A Coldplay fan who is going to travel 3,000 miles in order to watch his favourite band play 13 times was invited onto stage at the Etihad over the weekend. Linus Broström, from Sweden, joined the band’s lead singer Chris Martin at his keyboard and even got to make a request.
He chose the title track of their 2002 album A Rush Of Blood To The Head, and got to sing the last few lines of the song to wild applause from the crowd at Man City’s ground. Linus, a shopworker, blew most of his savings on £1,800 in gig tickets and another £1,700 on flights and accommodation for the marathon run of shows.
It will see him visiting Manchester, Barcelona, Gothenburg, and Amsterdam over the next six weeks, using his whole year’s annual leave from work too. He’s keeping costs down by mostly staying in hostels and taking flights at unsociable times.
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“Watching Coldplay live from the front row is the best feeling ever,” he said. “Even though I've done it so many times before, it just keeps getting better.
“The way I look at it is that a two-week trip to the US will cost more than my four weeks here does, so in that way, it's absolutely worth it. And then all the new people you meet from all over the world is just a massive bonus.”
His fiance Amelie, however, isn’t too enamoured with his Coldplay odyssey, Linus admitting that she is a ‘bit of a fan, but at times gets tired of it because of me’, though she did join him on the Manchester leg of his trip.
The band has played four sell-out shows at the stadium since last week, with Moston rapper Aitch joining him on stage on Thursday night’s gig. The band played versions of his tracks 1989 and Buss Down.
Other highlights included the band playing a cover of James’ anthem Sit Down.
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