22.30: And it’s goodnight Cologne. That was a really special show. Hope you enjoyed the blog, folks. A
22.15: The big finale…
22.09: The Scientist
22.00: The main set – and the German radio broadcast – is over. Time for the encore, beginning with God Put A Smile…
21.48: And a couple from Fix You….
21.46: Viva…
21.33: Chris mit guitar (little bit of the local lingo for you there)
21.27: It’s fair to say that the crowd is quite excited (apart from one man, who is standing very still…)
21.20: And here’s some pics from the first couple of songs (Always In My Head and Charlie Brown)
21.15: Phil joined them for one too…
21.11: The band are on! And Cologne is going pretty blooming wild. Here’s a couple of pics from just before they went on…
And the traditional pre-show huddle…
20.49: It’s Coldplay’s fifth member, Phil Harvey! (With Tour Managers, Marguerite)
20.38: Guy and Jonny in the warm-up room…
20:33: The crowd is in…
20:05: HERE’S JONNY!
We’ve used that joke in live blogs since, ooh, about 2008, so there seems no reason to stop now. (He’s doing his vocal warm-ups, by the way. Which involves la la la la-ing a lot.)
20:00: ONE HOUR UNTIL STAGE TIME. To celebrate, here’s another picture from our wander earlier – of two men in white looking at something…
19.45: Here’s Will, perusing the wardrobe…
19.39: It’s Tour Manager Marguerite and Production Co-ordinator Nicole!
19.05: More pics from our wander around Cologne earlier…
HA!
No idea what they are.
19.01: A view from the management office, which is where we’ve made our home for the day. Here’s Arlene (management), Miti (live broadcast mixer) and Dan Green (sound-man and producer extraordinaire).
18.57: Your name’s not down, you’re not coming in…
18.46: And the venue from the front….
18.41: The view from the back….
18.37: Here’s a not-particularly-good pic of Will from the soundcheck earlier! (It was dark in there…)
18.15: Apologies for the gaps in service. The internet connection here is not having a good day. *At all*. But here’s a pic of the dressing room…
17.51: Went for a wander around Cologne earlier. Lovely place. Here are some photographic highlights…
More of these thrilling tourist shots to come later…
17.49: That’s an unconventional drumkit.
17.45: A sky/ceiling full of stars…
17.19: The band have arrived and are currently soundchecking. Here’s a couple of pics…
17.10: Here’s the view Chris will have this evening…
16:55: It’s a lovely day in Cologne. The fans sitting outside the venue already are basking in sunshine.
If you’re reading this in the queue, then HELLO!
16:48 – Hello and welcome to the first live blog of the Ghost Stories era. For the next few hours, we’ll be blogging live from backstage at the E-Werk in Cologne, where Coldplay will perform tonight. Thanks for stopping by. (If you could all keep your fingers crossed that the venue’s rather patchy wifi connection will hold out, that’d be good.)