Online Reporter
THERE is a real possibility British super group Coldplay will play in Zimbabwe when they embark on another marathon World Tour in about one-and-half years’ time.
Coldplay frontman Chris Martin gave a hint that their next marathon World Tour will start “somewhere in Southern Africa.”
He spoke just after concluding the record-breaking Music of the Spheres Tour at Wembley on Friday night.
It was also the end of their record-breaking 10-show run at Wembley and they closed it off with a dazzling, multi-coloured night of musical magic.
Martin has included Zimbabwean acts during this tour with Shone joining them in the Gulf and then being part of the tour in India and in England.
Adrian Dzvuke was one of the backing artists when Coldplay toured Australia.
Martin’s mother is a Zimbabwean and he used to visit this country.
On Friday night, Coldplay played hits from every era of their 25-year career, they filled the stadium with light, and even indulged themselves with a giddy version of Whitney Houston’s I Wanna Dance With Somebody.
“This is the song I warm up to in the car park,” joked Martin.
The show closed the latest leg of their Music Of The Spheres Tour, which has circled the world four times since 2022.
It is now the highest-attended tour in history, with more than 13m tickets sold.
On stage, Martin promised it would resume “somewhere in southern Africa in about 18 months”.
Friday’s show was held almost a week late, after a strike by London transport workers forced the band to postpone.
“I know it caused a lot of inconvenience for a lot of you,” Martin told the crowd. “In return we’re going to play a show fifteen times better than any show we’ve ever played before. That’s the pledge.”
They might not have achieved that goal – Coldplay have already set themselves a ridiculously high bar — but this was stadium stagecraft at its absolute finest.
The concert is a sensory overload, full of LED writstbands, raining confetti, laser lights, spinning inflatables, 3D glasses that turn everything into hearts and stars, and even a brief puppet show (the operators, Drew and Nicolette, happily got engaged during last Saturday’s concert).
Martin is the glue that holds it together.
His plan isn’t just to bridge the gap between the band and the audience, it’s to dismantle it entirely.
“I see you,” he says repeatedly, identifying uber-fans at the front and distant figures in the vertigo seats.
“I see you over here with a Brazilian flag. And I see you, too, in the top corner with lights on your bodies. You look like you’re from the movie Tron.”
The audience is the show.
That’s a contrast to most stadium concerts, where the message is more like: “Look upon me, puny mortals, and be astonished by my divine talents and somewhat improbable physique.”
Martin later admits that his sense of humour “gets me into trouble every day”.
But not as much trouble as married tech CEO Andy Byron, who was caught in a loving embrace with his HR executive on the giant screens of a Coldplay concert in the US earlier this year.
“Whatever happens here, stays here. Guaranteed. So if you’ve just embezzled the company funds, come on camera now. It’s fine.”
Before long, a young couple flashes up on the screen.
“Holy crap, don’t put me through this again,” the singer grimaces, only agreeing to play a song after they’ve flashed their wedding rings at the camera. — BBC/H-Metro Reporter
