Entertainment News

From the stool of a piano Coldplay serenaded the world and it fell in love.

Australia’s quick-mouthed, flamboyant promoter, Michael Chugg, aka Chuggi and Executive Chairman of Chugg Entertainment, serenaded Coldplay. TV’s Rove McManus first teasered a tour announcement on his show of September 6, and today, having finalised months-in-the-planning negotiations, Michael Chugg has confirmed that the world’s biggest band will play Australia’s east coast State capitals next year.

Coldplay start at the Brisbane Entertainment Centre Friday 23rd June, perform Sydney’s Entertainment Centre Monday 26th June and move to the Rod Laver Arena at Melbourne Park Saturday 1st July 2006.

“We are still talking to the band about Adelaide and Perth but we need all the Perth and Adelaide fans to make a noise,” said Chugg.

Following similar strategies used by the band for its record-selling concerts world-wide, tickets for their Australian shows will go on-sale in a two tiered roll-out, selling first on Thursday 6th October 2005 to the Australian fans who have pre-registered on Coldplay’s official website, and then opening to general on-sale the Monday after (10th October).

Tickets will go on sale with a strict eight-ticket-per-transaction limit.

“Their [Coldplay] concert in Belgium sold out within an hour, and a purchase every second was recorded,” said Chugg.

“The eight ticket limit is a way of helping as many fans as possible get a fair go at purchasing tickets and is an attempt, as best we can, to help reduce scalpers and ebayers (sic) who buy up big and re-sell at ridiculously inflated prices.”

When asked what fans could expect of the concert, Chugg answered, “Big!

“There’s an incredible light show, two levels of panoramic video screens, live footage and computer graphic projection, strobes, pillar-mounted spot lights, balloons, Chris gets out-there amongst the audience on a special stage thrust, and even fireworks maybe?

“One critic in the US wrote it was ‘a big ol’ rock spectacle along the lines of U2 in the mid-1980s’, another one said that their stage show was a ‘whole new level of bombast and grandeur’, and I read a fan-posting on the net that said, ‘Never in my life have I seen a show like this! My goosebumps had goosebumps.’ I echo all sentiments.”

The band themselves recognise there’s competition for the concert dollar and want to make sure fans are rewarded for their investment. Bassist Guy Berryman told a US publication earlier this month, “We’re not over the top, but we’re on a much grander scale. We wanted to keep it as tasteful as possible and good from beginning to end. Every song has a different mood and different look, whether we do that by lights or visuals on the screen. It’s a really varied production.”

Front man Chris Martin quips that they’re not quite Bon Jovi yet though, and says at the moment they prefer to play indoor gigs rather than stadiums. “We don’t feel we can really make the most of that space yet.”

Less than ten years since the Brit-quartet, which comprises front man Chris Martin, guitarist Jonny Buckland, drummer Will Champion, and bassist Guy Berryman first rehearsed in Jonny’s bedroom on January 6 1998, and did their first gig two weeks later, Coldplay have tinkled their way to music domination.

Before they were the biggest band in the world, Coldplay flew through the charts with their debut album Parachutes (2000) and the world floated on their achingly beautiful music. Coldplay were the first group to win the Grammy Award for Best Alternative Act two years in a row (2001 & 2002) and have won four in total, including the prestigious Record Of The Year in 2003 for Clocks. Chris Martin is recognised as the world’s sexiest vegetarian and in 2003 was named NME’s Sexiest Man In Music. Coldplay chose Sydney for the recording of their first ever live DVD (July 21 & 22, 2003) and it was released as a 2-disc set, Coldplay Live, in November that year. They released their sophomore album, A Rush Of Blood To the Head, in 2004 and this year’s July release of X&Y propelled them to superstratospherestardom. It went #1 in more than 30 countries around the world and was the fastest selling rock album in the US this year. It went double platinum within a month and has currently sold seven million albums worldwide.

Coldplay have rocked the world slowly. They’ve rocked the world gently.

Put simply, they rock.

This will be THE tour of 2006.

Friday 23rd June
Brisbane Entertainment Centre
Tickets:
www.ticketek.com.au
or 132 849
Monday 26th June
Sydney Entertainment Centre
Tickets:
www.ticketmaster.com.au
or 136 100
Saturday 1st July
Melbourne, Rod Laver Arena
at Melbourne Park
Tickets:
www.ticketek.com.au
or 132 849

GENERAL PUBLIC ON SALE MONDAY OCTOBER 10