Chris Martin remembers Coldplay almost missing their first Glastonbury performance

Coldplay almost missed their debut performance at Glastonbury in 1999.

Chris Martin, 47, has revealed that he and his bandmates – Jonny Buckland, 46, Guy Berryman, also 46, and Will Champion, 45 – had to run across fields with their amplifier in tow and made it to the New Bands Tent at Worthy Farm in Somerset within seconds of their stage appearance.

Speaking in the BBC documentary Coldplay: Our Glastonbury, which they hosted during their fifth headlining gig on the Pyramid Stage on Saturday (29.06.24), he recalled: “The hunger to go there was so great. At our first show we were probably carrying a not very good amp with a drunk tour manager who clearly didn’t know what he was doing either.”

“So we looked around the whole place very quickly and then started where you should start, which was the New Bands Tent, first. I don’t think I even thought about how wild it was. It was like we were here and it was too late and it’s huge.”

They previously headlined the Pyramid Stage in 2002, 2005, 2011 and 2016.

The “Viva La Vida” singer – who has two children, Apple, 20, and Moses, 18, with 51-year-old actress Gwyneth Paltrow – has a spiritual connection to Glastonbury itself that goes beyond the festival.

The “Yellow” singer, who hails from Exeter in Devon on the border with Somerset, said: “Even when I go there when there is no festival on, it still seems to me to be a focal point of what we stand for.”

“Maybe it’s because of the country and where I grew up. That’s the idea of ​​this pyramid, which is also really connected to the earth. It’s the meeting of these two worlds that I love. Sometimes I climb the pyramid and sit up there to think. When we play this summer, it’s often a very true place. As a frontman, I can feel what’s right and what’s wrong, at least for us.”

Chris, who is dating 34-year-old “Fifty Shades” star Dakota Johnson, loves the diversity of the cast.

He continued: “The country just feels magical. The atmosphere is magical. There is something for everyone.”

“That’s what I really liked about it. There’s not just one headliner. If you don’t like our band, that’s totally fine. There are 57 other things to do. If you want to see us, you’re here. And if you want to be in the jazz world, you’re in the jazz world or the standing tent or dance tent. It contains so many things in such an eclectic way. And it’s all gathered in a circle.”

Chris described Glastonbury as his band’s “natural home”.

He added: “The spirit of the festival is so intertwined with our band that I wouldn’t know how to separate the two. It’s like we want to play in one place. It always felt like our natural home and it’s become more and more so.”

Coldplay: Our Glastonbury is now available on BBC iPlayer.