Coldplay pay tribute to late fan during concert in Malaysia

Kuala Lumpur – Coldplay paid a heartfelt tribute to a late fan during their first concert at National Stadium Bukit Jalil in Kuala Lumpur on Nov 22.

In the two-hour-plus show, the British rock band took time to dedicate a set to Jade Mikayla John, who died two weeks before the concert.

Coldplay honoured Jade’s memory by performing her favourite song, Sparks, while displaying a photo of her on the jumbotron screen.

Frontman Chris Martin said: “We played that song for our friend Jade who couldn’t be here today. We send all our love to Jade’s family. Thank you.”

Coldplay’s heart-warming display came after Jade’s father, Dave, called a local radio station in the hope of getting the band to show a photo of his late daughter during their concert. She was 22 and the cause of death was not reported.

According to her father, Jade had been a huge fan of Coldplay since she was a child and longed to see the band performing in Malaysia. She had managed to secure a ticket to the Music Of The Spheres World Tour in KL.

He said in another interview that Jade’s love for Coldplay encompassed the causes they championed.

The report added that Jade was set to pursue her studies at a globally recognised bakery school and had plans to start a bakery business in Britain alongside her boyfriend.

Coldplay’s KL gig drew a crowd of more than 75,000 people, with more standing outside the stadium to sing along to hits such as Viva La Vida, Yellow, My Universe and Fix You.

Other highlights of the show included Martin reciting a pantun (a traditional Malay poem form) in Bahasa Malaysia and crafting an improvised “Kuala Lumpur Song”, in which he sang about his love for Malaysian rain.

Videos on social media showed fans braving the rain to watch the concert.

Twitter user @qtminyoongii posted a video of some concertgoers – covered in raincoats or holding umbrellas – waving lights, jumping to the tune and enjoying the performance. The video had received about 10,000 views.

Meanwhile, some Coldplay fans, who claimed they were scammed of about RM70,000 (S$20,000) worth of tickets, had to listen to the concert outside the stadium after they were denied entry.

“All of us have been scammed, the tickets we bought and received were not valid,” one of the fans told Malaysian news outlet New Straits Times. “All of us came together in groups. Some of us purchased VIP tickets for more than RM3,000, and the rest were tickets for RM758, RM598. The total estimate is between RM60,000 and RM70,000.” THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK