Coldplay, Wembley Arena, review: Rapturous reception for evergreen masters of the big occasion

Poignant tributes and a healthy injection of early material bring a colourful show to life

An at times triumphant performance bodes well for the band’s first all-stadium tour (Rex)

I don’t care what people say, I like Coldplay. Perhaps I’m not seeing what those who groan about them do – admittedly my fondness for them was briefly dealt a blow at the hands of Ghost Stories, but surely we’ve all forgiven that by now. And four sold-out nights at Wembley suggest plenty of others are into Coldplay too. They just don’t tell anyone.

The British band’s performances tend to be showy and slightly egotistical and this one is no different. With all the usual confetti, oversized coloured balloons and firework displays, it is also big on their usual give-peace-a-chance tub-thumping. We open with Charlie Chaplin’s speech from The Great Dictator, in which he calls on humanity to unite, and the whole show is interspersed with tributes to the some of the names we've lost this year. We are treated to a cover of David Bowie’s “Heroes” and video clips of Muhammad Ali during an emotional “Everglow”, while “The Scientist” was dedicated to singer Nick Cave’s late son, Arthur.

The band open powerfully with the album's title track “Head Full of Dreams”, on what is their first world tour since the 2013, and followed up with “Yellow”, drawing a predictably passionate crowd singalong.

The Head Full of Dreams tour is the band's first since 2012 (Rex)

The show could be carried by Chris Martin’s energy alone, arms swinging flamboyantly, throwing himself down the catwalk stage. But the band's earlier material, from 2011’s Mylo Xyloto album and before, is the real backbone of the performance. The only let-down is rather ruining the end of one of their most anthemic tunes with an embarrassing attempt at a dub mash-up of “Paradise”, which would have been better left in the uni student’s bedroom where it sounds like it came to life.

But there's a swift return to form, with distorted guitar riffs and dreamy melodic pop rhythms shining beautifully as Martin takes to his floral-decorated piano for “Clocks” and “Viva la Vida”.

Distorted guitar riffs and dreamy melodic pop rhythms shine beautifully (Rex)

“Fix You” and “Charlie Brown” are the biggest crowd-pleasers, and the euphoria they engender bodes well for the rest of what, remarkably, is Coldplay's first all-stadium world tour. The band's fourth headline slot at Glastonbury next week promises to be a special one.

A slightly slow encore sees the boys appear at the opposite end of the arena and take requests from people on the large screens. The night closes with a triumphant rendition of “Up&Up”, the latest release from Head Full of Dreams. The 80,000 crowd raise their hands to to the skies, light-up wristbands creating a multicoloured twinkling array of lights: a suitable finale to a glittering performance the old masters.