12 Coldplay Months of 2009: MARCH (Chris Martin's Legendary Crowd Dash!)

[Zeya]

Eno: I had to separate Coldplay and U2

The month of March in 2009 for Coldplay started off with an interview with Brian Eno mentioning he had to mentally separate Coldplay and U2 while working with ‘two biggest bands in the world’. An extract of the interview:

"I realised it could have been, but there was no friction on either side. First of all they know each other. Bono said he thought it was a good idea. But I felt sensitive that in one computer I had all the work I was doing on Coldplay and all the work I was doing on U2 and I had to mentally keep them apart."

http://www.telegraph.co.uk

The Photography Copyright Grab

Rock photographers were not happy when all of the sudden Coldplay decided to claim the copyright of concert pictures taken by professional photographers, demanding complete ownership of the images.

This is becoming all too common. Coldplay is just the latest in the line of high-profile bands who want to grab the rights to pictures taken of them in concert. If you're a professional photographer, you won't get a pass to take pictures of the band during their gigs unless you are accredited to a magazine. And even then, you'll need to sign an agreement that forces you to give away your pictures.
http://www.webvivant.com/coldplay-copyright-grab.html

Photos of Coldplay in Perth, Australia

Coldplayers were surprised with a series of photos released here particularly the one with Guy Berryman being hugged by a blonde girl in Perth airport. It turned out that the girl is Arlene who works with the band's US-based management (Thanks Pris and LittleMissMessy).








Viva La Vida Australian Tour Continued – Lucky Australian Coldplayers Encounters With The Band

In continuation of their shown in Perth in February, Coldplay proceeded with their Australian Tour to Melbourne, Brisbane and Sydney. Below is the itinerary of the Australian Tour:

27 February 2009 - Burswood Dome, Perth, Australia
28 February 2009 - Burswood Dome, Perth, Australia
3 March 2009 - Rod Laver Arena, Melbourne, Australia
4 March 2009 - Rod Laver Arena, Melbourne, Australia
5 March 2009 - Rod Laver Arena, Melbourne, Australia
8 March 2009 - Entertainment Centre, Brisbane, Australia
9 March 2009 - Entertainment Centre, Brisbane, Australia
11 March 2009 - Acer Arena, Sydney, Australia
12 March 2009 - Acer Arena, Sydney, Australia
14 March 2009 - Acer Arena, Sydney, Australia
15 March 2009 - Acer Arena, Sydney, Australia

edit: Also, the long awaited Coldplay's Rove appearance (Thanks SueDeNimes for that!)

YouTube- [HQ] Coldplay Interview on Rove 2009-03-08 (BEST AVAILABLE)

Many Australian Coldplayers were lucky enough to meet the band during sound check, before, and after the shows.

It was reported later on that with their Sydney shows in Acer Arena, Coldplay broke the record for the most tickets shifted by an artist on a single tour, with nearly 60 000 tickets sold.

Chris Martin has laughed off a personal slur by Bono

Bono was reported to has called Chris Martin a ‘wan***’ on a UK live radio in February.
Chris Martin, however, denied that it was Bono’s personal attack at him, saying that it was a joke.

"I always thought he felt that way,'' Martin joked.

"I think it's great that we're arch enemies,'' Martin said. "That's a joke too.''

Martin has long used U2 as the benchmark for Coldplay, with U2 saying Martin's band also keep them on their toes.

Read the full article here http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/sto...012974,00.html

Brian Eno And Alan McGee Have Angry Exchange On Twitter Over Coldplay

Producer Brian Eno and former record label boss Alan McGee have become embroiled in an angry online war of words. The argument, on the micro-blogging website Twitter, began after McGee suggested Eno's productions were all capable of making people fall asleep.

Referring to Eno's latest collaboration with Coldplay, the former Oasis manager added: “Was it your idea to dress up Coldplay as the Beatles?” Eno replied to McGee's message (known on Twitter as a 'Tweet') this morning, saying: “Fuck off, wan***.”

In two further tweets, McGee also called the producer “obnoxious” and asked him what “boring shit” he planned to produce next. He added: “I would have stuck to the art installations more chance of having a decent conversation with a bulb than Coldplay or Dido/bland.”
Full discussion here http://www.coldplaying.com/forum/showthread.php?t=55154

Will Campion: We Are Just Getting Started

In an article produced by http://www.stuff.co.nz, Will Champion claimed that Coldplay are about to do something "really spectacular"

"We've worked very hard to get where we are, and we feel like there's a great big opportunity to do something really different," he said.
For all his bold talk, Champion doesn't really know. "We're not quite sure what it is but we get the feeling that there's something big we could achieve," he says. "The first three records were fun to record and tour, and the last record, Viva La Vida, is the start of something new. It's definitely a beginning."

Read the full article and the discussion here http://www.coldplaying.com/forum/showthread.php?t=55157

Coldplay Gave Away Their ‘Best Song Ever’


Coldplay's Chris Martin has revealed the band has given away what is said to be the "best Coldplay song ever" to Natalie Imbruglia.

The songs on Natalie Imbruglia’s new album ‘Come To Life’ which are credited to Chris Martin and the whole band are Lukas, Fun and Want.

Natalie Imbruglia - Want

Natalie Imbruglia - Lukas

Natalie Imbruglia - Fun

Chris Martin’s 32nd Birthday Celebration in Australia with Father

Chris Martin celebrated his 32nd birthday in Australia with his father, Anthony Martin who followed him in Coldplay’s Australian Tour. http://www.news.com.au reported:

The British rock star reportedly left nightclub The Gin Palace before midnight "sober, on foot and heading back to his hotel".

It was Martin's father who was was the last man standing, having stayed on at the upmarket bar after his famous son left. "My dad is more of a rock star than me," Martin said yesterday. "He embraces the lifestyle."

Also, Coldplay attended a birthday party thrown by Merrick, Kate & Rosso from Nova 96.9FM (Sydney, Australia).










Roadie #42 Blogs

In March, we also witness a number of amazing blogs posts posted by Roadie #42 reporting the Australian, New Zealand and Asia tour and shows. The links for all the blogs can be found below:

Roadie #42 Blog #73 From Melbourne
Roadie #42 Blog #74 – Brisbane Report
Roadie #42 Blog #75 From Sydney
Roadie #42 Blog #76 – The Monster OZ Catch-Up
Roadie #42 Blog #77 – Hong Kong and Abu Dhabi











Coldplay Reign Supreme Over U2 Down-under

As reported by undercover.com.au, Coldplay have delivered a deadly blow to Bono’s U2 after first week sales in Australia revealed that Viva La Viva figures had romped in over No Line On The Horizon sales.

The U2 album debuted at number one in Australia today with a not too shabby showing of 29,963 sales in the past week. Coldplay Viva La Vida sold 41,041 units in week one in Australia. That is a major gap between the two in-battle superacts.

Will Champion: "We want to do something totally revolutionary"

An interview by coldplay.com with Will Champion was done online when the drummer and the rest of the band was in Australia. Below is an extract of the interview:

And what about recording? How did your time in the studio without Chris work out?
Well, it was a Brian [Eno] thing. He said he felt like if you're always starting a song from the same point, there's only so much variation you can get. So, I think he wanted the three of us to explore things without really having a song to work to; maybe just a lyric or a fragment of a demo that Chris had done. And even if those experiments were totally useless, some little aspect of it might fit when the time comes to really start recording properly. I think it was just an exercise in trying to push us into doing new things, which we mightn't do if we had a fully-fledged song on our hands.

Were the results good?
Yeah, it was actually very fruitful. We started off making rules for creating songs, forcing ourselves to think about the process of making music. They made you make decisions that you would never normally make. I don't think anyone has done more work or research on the process of making music than Brian. Trying to actually impose structure and process on songs yields very interesting and different results.

Read the full interview here http://coldplay.com/newsdetail.php?id=345

Coldplay’s Violet Hill Included in Guitar Hero On Tour: Modern Hits

Facing the prospect of a Rock Band title arriving on the PlayStation Portable, the publisher has released information on Guitar Hero On Tour: Modern Hits, which is the third installment of the series to make its way to the Nintendo DS handheld.

The publisher has also released information regarding the tracks that would be featured in the game, saying that the following songs would certainly make it into Guitar Hero On Tour:

Modern Hit: Wolfmother - “Dimension;” Coldplay - “Violet Hill;” Lenny Kravitz - “Where Are We Runnin'” Evanescence - “Sweet Sacrifice;” The Strokes - “Reptilia;” The Bravery - “Unconditional;” Fall Out Boy - “This Ain't a Scene;” Weezer - “Everybody Get Dangerous;” The Kaiser Chiefs - “Ruby;” 12 Stones - “Adrenaline;” Tenacious D - “The Metal;” Atreyu - “Falling Down.”

Coldplay Announce New May/June North American Tour


Coldplay announced another North American tour in addition to the already confirmed Canadian dates. Click here for the full list of tour dates and discussions.


Coldplay Opened Sydney Bushfire Sound Relief, Chris Martin’s Legendary Crowd Dash

Coldplay took the honour of opening Sydney Bushfire Sydney Sound Relief on Marh 14th, 2009. The show hit its highest point when Chris Martin suddenly jumped off the stage during ‘Fix You’ and run through the crowd for half of the Sydney Cricket Ground before going back on stage to finish that final song.

Youtube - Coldplay - Fix You from sound relief 2009 Chris Martin crowd run

The band played seven songs including You’re The Voice of which they called the Australian singing Legend John Farnham to the stage to join the set. The setlist of their show is as followed:

1) Life In Technicolor
2) Yellow
3) Lost!
4) Clocks
5) Viva La Vida
6) You’re The Voice (with John Farnham)
7) Fix You








More photos, videos, articles and reviews here

The week before the show, Chris Martin went to visit the bushfire relief centres in Flowerdale to get a greater insight into the disaster, and the relief and rebuilding plans.

Coldplay Touch Down in New Zealand Ahead of Auckland Shows



Coldplay, have touched down in Auckland ahead of their two New Zealand shows. They flew in from Sydney.

The last time Coldplay were in New Zealand was at the Big Day Out in 2001. Discussion threads for the New Zealand shows are as followed:

18th March - Vector Arena, Auckland, New Zealand
18th March - Vector Arena, Auckland, New Zealand


Nominations For Japan MTV Video Music Awards

Coldplay, one of the international acts along with Ne-Yo, Franz Ferdinand, Britney Spears and Katy Perry was announced to be nominated in the Japan MTV Video Music Awards which was held later on May 30th. Coldplay were nominated for three awards.


Coldplay’s Three Stops Before Five-Weeks Break

After the Australia and New Zealand tour, the band proceeded the Viva La Vida tour to Singapore, Hong Kong and Dubai.

March 23: Singapore Indoor Stadium, Singapore
March 25: Asia World Arena, Hong Kong
March 28: Emirates Palace Hotel, Abu Dhabi, Dubai

Coldplay: "Next album will be inspired by the Middle East"

Coldplay’s last album was inspired by the sights and sounds of South America, but the next will draw on the Middle East’s rich cultural heritage.

The British band’s lead singer Chris Martin described the visit to Abu Dhabi as part of a musical odyssey that typified Coldplay’s spirit.
Read the full article here http://www.coldplaying.com/forum/showthread.php?t=55919

A Note From Will Champion About Mercury Rev

While Coldplay was still touring with Mercury Rev as their opening act, Will Champion wrote a note that was posted on http://coldplay.com/newsdetail.php?id=365 about the band’s influence on Coldplay:

If I could go back to 1998 and tell a 20-year-old me that we would be playing some shows with Mercury Rev in 2009, I think my younger self would laugh me all the way back to the present. Such was the importance of Deserter's Songs to me and to our band. When we started out making music, trying to soak up as much information about songwriting, recording and generally what a band should be like, the blueprint was that band and that album. We met the producer of that album, Dave Fridmann, early in 1999 with a view to asking him to produce our first record. He told us stories of the band recording on 16mm video film and other mythical recording techniques that totally changed the way we assumed a band was supposed to make a record. Above all they managed to achieve with that record the thing that we have always striven towards (successfully or not), which is to create an album which is so evocative and complete in its atmosphere. Everything on it perfectly contributes to the whole. I would like to thank Mercury Rev so much for playing these shows with us and also, unbeknownst to them at the time, for helping a young band understand a little better the possibilities of music. Wx

Coldplay Mobile Site Launch

Coldplay.com announced that they have just flipped the switch to launch the brand new mobile version of the site.

Good afternoon. We're very pleased to announce that we've just flipped the switch to launch the brand new mobile version of Coldplay.com, which will help you keep up with Coldplay happenings when you're on the move. It's set up so that if you head to Coldplay.com on your iPhone, Blackberrry or other mobile device, you'll automatically be diverted to the mobile version of the site, which should look a bit like this...


Canada: Coldplay win 'International Album Of The Year' at 2009 Juno Awards

Coldplay won the International Album of the Year award at Canada's JUNO Awards, which they have won once before in 2006 for X&Y.

Other winners included eight-time Juno winner Sarah McLachlan who was honored with the 2009 Allan Waters Humanitarian Award, recognizing her contributions to a range of charities and organizations in both Canada and abroad. Montreal indie rockers The Stills saw double in Vancouver, picking up the best new group and best alternative album Juno Awards,Canada's top music honors, for their 2008 album "Oceans Will Rise."


Osheaga Festival Organisers Confirmed Coldplay as Headliners: Montreal, 1st August

Coldplay was confirmed by the organisers as headliners for 2009's Osheaga Music and Arts Festival in Montreal on 1st August 2009, just a day before they played at All Points West Festival in New Jersey.

[SueDeNimes]

Great work!!
Thank you very much!!

March was another great month for Coldplay fans
The crowd run will be hard to be beaten in the poll!!


I also loved the ROVE interview, so cute!!
(Miss him )

YouTube- [HQ] Coldplay Interview on Rove 2009-03-08 (BEST AVAILABLE)

[Zeya]

Ah Anna, thank you for including that!
It was indeed a very good interview (though I'm not surprised that you've got my back on this, seeing that you always do!)

And yes, the crowd run is also clearly the highlight of the month

[analoeskah]

Super!

My birthday was in March

[karenc]

Surey the crowd run had to be the higlight of March, if not one of THE higlights of the year!!

Thanks for that great review of March

[Lore]

lovely review

[but a dream]

Whoa that's a supermassive post Far

I love it!!!

[Zeya]

Thank you girls

And yes, I was just maybe 10 characters away from the character limit for a post (21 000), which wasn't really that bad, considering that my first draft was about nearly 60 000 characters

[nightmarequeen]

great review! tho i wasn't a member yet in March, i remember these things. it was a lovely month

[juliejulle]

Thanks, Great review. loved it

[Raphaele]

thank you so much Zeya

[ellendianelopo]

Great Review!!!
I liked it a lot!

[ellendianelopo]

Great Review!!!
I liked it a lot!

[busybeeburns]

what a fantastic review!

[coldplay_is_louve.]

Chris's crowd dash was probably the scariest thing I've ever seen him do.

It scared the shit outta me.