Coldplay 'Send Staff To Find Exciting Crowd Members' For Concert Front Row
Friday, 06 July 2012
Written by Elliott Batte
A roadie of alternative rock gods Coldplay has revealed that the band save the front row areas at the concerts for their ‘most enthusiastic’ fans - because they were often taken up by boring, less interesting fans who simply paid more for their tickets.
The news comes after their recent UK tour and amidst their US tour - though the roadie claims that this ‘has been going on for ages’. Writing via a blog on the Coldplay website, the man revealed that the band no longer sell the front row tickets, and simply send staff out to find the most exciting and ‘giddy’ fans - and give them a ‘Willy Wonka golden ticket’ to get to the front of the show.
“After a bit of email back and forth, it turns out that they were in the front row after being 'upgraded' from seats way up the back,” the roadie wrote. “The band have done this for ages now. It came about after struggling with shows where the seats closest to the stage were often full of just 'the highest bidders' and not necessarily the most enthusiastic fans.
“In European standing shows, the front rows are the kids who've been outside the venue since daybreak and who've sprinted in to get the pole position. Usually by the time the opening acts have finished they're at fever pitch with excitement. In contrast, folks who'd paid astronomical sums for the tickets could often just sit with an arms folded sense of entitlement, emoting 'Come on then, entertain me, have you any idea how much I paid for this?'”
He continued: “So the band don't sell the tickets to the front few rows anymore. Instead, various crew members are sent out to scan the highest, furthest seats to find folks who look genuinely excited and giddy to be seeing the band. They're then given tickets to the front row. For them, it's a Willy Wonka golden ticket. For the band, it's guaranteed energy from the folks closest to them. It genuinely does make the shows better. We've all said it many times. How good a show is, is largely to do with how good the audience are. It's what fuels the whole thing.”
What do you think of the revelation? Let us know in the comments section below.
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