Coldplay - Coldplay Reserve Best Gig Seats For Enthusiastic Fans

Premium tickets for the Yellow hitmakers' gigs can command huge sums of money online, but the band insists only true fans get to sit up front.

Opening up about a recent show, the group's photographer, known as Roadie #42, writes in a post on the Coldplay website, "(Fans) were in the front row after being 'upgraded' from seats way up the back. 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?'.

"So the band don't sell the tickets to the front few rows any more. 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 (which quite often looks a very, very long way away from the 'nosebleed' seats).

"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."