Coldplay Sunderland stadium show broadcast to air on Bauer Radio stations

From Bauer Media Radio

Bauer Radio has announced another major live music coup for its Place and Passion portfolios by teaming up with one of the world’s biggest bands, Coldplay, to bring band interviews and the live performances from their Sunderland Stadium Of Light date on the Mylo Xyloto UK tour to listeners across the country on Thursday, June 14th.

Coldplay In:Demand will see Bauer Radio provide a dedicated two-hour block of Coldplay programming on the night, running across 20 of its Place and Passion stations, reaching a combined UK audience of 6.4 million*.

The June 14th programming will kick-off with exclusive band interviews at 8pm (there will be bespoke versions made for English and Scottish audiences), interspersed with classic Coldplay hits and audience interaction. From 9-10pm, Coldplay In:Demand then features an hour of selected live tracks from the band’s sold-out Stadium of Light gig in Sunderland on June 7th.

Playing to Bauer’s strategy of enabling audiences to access content whenever and however they want, listeners will also be able to stream the live gig content for seven days from midnight on June 15th via www.coldplayindemand.com.

Coldplay In:Demand was announced this morning by all 20 Bauer stations (May 24). Each station’s breakfast show will launch a competition on June 1 to give listeners the chance to win a pair of tickets to the sold-out Stadium of Light concert on June 7th and an once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to meet the band.

Ric Blaxill, Music & Content Director at Bauer Radio, commented: “Coldplay are one of the world’s biggest bands, with over 50 million worldwide sales, so we’re excited that our unique and exciting evening of programming will connect Coldplay fans across the whole of the UK, harnessing the power of our Portfolios to engage audiences with real ‘appointment to listen’ radio. We are really proud of our ability to deliver quality live music experiences to listeners, whether through arena events, intimate gigs or broadcasts like this one which follows in the footsteps of similar deals with U2, Rihanna, Lily Allen, Kings of Leon and The Script.”

Kevin McCabe, SVP of Promotion & Publicity for EMI Music, added : “Bauer have always been strong supporters of Coldplay throughout the years, so we are delighted to be able to build on that relationship to create something special for all their listeners with a band that are at the top of their game right now. Coldplay In:Demand will be an unmissable event – June 14th from 8pm is an appointment to listen!”

The campaign will be broadcast across the following stations in Bauer Radio’s Place portfolio: Key 103, Radio City, Rock FM, Hallam FM, Viking FM, Radio Aire, Metro Radio, TFM, CFM, Clyde 1, Forth One, Cool FM, Northsound 1, MFR, Radio Tay, Radio Borders and West FM. The campaign will also be aired on our Passion portfolio stations Kerrang!, Q and The Hits.

All the participating stations will be promoting Coldplay In:Demand programming and competitions with heavy on-air activity (live reads and trails), dedicated digital activity and via social media platforms including Facebook and Twitter (using #coldplayindemand).

Ric Blaxill orchestrated the deal on behalf of Bauer Radio with Kevin McCabe at EMI. The Coldplay In:Demand interviewers will be Alex James for England (produced by James Robinson) and Romeo for Scotland (produced by Andy Everett). The Coldplay live gig producer is Gavin Pearson.

Coldplay’s new release “Princess of China” featuring Rihanna is available from June 4.

'We do try not to upset people, but we still manage to' says Chris Martin in interview with Australian Herald Sun

Coldplay: Earnest trendsetters

From the Herald Sun

Every word uttered by Coldplay's frontman Chris Martin seems to become a trending topic.

Martin's recent revelations that he suffers tinnitus from playing loud music and regrets calling his band's fifth record Mylo Xyloto both copped a flogging on all good sites where opinions rule.

He mock groans when told Mylo Xyloto and "stupid" are easily Googled.

"You say something stupid and someone tells you it is trending," he says.

"How come no one ever trends about that time with those strippers? Me and my wife and those six strippers, no one trends that!"

Both of us laugh knowing this will indeed trend and by the time the American and British gossip sites get a hold of it, a joke will have become a headline: "Chris Martin and Gwyneth Paltrow's hot night with strippers!"

For all the earnestness ascribed to their brand of anthemic stadium rock, Coldplay's frontman is one of the funniest chaps in rock.

He doesn't miss an opportunity to complain that his wife has achieved a feat in Australia that his band cannot match.

Paltrow hit the top of the singles charts here in 2000 with Cruisin' from the film Duets.

The closest Coldplay has ever got to No.1 was with their biggest hit Paradise, which peaked at No.3.

The song scored high rotation during summer when it soundtracked promos for Revenge which has become one of the year's small-screen hits.

"It f---ing took 12 years to get up there but the reason we keep going is so we can get a No.1 single in Australia one day," Martin says.

"We'll do anything that lets us keep coming back to Australia to go on tour there.

"We're ready now but just need to lose a bit of weight and get our teeth in order."

While they have always embraced the visual aesthetic of show business, Coldplay take it to yet another level with Mylo Xyloto and its world tour.

The album artwork, the videos, the concert backdrops and lighting are all integrated, as they have been since their third album, X&Y, but now all the artforms and imaging are even more aligned.

Martin credits the inspiration offered by their continued collaborations with creative mentor Brian Eno, who receives a credit for his "enoxfication" of Mylo Xyloto.

"It's meant to be an immersive experience, that the music sits in a visual place and everything links together," Martin explains.

"We were always moving towards that but didn't quite know how to do it. Working with Brian Eno, who is such a visual person as well, and getting our own space where we can paint a bigger picture helped us get there.

"If you came into the studio, the building looks like the record. We've drawn on the walls ... it all looks like the beginning of what the record became.

"We wanted to present another visual image beside the four of us standing against a wall.

"And we're not so good at the 'walking' photo. What we've learnt from Brian over the last five years is to have fun with it all."

Fluoro is fun. Splashes and slashes of paint are fun. And for the band's fans, there is an extra dose of fun at the concerts, thanks to LED wristbands that will throw bursts of colour around the stadium, synchronised with the music.

If you have seen the Charlie Brown video or checked out live footage of the tour, you'll get just how amazing it will look in Australia in November.

The idea was brought to the band by a fan.

"It's a little self-indulgent, but we love the way it looks when there are 15,000 or 40,000 or however many people all with those lights on them," Martin says.

"The technology is still very experimental, so most of the money we're earning on the tour is put into the wristbands.

"We have to figure out how to keep it going without going broke because it's such a crucial part of the concert."

They did think about asking for the wristbands to be popped back into a basket after each show for recycling. But that would have created an even bigger bill.

"You then have to clean everything in case someone picks up herpes or tuberculosis. Our lawyers told us we'd get sued and having been sued a few times, we're not keen on that," Martin says.

"We do try not to upset people, but we still manage to. We attract some really weird, nasty s--- but that's life."

For every weirdo, there is a fan who has stayed the course with a band the critics love to hate and the comics adore to satirise.

Like Radiohead and Pearl Jam, Coldplay ignored those outside the tent and embraced the faithful on the inside, setting up an almost intimate internet relationship fed by regular contact via social media and free or limited-edition goodies offered online.

Martin says having the direct contact is a "blessing" and helps to defuse the sting of misinformation when it hits.

"Let me say that when someone comes and talks to you in the street, they are thinking 'OK, this person is a rock star' and they don't have to engage in any understanding of your real life," he says. "With the direct relationship, it gives a much more balanced reflection of what your music is meaning to people and it's taken away a lot of anxiety."

Rock stars and their anxieties. Age seems to have reduced Martin's care factor about success.

But watching Bruce Springsteen, Michael Jackson and Beyonce concert footage has helped translate that attitude to the concert stage.

During the last Australian tour, the frontman enthusiastically threw himself into the performance, spreading his infectious joy.

"Watching those heroes of mine, there was a common thread between them when they go on stage and that is they don't give a f--- about anything other than being totally in that moment," he says. "Being English, that is slightly harder to do because you have this hurdle of insecurity and some kind of guilt as to why I have been given this job.

"So now every day before we play, I tell myself to let go. I know it looks silly but the only thing it has in its favour is it is genuine and passionate."

But his fear returns if all he can see is fans frantically working their smartphones.

While those people may be tweeting they are at the gig of a lifetime, Martin equates the behaviour with boredom.

"The only thing I fear is texting. If they are texting, they are not enjoying the music. I remember when those phones first came in, we played a song and two people clapped and 2000 were just watching us and I thought we must have really f---ed it up," he says.

"Then I realised everyone was filming. We asked if they wouldn't mind clapping for just one song that night so we wouldn't get paranoid."

--

Are Coldplay the biggest band in the world right now?

This lot may have something to say about that

> > U2

Trading since: 1976
Formed: in Dublin
Album sales: 150 million
Last world tour: 360 Degrees 2009/2010. Made a record $736 million
Grammy count: 22. More than any other band
Current status: new album in 2013. Dabbling in musical theatre. Becoming billionaires

> > THE ROLLING STONES

Trading since: 1962
Formed: in London
Album sales: 200 million
Last world tour: A Bigger Bang, 2005-2007. Made $558 million, now the second highest grossing tour ever, thanks to U2
Grammy count: Surprisingly low. Best Rock Album for Voodoo Lounge in 1995 and a Lifetime Achievement gong in 1989
Current status: rumours of 50th anniversary tour this year. Mick Jagger busy hanging with Will I Am. Keith Richards busy not dying

> > NICKELBACK

Trading since: 1995
Formed: in Canada
Album sales: 50 million
Last world tour: in the midst of their Here and Now tour right now. Previous tour made $50 million
Current status: on the road, man. Australian tour threatened

> > FOO FIGHTERS

Trading since: 1994
Formed: in Seattle
Album sales: 25 million
Last world tour: still on Wasting Light world tour until September. Last year’s shows made $20 million
Grammy count: 11, four of them for Best Rock Album
Current status: whispers of new album sooner rather than later

> > ONE DIRECTION

Trading since: 2010
Formed: British X Factor
Album sales: 2 million
Last world tour: Up All Night tour resumes in the US later this month. Have already sold 190,000 tickets for their September 2013 Australian tour
Grammy count: zero Current status: recording second album in Sweden

Guy and Will answer fan questions during #coldplaylive Twitter chat

This evening, Guy and Will answered a range of questions from Coldplay fans around the world during a live Q&A session on Twitter. Fans were able to pose questions using the hashtag #coldplaylive, which began trending worldwide before it even started.

We've uploaded screenshots of all the questions below. Of course you'll have to work your way up from the bottom!

The band also posted three pictures of themselves relaxing backstage (see above). Tonight they play at the Stade Charles Herman in Nice, France.

Coldplay win four Billboard Music Awards

Last night (20th May) Coldplay won four awards at the 2012 Billboard Music Awards, which took place at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.

The band took home the gongs for Top Rock Artist, Top Alternative Artist, Top Rock Album and Top Alternative Album.

Coldplay were also nominated for Top Rock Song (Paradise), Top Alternative Song (Paradise) and Top Duo/Group. Although the less said about losing to LMFAO the better really...

Click here to read the full list of winners and nominees.

Coldplay to post large crowd shots from each stadium show from current leg of Mylo Xyloto Tour

According to the official website, Coldplay will post online a large, high quality crowd shot for each show of the current stadium tour. Coldplayism will post here the photo's uploaded so far. See if you can see yourselves! (Click on images for full size)

Coldplay to perform at the London 2012 Paralympic Closing Ceremony

The International Paralympic Committee have just announced, via Twitter, that Coldplay will perform at the London 2012 Paralympic Games Closing Ceremony (See Tweets below).

The event is due to take place on Sunday 9th September at the Olympic Stadium in Stratford.

"Being asked to play at the closing celebrations for the Paralympic athletes in London is a great honour for us," said Chris Martin.

"It will be a spectacular closing ceremony for the athletes and spectators in the stadium and everyone watching around the world and we're so happy to be involved.

"It will be one of the biggest nights in our lives and we're very excited to try and create a performance for the last night of the Games that will close London 2012 in style."

More news likely to follow...

Coldplay unveil Princess of China artwork and single details

Coldplay have unveiled the artwork for their latest single, Princess of China, along with providing more details concerning the upcoming release. From the official website...

Good afternoon. As many of you will know, the fourth single to be taken from Mylo Xyloto will be Princess Of China, featuring Rihanna. In the UK, the single will be available as a digital bundle, featuring a remix by the Invisible Men, from 4 June. The song has been added to the playlists of the big UK radio stations from this week and the video, which was directed by Adria Petty and Alan Bibby, is due to premiere soon.

In addition, a behind the scenes film from the Princess of China video shoot has emerged online. Originally posted by VEVO, the film has recently been taken down. But you can watch a re-uploaded version below.

'Radiohead are better than us' says Jonny Buckland in interview with the New Zealand Herald

From nzherald.co.nz

As Coldplay prepare to bring their world tour to Auckland, Scott Kara catches up with guitarist Jonny Buckland to talk about life in one of the world's biggest bands.

It's taken a few years to get used to it but Coldplay are now feeling entirely comfortable being one of the world's biggest bands.

"Generally, we're much more at ease with ourselves and with what we do than we ever have been," says guitarist Jonny Buckland on the phone from New York where they are about to play Radio City Music Hall as part of an extended global jaunt which brings them to New Zealand in November.

And, he adds with a satisfied and cheeky chuckle: "We're less likely to listen to the people who don't like us anymore."

These days there is no denying their pulling power as one of music's few stadium-sized drawcards. Not only are they playing bigger shows than ever, but they have collaborated with the likes of hip-hop mogul Jay-Z, and R&B superstar Rihanna features on Princess of China off latest album Mylo Xyloto.

They may have had humble musical beginnings, and grew out of the Britrock movement of the 90s, but Coldplay went on to supersede bands such as Radiohead, and become a global music phenomenon.

Still, ask Buckland who is the better band out of Radiohead and Coldplay he is adamant: "Radiohead.

No, I mean really, they are. They are great."

Which is hardly surprising considering along with U2 and Scottish band Travis, the Thom Yorke-led group were a big influence on Coldplay around the time Buckland started the band with frontman Chris Martin in London in 1996.

The recently acquired confidence that he talks about also comes through on Mylo, which includes singles Every Teardrop is a Waterfalland Paradise, and is the backbone of the current stadium tour.

"The idea was to make the most visual album we'd ever made, to think of it visually, so every song had a place and almost filmic quality. So it is more of a sort of conceptual album, and all that sort of rubbish," he laughs.

And when it came time to take Mylo on the road the band wanted to make the shows as "interactive" as possible (see sidebar for concert details).

"'Interactive' is a horrible word," says Buckland, "but when you go to see it, it feels like you are part of something. You're not just going to look at four idiots up on stage, you really feel like you're stepping into something, like you're in something."

Coldplay return to New Zealand for their fourth visit - they were last here in March 2009 for two shows at Vector Arena - on November 10 for what is likely to be the biggest show of the summer.

They started touring in June last year and haven't let up since, with a constant stream of dates throughout this year.

"It does seem a little bit scary when you first look at it," says Buckland. "But once you start doing it it's great because we genuinely love touring, travelling, and playing - you know, it's a good life."

However, rewind to the mid-2000s and it was not as rosy as it is today.

As Coldplay became the new U2, Chris Martin became the new Bono - a rock star given to good causes and living a seemingly perfect life with his movie star missus and kids.

Also around this time, all was not well in the Coldplay ranks.

Though the polite London chaps were not exactly throwing instruments at each other in the recording studio, they were not having much fun making music.

Following 2002's second album, A Rush of Blood to the Head, and songs such as In My Place and Clocks, they were contenders for the world's biggest band, but, come time to record follow-up X&Y, they were at a loss.

"It was the hardest album to make," remembers Buckland. "We didn't really enjoy being in the studio. We were really happy with some of the songs that came out of it, but we didn't really quite know what we wanted to be."

And X&Y was no match for their previous records. Still, with songs like the rousing Speed of Sound and the tenderness of Fix You, they survived the backlash and the album went on to sell more than 8 million copies - 75,000 of those in New Zealand.

However, the real turning point for the band came when they set up their own studio to record next album Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends.

"We hadn't had our own space since playing in my bedroom in 1996," laughs Buckland. This meant they could experiment more, which was something Coldplay had never done. It turned out that they were quite good at it, and the multi-part songs and lush sonic scope of Viva La Vida showed a very different side to the band.

Though it is their least successful record to date it is their most ambitious and intriguing.

"We found our love of music again when we made that record," Buckland says. "We'd just try stuff, not worry about how much it was costing, and enjoyed being in the band again."

Martin came out the other side too, and these days his boundless energy, endearing goofiness, distinct voice, and hunched piano-hammering make him one of music's best frontmen.

The concert at Mt Smart Stadium will be their biggest New Zealand concert to date (see sidebar for the band's past NZ shows).

Following in the footsteps of U2, who played two nights at Mt Smart in 2010, it also marks Coldplay's return to the same venue where they played a mid-afternoon slot at the 2001 Big Day Out following the release of their debut album Parachutes which featured breakthrough single Yellow.

Back then, Coldplay were a quaint little band who struggled to make themselves heard at the rowdy Auckland festival.

"We've done an awful lot since then," ponders Buckland. "All our lives have changed completely. But the one constant is that we have each other and our relationship is still kind of the same really."

Buckland and Martin met each other and formed a band at University College in London, bass player Guy Berryman and drummer Will Champion came on board a little later, and over the last 15 years they have grown up together.

"It's great because when ever things are bad there is always someone to pick you up. And whenever you get too full of yourself there is someone to bring you down. We just rely on each other."

The band's popularity took off with Yellow, and Parachutes was an enchanting and quietly uplifting album.

"We wanted to make, I suppose, very simple music in a way," says Buckland. "And with lots of space, and like Neil Young on Harvest, or something like that."

Then came Rush of Blood, the band's most popular record and arguably their best which set in stone the classic Coldplay sound. "We had been out on tour and realised we needed some louder songs," laughs Buckland. "So after touring, part of A Rush of Blood came from wanting to play the guitars a bit harder and hit the drums a bit harder."

And they did, with songs like Clocks, an anthem that escalates and spirals beautifully.

But possibly the album's most memorable moment is still ebbing, plaintive ballad The Scientist.

Fast forward to Mylo, and though they still sounded like Coldplay, Buckland says with producer and ambient music master Brian Eno on board again, they wanted to take their music even further.

"We thought we'd got somewhere with Viva where we thought 'it's good but we can push this further' and we went straight to work after we'd finished it on Mylo.

"We really enjoyed experimenting, spending weeks and weeks playing music without any expectation of finishing songs. Just trying new sounds, and listening to different stuff; we kind of felt free to go anywhere we wanted with it."

See the light with Coldplay

It may not be as large in scale as U2's last shows at Mt Smart Stadium, with the 360-degree staging and audience configuration, but Coldplay's Mylo Xyloto stage show will be a grand affair, with lights galore.

And you, the fans, will be a key part of the show. Every member of the audience is given a special LCD wristband on entry. The wristbands feature a plastic box with the Coldplay logo, which lights up during the concert to complete the show's state-of-art lighting display.

"We met this inventor last year who invented these lights that everyone can wear," says guitarist Jonny Buckland. "So the light show goes everywhere and we just want the show to be this very involving thing."

Judging by accounts from overseas shows, the band perform a number of tracks on a catwalk adjacent to the main stage and, similar to theViva La Vida tour from 2009, they also play on a pop-up stage at the back of each venue.

Rihanna also makes a guest appearance for her duet with Chris Martin on Princess of China, but don't get too excited, because she's beamed into the venue via video screen.

And the set-list - though it may change once they get to New Zealand in November - is generally around 20 songs, consisting of a mix of their best-known tracks and a handful off Mylo Xyloto, including a finale of Every Teardrop is a Waterfall from that album.

Past Coldplay shows in New Zealand

January 19, 2001
Intimate gig the night before Big Day Out at small Auckland venue Galatos.

January 20, 2001
Mid-afternoon set at the Big Day Out. "Pleasant though Coldplay were, the act was not one to make you go home and play their splendid album again," is how Herald reviewers described it.

August 11, 2001
St James, Auckland
"By the time they got to the multiple encores ... Coldplay left the clear impression that they are a far better, far more confident and exciting band than the one-album-wonder their earlier visit might have suggested."

July 24, 2003
Auckland Showgrounds
"Frontman Chris Martin seemed genuinely ecstatic to be here, flinging himself around the stage like a skittish puppet, and later hunching so low over the piano he almost disappeared into it. At one point he hammered the keys so passionately he had to have his hand bandaged."

March 18 and 19, 2009
Vector Arena
The band ran from the main stage to the back of the arena and into the grandstand - where they played songs including a cover of the Monkees' I'm A Believer - the sell-out audience beamed as the band showed they weren't too cool to get among them. "You can't come all the way to NZ without coming to the back of the room," said Martin. "After a 97-hour flight, you want to meet everyone."

Coldplay unveil teasers of the forthcoming Princess of China video

Coldplay, via their official Facebook page, have unveiled drawings which provide us with some idea as to scenes which are likely to feature in the forthcoming Princess of China video (see below).

We had previously been given an insight into how the video might look after the video footage of Rihanna emerged on the internet (see end of page). It was confirmed by the Oracle that this was by no means the full official video, but instead footage to be used by the band whilst playing Princess of China during shows on the tour.

Roadie #42 - Blog #170 - R42 reports back from the Hollywood Bowl and American Idol

From Coldplay.com

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 the Coldplay story (or more likely, familiar with the Live 2003 DVD) will know that Coldplay have played here before. It’s kind of inevitable then, that I’d sit up at the back during the load-in day and reflect on how nine years has changed things.

My memories of the Rush of Blood tour are of constantly feeling like things were getting bigger. Every few weeks we’d be looking out at an audience the size of which was difficult to comprehend. The band are now at a point where they could doubtless get bigger, but not really at anything like the exponential rate of growth we experienced back then.

This feeling can’t help but be heightened by re-visiting venues that now feel quite familiar. There’s nothing like flying thousands of miles and walking into a venue thinking “oh yeah, when we were here the time before last, I had to go out and buy shoes at that place two blocks away” to make you wonder if perhaps you’ve been doing this just a little too long…

When we came to do American Idol though (squashed in-between the second and third shows at Hollywood Bowl) it began to dawn on me. It’s all tied to something I mentioned a blog or two ago. When you’re doing TV shows, you can’t see or really even imagine the true magnitude of the audience. We’ve done bigger and bigger TV shows on this campaign each few months - it just hasn’t necessarily felt like it…

The final of X-Factor, in the UK was a massive deal. On the day though, it was an arena that we’d played in before - and one that felt much smaller due to the huge set, at that. American Idol was a moderately sized TV studio and we were barely even there half a day. Personally speaking, I wasn’t even *in* the studio for more than ten minutes total in the whole day.

All of the touring and video gear for Idol (which my rig ended up being a part of) was set up outside, in the parking lot under the glorious California sunshine. I didn’t even see the crowd in the studio, let alone the 22 million watching at home. I remember at Live 8, being told that the crowd in attendance on the day in London was approaching a quarter of a million. I remember standing on the front edge of the stage just before things got underway, looking out and trying to take it in.

I thought to myself if I could imagine the same number of people as were in front of me being to my left, right and behind me too, I could get a mental picture of what being in a crowd of a million would look like. Inevitably, the cliched truth that “once a crowd gets past a certain size, it doesn’t really look that much different” made it a pointless exercise.

What I’m trying to get at, is that imagining an audience of 22 million is pretty much beyond the scope of my imagination - particularly when the day’s filming essentially consisted of standing in a parking lot looking at a tiny screen for half an hour and then going back to the hotel.

Despite this though, the band’s penetration and profile has continued to rise just as it did back when we were at the Hollywood Bowl the first time. Maybe it felt more exciting to me back then because I’d always dreamed of big tours, huge crowds, trucks, lights and all the associated touring-circus that successful bands meant. Perhaps if I’d dreamt of Hollywood studios and broadcast infrastructure, this would all feel different. I’ve a suspicion though that no matter what, it’s pretty much impossible for a crowd of folks in front of you cheering to not make an immediate and tangible impression.

I remember as a crew, we were mostly new to touring at that level when we first visited the Bowl in 2003. We would scoff at what we saw as unnecessary “bigness”. American crews (who *were* used to touring at that level) would often be a particular source of amusement. We’d often point and laugh at massively oversized flight-cases, everyone bustling around with a radio on and “needlessly complicated” gear setups.

Now of course, we roll in with flight-cases the size of which would’ve horrified us back then. We all wear radios (well ok, *I* still rarely do, but only because I know I’ll lose it inside a day). Our setup is now sprawling enough to have had us shaking our heads into a neck-brace ten years ago.

We’ve all finally learnt that the people we laughed at were doing it that way for a reason: because it just makes sense at this level - it lets you do a better job.

To put it another way, you can dig over a field with a shovel, but after your first one, you’ll probably start thinking about a tractor.

Which brings me back to being at the Hollywood Bowl just shy of ten years later. The band in 2003 were stripped down and very reluctant to indulge in “gimmicks”. There was a feeling that purity and authenticity were very important, that big production and “showbiz” were to be disapproved of - a bit like having a workbox the size of a freezer, or always having a radio on…

But we’ve all dug a good few acres since then.

Putting on a show, of course, is still about getting the songs across - communicating an emotion, being true to the music. All of that though, is served well by using every tool at your disposal to enhance the impact. The emotions transmitted from the stage aren’t masked by a production that makes people gasp. If it’s done the right way, the emotions are heightened and the gasps made deeper - the memories taken home made stronger.

I forget who it was that was standing looking across the stage with me on the first afternoon shaking their heads. “We’ve really got a lot of stuff now, compared to back then” was the thrust of the conversation.

“Yes, but imagine if we’d come along ten years later with exactly the same setup, the band in the same clothes, playing exactly the same kind of songs. What kind of progress would that be? We’d have been better giving up in 2003 and leaving it at that”.

I’m glad I’m still here. And I’m glad that things are evolving. What they’ve become and what they’re now capable of I couldn’t have even imagined back then. I can’t tell you which is better between then and now. Possibly because both are very special indeed…

R42