Coldplay at Wembley Stadium in London review: Overwhelmingly good vibes

Attitude watched through our fingers as a Tigger-ish Chris Martin brought a burly security guard on stage at Wembley last night, and affixed an alien mask to his hilariously stoic face… The face of a man who looked like he’d rather be anywhere but there. ‘A corny stunt too far!’ we cringed, like the presumptuous bitches we are. ‘Was this the moment Coldplay officially lost the plot?’ we wondered, drafting this review in our heads.

Apparently not. As ‘Something Just Like This’ hit its sublime crescendo, the ‘guard’ began to dance – his lumbering gait dissolving into a breathtaking display of rhythm and almost sensuous fluidity. It was a perfectly choreographed rug-pull, delivering maximum emotional impact, exposing one’s assumptions about who gets to dance. The crowd response was staggering.

This moment sums up Coldplay’s appeal. They’re so gloriously uncool – “does anyone have to get home for Gogglebox?!” asks an ever-chatty Martin – but so aware of it, so relaxed about it, that actually, they somehow remain one of the coolest bands on Earth. Especially as they age into handsome, gruff, middle-aged dad territory. (Guy Berryman, hello?!)

Elements that sound gimmicky on paper are staggering to witness: paper glasses handed out on arrival look like relics of the 80s, but light refractions in their lenses cleverly turn an arsenal of fireworks into love hearts. The band’s signature sustainable LED wristbands still pack a punch: the sight of 90,000 twinkling lights the perfect metaphor for the scale of Coldplay’s success. It’s a discography full of unforgettable harmonies and meaningful lyrics; paired with acid bright costumes, light displays and pyrotechnics, it’s a humbling spectacle for the senses.

The setlist had a bit of everything: the simplicity and intimacy of ‘Yellow’ and ‘Fix You’; anthemic, stone cold classics like ‘Viva La Vida’ and ‘Hymn For the Weekend’; rarely-performed album tracks like ‘Cemeteries of London’; dodgier recent singles like ‘My Universe’.

Martin’s distinctive vocal is at its cleanest and clearest when he’s calm and composed at the piano for the likes of ‘The Scientist’. Still, he tells the crowd to “sing and dance like nobody’s watching” – he’s done just that, he points out, even next to Beyoncé and Bruno Mars – and seeing him in action, he’s definitely onto something. He sings from the heart and leaps around with remarkable athleticism, and whether wrapping himself in a Pride flag or issuing emotionally urgent tributes to victims of war, his warmth is soul-stirring.

Attitude were guests of Wembley Stadium. For more details visit Experiences by Wembley Stadium.