Coldplay On A Tight Leash In Malaysia Following The 1975's Display

Coldplay's Malaysia concert is under strict surveillance and may end abruptly should the band refuse to adhere to the set rules and regulations, thanks to Matt Healy of The 1975's stunt in July.

The award-winning band announced their plans to visit new countries earlier in the year, drop their final album in 2025, and has even had to move some of the tour dates to 2024.

The band will perform today at the Bukit Jalil National Stadium in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. While they have all the support from the Malaysian government, they still stand on shaky grounds.

The Malaysian communications minister Fahmi Fadzil informed the public that the concert organizer, Live Nation Malaysia, agreed to the "Kill Switch" clause. This means they would immediately disconnect the stadium from the power grid should Coldplay go against the country's customs.

While Fadzil's threat still stands, he did not "foresee any issues" and is even more relieved that the "band is very supportive of Palestine."

Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim even threw his weight behind the band when various religious groups called for a ban or total cancelation of the concert when he sought their opinion in light of the ongoing Gaza conflict. He addressed the opposing group and said:

"Because there are lobbyists from the Palestinian movement who support and have given their views to the foreign minister, and my office has stated, why should we stop a group that supports the Palestinian cause from performing."

Chris Martin, who is the lead singer of Coldplay, had earlier addressed the ongoing Israeli-Palestine conflict and declared his support for Palestine during a performance in Japan. Martin stated that the band does not "believe in oppression, or occupation, terrorism or genocide, nothing like that."

He added that they "believe in loving each other, being kind to each other and supporting each other…you can send love to Gaza and Israel, you can send it to the West Bank," while sending words of support to Ukraine, Sudan and The Democratic Republic of Congo. 

Martin has been vocal about his support for Palestine over the years as the band posted the song "Freedom for Palestine" on its official Facebook page back in 2011 and even collaborated with the Palestine band Le Trio Joubran amid severe criticism.

The "Kill Switch" option came into full effect after the British Band "The 1975" held a concert in the country in July. Things got heated as Matt Healy kissed a bandmate on stage and offended the conservative Malaysian Muslims in the process.

The same conservative body has aired their concern over Coldplay's performance due to the band's supportive stance on LGBTQ+ issues. The body stated that Coldplay promoted a "culture of hedonism and perversion" in a social media post.

This comes on the heels of a clash between protestors and the police after Coldplay performed in Jakarta, Indonesia, which Yahoo! confirmed the protestors described as damaging to faith and morals.

The British band extended their world tour till 2024 to enable them to add new European countries to their list of performances. The "A Sky Full Of Stars" stars concluded the 2023 leg of their summer tour with an epic show in Amsterdam.

Greece, Romania, and many other European countries made the cut in what the band promised to be a mesmerizing show and an epic adventure for Greek enthusiasts. Rome and Budapest are also on the list to experience the band for the second time after previous performances in 2003 and 2008, respectively.

As reported by The Blast, the tour schedule includes an Athens, Budapest, and Lyon performance in June, Dusseldorf, Rome, and Helsinki in July.

The concluding leg of the 2024 tour will be held in Dublin, Vienna, and Munich in August, and tickets opened for general sale by 10 am Friday, July 28th, 2023, with early bird slots opened for Tuesday, July 25th, 2023.

The tour, named after their 2021 album "Music Of The Spheres," has already won hearts in North America, Tokyo, Kaohsiung, Jakarta, Kuala Lumpur, Perth, Singapore, Manila, and Bangkok with mindblowing shows with its just concluded 2023 leg.

The European leg of the tour will bring succor to the distraught fans who were in shock after Martin announced the band planned to stop recording new albums by 2025 and said:

"Well, I know I can tell you, our last proper record will come out in 2025, and after that, I think we will only tour. Maybe we'll do some collaborative things, but the Coldplay catalog, as it were, finishes then."