R#42 blog

Check out coldplay.com for a new blog entry: #42 and the pap shots of the paps   Discuss this blog entry in the Coldplay forum here onwards [thanks Loud Meditation]   I have a new hobby folks. I've been pap papping. Here's a likely-looking fella who was hiding in the bushes as we left the hotel this morning. I had a lovely chat with him about what cameras he uses and how big his lens was (a whopping 600mm in case you're interested). He seemed distracted though and eventually a little huffy - alm

After 3 years, the fans were hyped, ready and waiting for the return of their favourite lads from the UK - so there was plenty of energy and interest around what our Brissie volunteers had to say and show about Oxfam’s work on the Fairtrade and Close The Gap campaigns.   The sight of our Oxfam green t-shirted brigade flashed amongst the thousands who thronged both nights to Brisbane Entertainment Centre, for their first live dose of Coldplay tunes since 2006. Quite a few in the crowd were obvio

Check out coldplay.com for a new blog entry: #42 enjoys a spot of Coldplay cricket   Discuss this blog entry in the Coldplay forum here onwards [thanks mimixxx]   Well, it seems we're bringing the weather with us. Brisbane has been broodingly humid since we got here, threatening to release a cloudburst. Come the second show day, that's exactly what it did. Sydney is our last chance to catch some sun before we're out of Oz for another couple of years. Here's hoping.   The disappointing dampness i

While Coldplay are busy rocking Australia, New Zealand is getting ready for the concert event of the year. Oxfam will be there next week to greet the masses for two sold-out shows. We’ll have 20 volunteers at Vector Arena each night, talking to people about Oxfam’s work to provide clean water and sanitation in some of the world’s poorest regions.   Keep an eye out for people carrying 20 litre buckets on their heads, and text us to enter the contest for great prizes. In the meantime, you can che

Check out coldplay.com for a new blog entry: #42 and mini-bar masquerade   Discuss this blog entry in the Coldplay forum here onwards [thanks squareone13 & LittleMissMessy]   Despite blowing my new year's resolution almost immediately, I'm still looking for ways to avoid giving hotels all my money this year. To this end, I visit reception in Melbourne and lie through my teeth. "Hello, I'm a recovering alcoholic and I'd like my mini-bar emptying please - all of it". Then it's off to 7-11 to s

On the latest leg of their mammoth world tour Coldplay have hit the shores of sunny Australia. First stop was Perth, Western Australia, where the four lads from England were welcomed by thousands of excited fans at Burswood Dome for two nights of crowd pleasing awesome music! Oxfam Australia volunteers were there too.   A sizeable hop skip and jump took the Coldplay lads across to the opposite side of the country where they performed for three nights at the Rod Laver Arena in downtown Melbourne.

Check out coldplay.com for a new blog entry: The weather's sunny, and so is #42   Discuss this blog entry in the Coldplay forum here onwards [thanks Lore]   Sunshine. God's own medicine... Suddenly the whole world feels like a different place. Hardly surprising, I suppose, given the distance we've travelled. I'm sure we must have been somewhere sunny in our summer last year, but I absolutely cannot remember it. I expect we were rushing around working out how to make the gig work. Getting a secon

Check out coldplay.com for a new blog entry: #42's latest missive comes from a land down under   Discuss this blog entry in the Coldplay forum here onwards [thanks Cris_Santos]   I hope you've packed your Sudoku, folks. After the somewhat demanding past couple of weeks, we find ourselves staring down the barrel of a pretty extensive bit of travel to get down under. We're leaving London on Tuesday at 10pm and not arriving in Perth until 2am on Thursday. Now, even with a half hour to change planes

A week has gone by since Coldplay performed in Saitama and Kobe, and we are certainly feeling the impact here at Oxfam Japan. We have inquiries from people who saw Oxfam’s booth, to those who have expressed interest in future campaigning. We are also hearing voices from those who have read the tour blog!   712 people signed up for the FOR ALL campaign during the Japan tour. We will continue to collect the sign-ups and for those of you, who missed the opportunity to sign up at the shows, plea

So we were out there again in the lobby and entrance area, distributing flyers and talking to Coldplay fans about the FOR ALL campaign. 18000 people came out to Saitama, despite it being a weekday!   Hundreds more of those fans, signed the petition. Oxfam Japan was also interviewed by the TV crew from Channel 4’s evening news program, NEWS ZERO. The main focus of the program was about Coldplay’s charity work, and how it has made an impact on the lives of so many people. All those fans that sto

Check out coldplay.com for a new blog entry: Roadie #42 and the disappearing day   Discuss this blog entry here onwards [thanks sirhc]   I've been robbed, readers. Nothing's been taken from my luggage, nobody has held me up at gunpoint. I'm missing no money (apart from what I've wasted on room service - trampling another New Year's Resolution into the dirt). So, what's happened? Well, I've had 24 hours of my life whipped away from right under my nose. That's right, an entire day - stolen.   You

So the excitement continues in this part of the world.. After attending the Grammy’s in L.A., Coldplay arrived in Tokyo last night, to kick off their tour of Japan. It’s hard to believe their energy levels, despite all the travelling!   The Japanese crowd gave Coldplay a warm welcome - 16′000 crammed into the Saitama Super Arena. Fans had waited 2 and a half years for Coldplay to tour Japan. Hundreds of people were there, outside the venue, two hours before the doors even opened.. The crowd had

The crew have flown out, to wipe the jet-lag from their eyes, in time to get the stage up tomorrow. Yesterday morning, Coldplay flew out to join them. Tomorrow, Tokyo will see the start of the Coldplay tour in 2009. Oxfam Japan will be there waiting for them.   With that, comes a new blogger. Oxfam’s Akiko Mera, has worked tirelessly to get things ready for the show tomorrow. She will be there, at the first drop of another rollercoaster ride on the Coldplay tourbus. The Saitama Super Arena will

Check out coldplay.com for a new blog entry: #42 sends his Grammy report   Discuss this blog entry here onwards [thanks coldplay12]   Now, I'm not a huge fan of awards shows. For a roadie, they're basically a monumental pain in the arse. If you're a bloke who earns their living plugging gear in and telling the band that it's going to work, then they're by far the most stressful thing that you can get involved with. The gear flies from the loading dock to the stage at terrifying speed and you get

Check out coldplay.com for a new blog entry: #42 and the London Monkees   Discuss this blog entry here onwards.   Well, it would appear we've brought the weather with us. As we sped up the freeway tonight to the hotel, the heavens opened. Los Angeles is far better at clear blue and hot - but it's certainly demonstrated the breadth of its repertoire today. Perhaps the British-style downpours are a good omen for the Grammys? Let's hope so, eh?   But the Grammy Awards aren't until Sunday. We've com

Check out coldplay.com for a new blog entry: #42 is our mole in the studio   Discuss this blog entry here onwards [thanks marie/pims]   After touring's "ying" of constant motion, noisy crowds and repetition, studio work's "yang" brings stillness, quiet isolation and a torrent of creativity. I've been in the corner of the control room at the Bakery for the past couple of weeks watching the first foundations being dug for the next batch of songs.   Regular readers will remember that whilst we were

Check out coldplay.com for a new blog entry: #42 is back in business   Discuss this blog entry here onwards [thanks Lore]   It was always inevitable that the Christmas break would vanish before we'd had the chance to get nearly half the lazing about done that we'd planned. Sure enough, here we are again heading off to do a TV show. I set off this morning in the belief that we were going to do the German equivalent of the Grammy awards. Somebody asked me yesterday where that would be. I told them

From buses to desks. I’m sitting in Oxford, England, at a desk in the Media Unit of Oxfam House. I’ve been around the UK, North America and Europe on buses with Coldplay’s crew for the past 7 months. The desk in front of me is covered with files, newspapers, tapes, contact cards, campaigns pins, a gnawed pen, a rubber band, a coffee cup and a spoon.   It’s not mine. I’m borrowing it. Outside I can see the ‘arctic snap’ frost and yesterdays snow on the street and people bustling along to get wher

We are nearly there. It’s a couple of days until Christmas. Time for the holidays and to welcome in a new year. Soon we will be travelling home. Getting over coughs, colds and extreme sleep deprivation weirdness. Just one more Coldplay show to do this year. The pillows are in sight.   I hadn’t seen much of the set for a while. Tonight, I stood, stage-left, with some of the Oxfam volunteers, to watch the amazing show. OK, so most of the songs may be the same, but I love seeing the crowds every ti

It’s quite a spectacular sight to see 8′500 Coldplay fans on their feet in Dublin, singing the final few lines of ‘Yellow’. I came back here into the crew room to write, and heard a similar roar of noise at the end of ‘Fix you’. ‘Viva’ has just struck up as well, and I can already hear the chanting starting.   971 of those people, on 1942 feet, all signed up with Oxfam tonight. They all now have the chance to be active campaigners for Oxfam in the years to come. 2009 will be a huge year for Oxfa

I’m sitting in the newly revamped O2 Arena, Dublin. Last Tuesday, this venue was re-opened. Coldplay is only the third show to pass through. 8′500 people will pack into the arena tonight, and again tomorrow. There is only three days to go on this tour. I thought I was going to escape the strange illness that has been doing the rounds in the crew. Unfortunately, it got me in the end. I’m on the kiwi fruits and orange juice today..   Yesterday, I visited the famous storehouse of Arthur Guinness. T

Just went past the Odyssey (which will be the last stop of the tour). Heading for Dublin, the second last stop on the tour. The band are still on stage, entertaining the 8000 strong crowd. Foot-stomping and singing was in full force, as I packed up the Oxfam road case in the dressing room hall. The night is still young. The bus pulled out at 10:30pm “on-the-head” as the driver put it. This must be what it feels like to be in one of the vans that does a runner straight after the show. I’m off ear

Check out coldplay.com for a new blog entry: #42 tells you about tour fatigue   Discuss this blog entry here onwards.   Tour Fatigue, Road-burn, Knackered-ness, "Ready for Bo-Bos", it's called many things, but all describe the same thing. I've shied away from describing some of the less enjoyable aspects of touring because - well, lets face it, the job we do is amazing and I can't even bear listening to myself moan about it, let alone imagine how little anyone else would care.   It is, however,

Check out coldplay.com for a new blog entry: #42 and the London homecoming shows   Discuss this blog entry here onwards [thanks mimixxx]   I note that on the X&Y tour, there were three "Big London Shows" at Earls Court on the 14th, 15th and 16th of December. Three years, an album and an EP later, here we are with three "Big London Shows" on exactly the same dates. Hometown shows around Christmas make perfect sense really. If it's supposed to be a time for getting together with family and fri

The Coldplay tour, along with it’s Oxfam rep, has now travelled to Belfast City, and I have not even talked about the last show in London yet.. so, just to recap, here’s a note from London..   1200 people made the Health and Education For All pledge tonight. That’s almost 4000 for the London shows, great stuff. The UK tour has seen an incredible number of people giving their support on this Oxfam campaign. It also saw Simon Pegg, join Coldplay on-stage for some memorable harmonica moments..   Th