Coldplay are arguably one of the biggest bands in the world and have been for a while now. They shift Albums in the millions and they effortlessly sell out stadiums on a global scale. But, once upon a time this wasn’t the case. Once upon a time they were just four charming, slightly Posh Uni students touring Australia for the first time… and thats when I met them.
In 2001, Coldplay and U.S. Prog Rock/Punks, At the Drive had two of the biggest Alternative hits of that year with ‘Yellow’ and ‘One Armed Scissor’ respectively and not surprisingly, The Big Day Out Tour put them on their bill. I went to see At the Drive In’s side show at The Hi Fi Bar (now knows as Max Watts) with high hopes of witnessing their high octane Live show I’d heard so much about. I was standing alone, towards the back of the venue observing the chaos when out of nowhere I was unceremoniously SMASHED in the side of the head and knocked to the ground! I look up from the floor, dazed to see a stocky fellow flailing and stumbling, trying (unsuccessfully) to wrestle his way out of his jumper. When my assailant finally rescued his head from the garment he was apologising profusely and eagerly offering to buy me drinks as a means of making a mends. I recognised him as the drummer from Coldplay.
Will was genuinely chuffed that I knew who he and his band were and swiftly took me to meet his bandmates who were equally excited at the prospect of an International Fan. We drank, chatted and enjoyed the show as the others joked at how grumpy Chris Martin could get on occasion. The gig was sadly cut short due to excessive moshing (At the Drive In were renowned for cutting shows short If their audience weren’t respectful of each other whilst beating the crap out of each other) so as Coldplay & I bid each other farewell, Guy the Bass player suggested we all get together again after their Prince of Wales show a few days later as they didn’t know anyone in Australia and I could take them out. I agreed and looked forward to our next meeting.
(sigh) Long story short, I forgot all about taking them out on the town. I went to the show-it was BRILLIANT- they even left a drink card at the door for me! But I literally dashed off to catch the last Tram home and didn’t remember about our plans until days later… I stood up Coldplay. For a very long time I was genuinely worried that I might’ve really upset them and done some real, emotional damage but by the looks of things, they’re doing just fine without me…