R#42 blog

Check out coldplay.com for a new blog entry: #42 catches up on the whirlwind that has been the last seven days   Discuss this blog entry in the Coldplay forum here onwards [thanks _Tash]   So there we are - the record is finally out there. For me, it mainly means I can stop worrying about having the files on my laptop. For others hopefully, it means being overjoyed that they finally have them on theirs. It also means that (praise the lord) the pre-release-promo phase is coming to a close. It’s b

Check out coldplay.com for a new blog entry: In which #42 gets his head stapled and Coldplay perform some wonderful webcast shows   Discuss this blog entry in the Coldplay forum here onwards [thanks _Tash]   I first realise that I’ve done slightly more than just bumped my head when I hold my skull with both hands and they’re immediately soaking wet. Walking through the dusty bullring towards catering for napkins to mop up the blood, the wide eyed stares from the locals reinforces the impression

Check out coldplay.com for a new blog entry: In which Coldplay perform on an Italian film set and their plane home is diverted   Discuss this blog entry in the Coldplay forum here onwards [thanks _Tash]   It’s not uncommon for me to have little idea of where we’re going or what we’re doing. It’s actually quite easy to fall into this state and once you spot it starting, it can be fun to nurture it as a way of keeping things interesting. Conversations in the airport departure lounge this morning c

Check out coldplay.com for a new blog entry: #42 reports back from Chris and Jonny's Little Noise Session for Mencap   Discuss this blog entry in the Coldplay forum here onwards [thanks _Tash]   It strikes me as I arrive at The Church Of St John in Hackney that there is quite a lot going on in the world of Coldplay today. We’re in East London getting set up for this acoustic show tonight, whilst on the South Bank, all the gear is going into a TV studio to record an appearance on the Graham Norto

Check out coldplay.com for a new blog entry: #42 muses on a triumphant TV performance and two homecoming shows   Discuss this blog entry in the Coldplay forum here onwards [thanks _Tash]   Back in 2002, very shortly after I joined the Coldplay travelling circus, we found ourselves in a tiny club in San Francisco. I remember the soundcheck having been somewhat eventful, almost ending in fisticuffs over nothing of any great import. Shortly before showtime, I dived into the dressing room to clarify

Check out coldplay.com for a new blog entry: #42 and the Charlie Brown video shoot   Discuss this blog entry in the Coldplay forum here onwards [thanks _Tash]   Following the directions from the car park to the video shoot location, I pass the pub that’s noted on the map. I look in the windows to see if there’s anyone I recognise in there. The pub is completely awash with folks covered in luminous paint. Clearly I’m getting close.   They’re quite a striking sight, all crazy hairdos, raving outfi

Check out coldplay.com for a new blog entry: #42 sends pictures from Philly   We're in the mountains doing a festival right now. In the meantime, here are some photos from during Yellow the other night. R#42      

Check out coldplay.com for a new blog entry: Roadie #42 blogs about Paris, Cologne and an unexpectedly flashing wristband...   Discuss this blog entry in the Coldplay forum here onwards [thanks zzz]   What a difference a few weeks can make. We had shows in Paris and Cologne during the album launch period. We’re back in those same two cities now and we’ve reached the light at the end of the tunnel that got us through the past six months or so of promo chaos. Yes, we’re finally “just doing gigs”.

Check out coldplay.com for a new blog entry: Roadie #42, the errant smoke machine and the soundcheck experiments   Discuss this blog entry in the Coldplay forum here onwards [thanks _Tash]   I’ve got to be honest, I was expecting the Rotterdam audience to be somewhat - um, “laid back” I guess is the right phrase. It just goes to show that you never can tell…   It’s a good noisy crowd that sing through the show at the Ahoy - none more so than when the band are on the B-Stage and the cheer for Wil

Check out coldplay.com for a new blog entry: Coldplay round off the tour in Berlin by working on a brand new song   Discuss this blog entry in the Coldplay forum here onwards [thanks _Tash]   I hadn’t thought about it until Chris mentioned it on the B-stage. He thanks the Frankfurt crowd and mentions that Germany is where this tour really started, back on Rock im Park all those months ago. Fitting then, that we bring the show back here just before we break for Christmas.   I don’t think there ca

Check out coldplay.com for a new blog entry: #42 gives his perspective on last weekend's Grammy Awards in LA   Discuss this blog entry in the Coldplay forum here onwards [thanks _Tash]   They’re a funny thing, awards shows. I guess then, that if Glastonbury is the “Beatles of festivals” as CM once quipped, then the Grammys is pretty much the toppermost of the poppermost when it comes to awards shows - and hence the funniest of funny things.   In my more sour roadie moments, I’ve likened working

Check out coldplay.com for a new blog entry: #42 and the 3.30am Good Morning America lobby call   Discuss this blog entry in the Coldplay forum here onwards [thanks _Tash]   Now, a 3.30am lobby call is usually a pretty cruel blow. However, in a wonderful demonstration that two wrongs sometimes do make a right, the London-NYC jetlag has me up and about and feeling fine before the alarm even goes off.   It’s all in the name of Good Morning America, of course. The band are performing on air at 8.30

Check out coldplay.com for a new blog entry: #42 and the Secret Policeman's Ball   Discuss this blog entry in the Coldplay forum here onwards [thanks _Tash]   Coldplay played Radio City Music Hall back in the Parachutes days. I know this because I recently found a box of Guy’s first ever camcorder tapes. On this tape they were all looking *incredibly* young and fresh, wandering around the stage before soundcheck marvelling at how immense the place was.   It is indeed a hugely impressive building

Check out coldplay.com for a new blog entry: #42 reports on the first shows of N. American tour   Discuss this blog entry in the Coldplay forum here onwards [thanks _Tash]   Aaaaaand we’re off!   I’ve said before that a tour is essentially a huge machine, powered for the most part by an extraordinary amount of human effort. Considering we haven’t really done any “proper touring” since before Christmas, we’re really trying to get this massive contraption in motion from a stationary and cold start

Check out coldplay.com for a new blog entry: #42 and the joys of an off-stage band member   Discuss this blog entry in the Coldplay forum here onwards [thanks _Tash]   My God, can we be a week into the tour already? We’re sitting on the tarmac waiting for departure to show number six.   It has to be said that this first week has felt not entirely unlike a jet taking off. The rush of getting the first few shows happening has much the same adrenaline inducing surge that you get as the engines kick

Check out coldplay.com for a new blog entry: #42 and the P45 microphone   Discuss this blog entry in the Coldplay forum here onwards [thanks Texasluvsjonny]   Sometimes, you’re just better off not knowing.   I was in the van after the second San Jose show, thinking to myself what a great time the fellas appeared to be having onstage lately. I couldn’t help but wonder why that was? Are the new songs more energetic, more celebratory? Have the crowd reactions been stronger? Maybe it’s the fact that

Check out coldplay.com for a new blog entry: #42 becomes a mountain person   We arrive in Whistler pretty dazed and confused. The travel has been fairly brutal once again - but hey,nobody said it was easy...   All I knew about this in advance was that it's a festival. I think I vaguely got the idea that there would be some trees. But the van ride from the airport to Whistler lays it all out before us in glorious technicolour. Mountains, lakes, glacial streams, it's all here. The road hairpins i

Check out coldplay.com for a new blog entry: #42 reports back from the Hollywood Bowl and American Idol   Discuss this blog entry in the Coldplay forum here onwards [thanks Tash]   I’ve got to admit, there just *are* some venues in the world where you just can’t help thinking “This is fucking cool”. I tend to rebel against the more obvious prestige ones, but sometimes everyone raves about how good something is because - well, because it really is that good.   Of course those of you familiar with

Check out coldplay.com for a new blog entry: #42 reports back from the start of the European stadium tour   Discuss this blog entry in the Coldplay forum here onwards [thanks Tash]   It’s been a somewhat busy few days making it happen, but the stadium shows are finally underway! The British have a somewhat justified reputation for being obsessed with the weather. In our case right now though, I figure there’s an excuse. We’re doing outdoor shows. Without a roof.   The preparations in Porto for t

Check out coldplay.com for a new blog entry: Roadie #42 shares a whole bunch of great photographs   Discuss this blog entry in the Coldplay forum here onwards [thanks zzz]   Hello folks, I've just turned my camera upside down and given it a shake. Here's a few bits that fell out… (Click the photos [at the official site] for hi-res versions)   REMINDER! On Saturday, Coldplay.com [direct link to follow] will be heading to the Emirates Stadium in London to spend the day blogging from backstage at

Check out coldplay.com for a new blog entry: #42 and the hometown shows   Discuss this blog entry in the Coldplay forum here onwards [thanks Tash]   In a lot of ways, hometown shows can be like a family Christmas. They’re ostensibly a time of joy and celebration. You do tend to forget though, how much stress comes along with it - and you pretty much always collapse in a heap at the end, glad that it’s all over for a year or so. London, of course, is just another gig - the same as any other. Ever

Check out coldplay.com for a new blog entry: #42 and the curious tale of the disappearing guitar camera   Discuss this blog entry in the Coldplay forum here onwards [thanks Tash]   So here’s a funny one. I’ve been playing about with a bunch of new cameras lately. Even though it’s the cheapest of them, one of the most interesting is a tiny little video camera that was invented for sticking on skydivers heads. What better way to test it then, than to stick it to the end of the guitar that Chris th

Check out coldplay.com for a new blog entry: #42, the DC close shave and the return of Oldplay   Discuss this blog entry in the Coldplay forum here onwards [thanks Tash]   Good grief - here we are at the last show of the leg and I’ve got a bag full of untold stories and observations from along the way. I must apologise for the radio silence of late. I won’t make excuses - hows about I tell you about right now and then when I get home I’ll start picking through some stuff I missed out along the w

Check out coldplay.com for a new blog entry: #42 reports from Canada   So that's Canada done for a little while, eh? This time out, a good proportion of the crew are Canadians, so Chris's claim from the stage that it's a "home from home" have an extra resonance. As soon as Life In Technicolor hits in Montreal, I'm suddenly reminded about this place. Nobody knows whether it's the crowd or the acoustics, but the cheering is absolutely deafening throughout, which can't help but lift the show to new

Check out coldplay.com for a new blog entry: In which #42 runs into Barack Obama   After spending the day off in New York, the Hartford show is close enough to drive to. Everyone climbs into a couple of vans outside the hotel and we head off. It's been a fair old while since the days when the band traveled to every gig by van. The nostalgia for the van days steps up a notch when they pull off the freeway after 90 minutes for a break. 'Motorway services are as integral a part of any band's early