The Indigo is a great venue, with a capacity of just 2,350. it’s an even greater venue when it plays host to Coldplay who took to the stage at 11pm to perform a special intimate gig in aid of War Child, a charity that provides help and assistance to children affected by war.Â
Chris Moyles was there to introduce the band and representatives from War Child, who made a moving presentation about the work the charity do, and then the Radio X DJ told the audience something every single one of them already knew: they were very lucky to have this “hot ticket” to see Coldplay in such an intimate venue, for a band more used to playing the Superbowl and worldwide stadia.
Coldplay had, earlier in the evening, kicked off the Brits 2016 awards ceremony, and won Best British Band to boot. They had joked with ceremony hosts Ant and Dec that they were playing “a birthday party” later that evening and that party was in fact this once in a lifetime gig. There are persistent rumours that this may be the band’s last album, but on the back of this evening there is still a healthy demand for the music of Coldplay.
The band started with high intensity and enthusiasm as they launched into the title track from their latest offering ‘A Head Full Of Dreams’, and Chris Martin, Will Champion, Jonny Buckland and Guy Berryman didn’t really ever take their collective feet off of the pedal as they moved, almost without a breath, from hit to hit. The crowd sang, danced and bounced along to ‘Yellow’, ‘Every Teardrop Is A Waterfall’, ‘Clocks’, ‘Charlie Brown’, new single, ‘Hymn For The Weekend’, fan favourite, ‘Fix You’, ‘Viva La Vida’, ‘Adventure Of A Lifetime’, and ‘A Sky Full Of Stars’, which was accompanied by an explosion of heart shaped confetti as this sixty minute tour-de-force came to a close.
There had to be an encore, and Chris Martin and the band came back to sing a moving rendition of ‘Till Kingdom Come’, which Chris dedicated to Johnny Cash, who it was apparently written for, and David Bowie, and “all those people that we really miss”. It was, he said, “a song about love lasting forever”. The easy rapport that Chris Martin still shares with the fans is something wonderful to behold and at one point he had everyone crouching and then bouncing up as though he was conducting a human orchestra. Nobody complained, everybody of every age complied and every single fan left the gig feeling uplifted and happy that they had shared something very special. Chris, for your fans this is a love that will last forever.
For more information about War Child, please visit their website.
