or faxed!) a letter to give some inspirational words to his 12 year old daughter.

Hi Ruth, this is Chris from the band Coldplay. We just to be famous just a couple of months ago and I just want to tell you that life is an incredible journey and a mystery and a marvel and never give up on your dreams because anything is possible (

). We're living proof of it

The Coldplay frontman, on the backend of his speech was told he would make a great vicar, to which he replied, "well, our record deal is up soon"! The guys concluded their morning performance with Ink, which you can listen to below:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a3CxxCl53G4

Chris and Will's pre-show chat

Just before the band's live Q&A was due to go ahead, Chris Martin and Will Champion visited the Radio 2 recording studios once more for a quick chat about the gig awaiting them. The talk was lighthearted, with the topic moving towards Ghost Stories, to which Chris explained that he didn't want it to be a 'safe' album and that it's personal and intimate nature justifies that. Air's album, Moon Safari was referenced by the DJ as being alike to Ghost Stories and Will said the reference was very "astute" and reminisced :

That's interesting because when we first met, as a band, that was one of the CD's [Air - Moon Safari] that was on pretty much all the time at Chris and Jonny's flat and would play throughout the night

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Bi95-8Y8oUColdplay's lead singer and drummer took off to prepare for their later shows, as Guy and Jonny were ready to answer your questions, with Jo Wiley.

Coldplay Q&A - With Guy and Jonny

The other half of Coldplay were sat on the stage with Jo Wiley, where they would later be performing in front of hundreds of fans, to answer questions Coldplay fans have been asking them on Twitter for the past few days, using the #R2coldplay hashtag. The pair were asked by fan, Reema on why they are called Coldplay. There was no explanation as such but Jonny tentatively whispered the name, Starfish, which is what the band were called in their very early days, although judging by his reaction, they're not too proud of the name! Guy then talks about the band's plans in moving forward, with next album, A Head Full Of Dreams. He refers to it as the "end of a chapter", akin to Chris and for any future albums, they may have a "different mindset". Jo Wiley then tried to sum up their next album and asked what Coldplay's lead guitarist and bassist thought :

So the next album is the dawning of a new day and the celebration of a day I guess

Guy agreed with, "Yes, you put that very well, i'll use that". When asked who they would choose to swap with if they could be another Coldplay member, Jonny revealed his interest in drumming. He says current drummer Will likes his drumming but only to be nice! Sitting down during a concert would be another feature for Coldplay's lead guitarist! Guy, on the other hand, would want to be in Jonny's shoes for the day as he would imagine life as being "calm" and "very peaceful"It was certainly great to have Guy as the lead interviewee and listen to his views, alongside Jonny's. The duo discuss Christmas presents and favourite Christmas songs in the twelve minute long session, which you can watch below via our Youtube channel.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qykgQTsrqlw

Showtime!

It was 8pm British time and Coldplay were ready to complete their Ghost Stories 'mini tour' journey which started in Los Angeles and Cologne earlier this year. The concert was aired live to millions of fans online, on radio and via the red button on television. The set, introduced slowly and beautifully by Always In My Head, perfectly summed up the honest and vunrable nature of the album. The British group, not too far away from their own recording studios in Camden, London, repeated the majority of their Munich setlist from Saturday, with God Put A Smile Upon Your Face and Til Kingdom Come facing omission in the slightly shorter set. Like always though, the guys put everything into the performance, with the sweat glistening down Chris' shirt before A Sky Full Of Stars had even begun! When Coldplay's second single from the Ghost Stories era kicked off, even the largely muted crowd were jumping up and down as confetti covered the whole crowd at the final stages of the track (and the camera crane!).

A sky full of confetti stars (and a TV camera crane). #ColdplayBBC A pic.twitter.com/CNJukqC4cJ
— Coldplay (@coldplay) December 8, 2014

Guy, who has been receiving even more attention than he is used to, was being sung to by Chris, with his pal replacing 'sky' with 'guy' on one occasion! On the December evening, Coldplay finished the set with their annual Christmas anthem, Christmas Lights. You can also listen to the audio of the concert (Thanks Linus)https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5EHntTbLQ6UAnd after the triumphant Christmas anthem played, the outro music, O (Reprise) played to the ovation of the band who well and truly delivered for their final Ghost Stories concert! View the setlist of the BBC Theatre below :

The final chat - with Chris and Will

Jo Wiley interviewed Coldplay's lead singer and drummer straight after the goodbye show to the Ghost Stories touring era. The pair talked about the Ghost Stories and their next album, A Head Full Of Stars.Chris mentioned that "Ghost Stories is very much it's own thing", when refering to fitting it's songs with their older classics during the band's live set. Jonny's seething fury with Chris spilling the beans (next album title) to Zane Lowe, an event that takes place once every ten years, according to Will, was revealed by Coldplay's frontman :

He took away my microphone away for about an hour. He said no singing for you!

Remember? The incident 10 years ago was Jonny telling Chris, "i'm sick of your s**t", as mentioned on the Zane Lowe interview before the release of Ghost Stories. A few more facts were revealed about A Head Full Of Dreams, as you can see below :

Post by Coldplaying.

Listen to the audio directly, here. (Thanks chipotle)The Ghost Stories shows have now officially ended. The era itself is drawing to a close, with the BBC Music Awards in London and NRJ Music Awards in France due later on in the week. It's been a wonderful experience through the truly beautiful era!The next stop.....your call Chris!

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