If Coldplay are *really* planning to cut back on touring for the sake of the environment, then they’re seriously intent on making their current live shows as spectacular as possible.
Fresh from a weekend that saw them getting spiritual at an ancient religious site in Jordan, last night saw the biggest band on the planet racking up another achievement – playing under the skeleton of a blue whale at the Natural History Museum.
So how does frontman Chris Martin choose to address the small matter of the now blubber-less beast hanging overhead? An environmental message could be apt, given that the gig is in aid of charity ClientEarth?
Nope. It’s a dad joke that proves to be Martin’s opening gambit.
“I said, when we launch our album can we play a gig near Wales, and look what happened,” joked Chris.
He later doubles down, to a crowd of groans: “It’s so hard, as a British person, not to come up with Natural History Museum puns for the whole show.
“But the last artist who tried that was Dodo and you know what happened to her.”
While a career in stand-up might not beckon, it’s safe to say that Coldplay still remain one of the best live bands around. Between a rare outing for early track ‘Stars’, and a surprise appearance from saxophonist Femi Kuti, the whole thing makes for one special night indeed.
In photos, here’s our story of what went down…
1A whale of a time…
The gig saw Coldplay perform in the intimate surroundings of the Natural History Museum
2Sunrise
The show saw Coldplay opening with ‘Sunrise’, the instrumental first track from ‘Everyday Life’
3Coldplay and Norah Shaqur
It was then onto ‘Church’, which sees them joining forces with Norah Shaqur
4Best of friends…
Chris Martin shares a moment with Jonny Buckland
5BrokEn
BrokEn saw the gig take a spiritual edge, as Chris joined forces with a gospel choir
6Lovers In Japan
Lovers In Japan saw Chris taking to the piano…
7Majestic…
Contrasted against the majestic setting of the Natural History Museum, it made for quite the show
8Fix You….
Mid-way through the show, Coldplay took it back to 2005 with a stripped back rendition of Fix You…
9Seen a friend
Chris Martin and his invisible mate, presumably…
10Everyday Life…
It was Everyday Life that inevitably brought things to an end, as Coldplay wowed fans with the title track from their eight album