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Coldplaying analyses the impact of Alan McGee's famous 'bedwetters' comment printed in 'The Guardian' in 2000 It's no secret that Coldplay, one of the biggest bands in the world, has a lot of haters. However, in July of 2000, the band just released their debut album 'Parachutes' and had nowhere near the amount of fans they had today. In fact, Coldplaying.com was not launched until December of that year and even then, it only had a handful of members. Parachutes received high praise from major critics and universal love from the press. In a contemporary review of the album, Michael Hubbard of musicOMH called it "an album of remarkable depth, especially when one considers the youthful ages of the band members." Coldplay had just begun a tour to accompany the album and would go on to perform in the United States, Japan, Australia and more. Self-esteem was high and it seemed nothing could bring down the spirit of the band. That was of course until Alan McGee came along! Who is Alan McGee? I asked myself the exact same question! Alan McGee was the former head of Creation Records, home of Oasis and many "uber-cool 90's bands". He also wrote the infamous "bedwetters" article during his time as a music blogger for The Guardian. McGee begins with his frustration towards the current state of the music scene and goes on to express his love and hate towards certain artists. Within the first paragraph, McGee tears into Coldplay with a mere two sentences. Coldplay could have easily passed off this comment as a cynical bid for attention, but considering McGee was a man so highly regarded in the indie world, this hit them hard. As a band who had just released their debut album and were no doubt paying a lot of attention to the press to receive feedback, this was tough. The comment was not even about the music, it was about who they were as people and it questions their “authenticity” – which, in the indie world, was the absolute measurement of worth. The iconic set got people talking about Coldplay once again and defined the release of their second album 'A Rush of Blood to the Head' which received even better reviews than that of Parachutes. Coldplay went on to tour the world to accompany the chart-topping album and released their Live DVD in 2003 to conclude the era of A Rush of Blood to the Head. While Coldplay continued to shock the world with their ever-changing music style, Alan McGee remains particularly venomous towards the band. In 2010, McGee called for the Brit Awards to be abolished – and branded the year’s nominees “an embarrassment” to music-lovers. It was only in March 2020 that McGee backtracked on his infamous comment in an interview with the Sunday Express. It is also worth noting that Alan McGee insisted that rockers should retire at 40. Meanwhile, Chris Martin who turned 40 in 2017, announced the band's new endeavour 'Kaleidoscope EP' which has failed to disappoint fans and critics and arguably lives up to those aforementioned "standards of Parachutes". The band have gone on to release 'Everyday Life' which received 4-star ratings across the board! Take that Alan McGee!

DISCUSS STORY Coldplay and a number of other artists have teamed up with Live Nation to help support live music crews affected by COVID-19! "Live music inspires millions around the world, but the concerts we all enjoy wouldn’t be possible without the countless crew members working behind the scenes. As COVID-19 puts concerts on pause, we want to extend a helping hand to the touring and venue crews who depend on shows to make a living." Live Nation have created 'Crew Nation', a global relief fund for Live Music Crews. "Crew members are the backbone of the live music industry, and we hope you’ll join us in supporting them through this temporary intermission until we can once again unite millions around the world through the power of live music. Crew Nation is powered by Music Forward Foundation, a charitable 501c3 organization, that will be administering the fund. Live Nation has committed $10 million to Crew Nation – contributing an initial $5 million to the fund, then matching the next $5 million given by artists, fans and employees dollar for dollar. Learn more about Crew Nation's goal and how it will rollout by clicking here. To help support Crew Nation, you can buy merchandise or donate by using the links below: BUY MERCH DONATE NOW

DISCUSS STORY Global Citizen have today announced their 'One World: Together At Home' broadcast which will feature Chris Martin from Coldplay! As the world unites to combat the spread of the COVID-19 coronaviruspandemic, Global Citizen and the World Health Organization (WHO) have announced the One World: Together At Home global special in support of the fight against COVID-19. The special will be broadcast live on Saturday, April 18, at 5 p.m. PT/8 p.m. ET on ABC, NBC, ViacomCBS Networks, and iHeartMedia, as well as Bell Media networks and platforms in Canada. Internationally, BBC One will run the program on Sunday, April 19, with additional international broadcasters including beIN Media Group, MultiChoice Group, and RTE. The virtual broadcast will show unity among all people who are affected by COVID-19, as well as celebrating and supporting the brave frontline health care workers around the world who are doing incredible, life-saving work. One World: Together At Home will also be a multi-hour digital broadcast streaming online on multiple global platforms, including Alibaba, Amazon Prime Video, Apple, Facebook, Instagram, LiveXLive, Tencent, Tencent Music Entertainment Group, TIDAL, TuneIn, Twitch, Twitter, Yahoo, and YouTube. The global live-cast follows the launch of the Together At Home campaignand virtual concert series in March, in urgent support of the WHO’s COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund, powered by the UN Foundation. The campaign calls on individuals around the world to take urgent action to ask world leaders and corporations to step up in supporting the global COVID-19 response with sufficient resources. We’ve also already seen numerous artists stepping up in support of the efforts to drive united global action. By putting on incredible performances streamed into the homes of fans around the world, artists including Chris Martin, John Legend, Charlie Puth, Common, Shawn Mendes and Camila Cabello, and many more, have been helping to connect and inspire Global Citizens to stand together to beat coronavirus. Curated in collaboration with Lady Gaga, the global special will feature appearances and musical performances from Alanis Morissette, Andrea Bocelli, Billie Eilish, Billie Joe Armstrong of Green Day, Burna Boy, Chris Martin, David Beckham, Eddie Vedder, Elton John, FINNEAS, Idris and Sabrina Elba, J Balvin, John Legend, Kacey Musgraves, Keith Urban, Kerry Washington, Lang Lang, Lizzo, Maluma, Paul McCartney, Priyanka Chopra Jonas, Shah Rukh Khan, and Stevie Wonder.