Chris Martin is beside himself. In fact, he can't stop gushing: overcome with gratefulness, he's a charm offensive, a humility landmine. "Thanks for coming to see us," he says, "before we get really Bon Jovi massive." His band are Coldplay, and he's got a point: simply, the band play one excellent song after another, and they don't giveover at all. As Chris thanks the crwod for turning up, the grass for growing, the sun for shining, you can reflect on how the band are effortlessly growing in stature. The likes of 'Shiver' may have hinted at what they were capable of, but as new single 'Yellow' effortlessly captures the crowd's attention the conclusion 'next year's Travis' is impossible not to reach. So thank you mate.

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reviewed by John Mullen, featured in Select August 2000

Playing after the inexplicably popular Toploader and before the inexplicably popular David Gray, Coldplay's altogether gentler take on emotive melody is a mite too subtle for all the beanie hats gathered today. Frontman Chris Martin's endless beaming good cheer and songs like 'Yellow' and 'Shiver' are sublime enough to put a hush to all the sunshine-addled chatter, but they let themselves down badly with a pointless version of 'You Only Live Twice'. Maybe a case of too big a stage too soon. [3/5]

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