Gordon in the morning: Coldplay bangle fandango

The phrase "very Spinal Tap" is lobbed around when talking about bands far too easily, but the Coldplay wristband story does have an undeniably Tapesqueishness* to it.

Everyone going to see Coldplay on tour gets given a flashing wristband. Only, as Gordon reports:

The gadget — which lights up during their live shows — is costing the band a fortune.
[...]
Chris Martin said: “Most of the money we’re earning on the tour is put into the wristbands.

“We have to figure out how to keep it going without going broke because it’s a crucial part of the concert.”

I suspect Martin is perhaps overstating his potential ruin here - based on a quick look round the internet, it'd be unlikely that these things would cost £2 a pop, at the most, so it'd be more a nibble at margin rather than a shortcut to the poorhouse. Unless they've cut a really bad deal with a supplier.

At the same time, Chris Martin reveals what he doesn't like his audience doing:

Chris also reveals he is OK with fans recording the gigs on their iPhones — but he can’t accept his audience texting.

He said: “The only thing I fear is texting. If they are texting they are not enjoying the music.”

If the audience is bored to the point of sending 'please rescue me' texts, that's not really the audience's fault, is it?

* - oddly, the spellcheck rejects Tapesqueishness.