The Ghost Stories Tour was the sixth

concert tour A concert tour (or simply tour) is a series of concerts by an artist or group of artists in different cities, countries or locations. Often concert tours are named to differentiate different tours by the same artist and to associate a specific to ...

undertaken by British rock band

Coldplay Coldplay are a British rock band formed in London in 1997. They consist of vocalist and pianist Chris Martin, guitarist Jonny Buckland, bassist Guy Berryman, drummer Will Champion and creative director Phil Harvey. They met at University ...

. It was announced on 17 April 2014 in support of their sixth studio album, ''

Ghost Stories A ghost story is any piece of fiction, or drama, that includes a ghost, or simply takes as a premise the possibility of ghosts or characters' belief in them."Ghost Stories" in Margaret Drabble (ed.), ''Oxford Companion to English Literature''. ...

'', and marked a return to live performing at more intimate venues following the stadium, arena and festival shows from Mylo Xyloto Tour (2011–12). The band performed all songs from the album's standard version and some of their previous material. Concerts began on 25 April 2014 at Germany's E-Werk and ended at the

BMW Welt The BMW Welt is a combined exhibition, delivery, adventure museum, and event venue located in Munich's district Am Riesenfeld, next to the Olympic Park, in the immediate vicinity of the BMW Headquarters and factory. It was built from August 200 ...

(in the same country) on 6 December 2014, being noted for combining live and pre-recorded content for small settings. Only three dates had an opening act, with

SZA Solána Imani Rowe (born November 8, 1989), known professionally as SZA ( ), is an American singer and songwriter. Born in St. Louis, Missouri, she began making music in the early 2010s, releasing two extended plays before signing with the h ...

London Grammar London Grammar are an English indie pop band formed in Nottingham in 2009. The band consists of Hannah Reid, Dan Rothman and Dominic “Dot” Major. Their debut extended play, '' Metal & Dust'', was released in February 2013 by Metal & Dust R ...

and

AlunaGeorge AlunaGeorge are an English electronic music duo from London, consisting of singer-songwriter Aluna Francis and producer George Reid. Career 2009: Formation The duo first met in June 2009, when Reid remixed Francis' band My Toys Like Me's trac ...

supporting the Beacon Theatre,

Royce Hall Royce Hall is a building on the campus of the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). Designed by the Los Angeles firm of Allison & Allison (James Edward Allison, 1870–1955, and his brother David Clark Allison, 1881–1962) and completed ...

and

Royal Albert Hall The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall on the northern edge of South Kensington, London. One of the UK's most treasured and distinctive buildings, it is held in trust for the nation and managed by a registered charity which receives no govern ...

concerts, respectively. The tour was met with generally positive reviews from music critics, who praised the production and how Coldplay connected with the audience. Following its ending, the band released '' Ghost Stories Live 2014'', which included music videos for "Always in My Head", "All Your Friends" and "Ghost Story" in its physical editions and was nominated for

Best Music Film The Grammy Award for Best Music Film is an accolade presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally named the Gramophone Awards, to performers, directors, and producers of quality videos or musical programs. ...

at the

57th Annual Grammy Awards The 57th Annual Grammy Awards were held on February 8, 2015, at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California. The show was broadcast live by CBS at 5:00 p.m. PST ( UTC−8). Rapper LL Cool J hosted the show for the fourth consecutive time ...

. Overall, the concert run grossed $3.09 million from 29,129 tickets sold.

Background

During the Australian leg of the Mylo Xyloto Tour, lead singer

Chris Martin Christopher Anthony John Martin (born 2 March 1977) is an English singer-songwriter and musician. He is best known as the lead vocalist, pianist, rhythm guitarist and co-founder of the rock band Coldplay. Born in Exeter, Devon, he went to Uni ...

told attendees at

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Queensland, and the third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of approximately 2.6 million. Brisbane lies at the centre of the South ...

Suncorp Stadium Lang Park, also known as Brisbane Football Stadium, by the sponsored name Suncorp Stadium, and nicknamed: 'The Cauldron', is a multi-purpose stadium in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, located in the suburb of Milton. The current facility co ...

they "wouldn't play another big show for a few years". After the release of "

Midnight Midnight is the transition time from one day to the next – the moment when the date changes, on the local official clock time for any particular jurisdiction. By clock time, midnight is the opposite of noon, differing from it by 12 hours ...

" and " Magic", the first two singles from ''

'' (2014), the band announced they would not be making a full tour for the album. Martin joked it was because they "couldn't afford it". Upcoming songs were later performed at the

iTunes Festival The Apple Music Festival (formerly known as the iTunes Festival) was a concert series held by Apple, Inc. and inaugurated in 2007. Free tickets were given to Apple Music, iTunes and DICE users who lived in the United Kingdom, through localized p ...

and Coldplay held a one-off performance at

Culver City Culver City is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 40,779. Founded in 1917 as a "whites only" sundown town, it is now an ethnically diverse city with what was called the "third-most ...

's Sony Studios as well. On 17 April 2014, they announced a set of six intimate shows: three in Europe, two in the United States and one in Japan. A second date in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

was scheduled due to high demand. Months later, the band made tickets available for a performance in Australia, while a final show in Germany was announced to celebrate the upcoming release of '' Ghost Stories Live 2014''.

Opening acts

The tour included supporting acts in only three dates: the first of them was American singer

at the Beacon Theatre in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, on 5 May 2014. She stated during an interview for

Radio.com Audacy, previously known as Radio.com, is a free broadcast and Internet radio platform owned by the namesake company Audacy, Inc. (formerly known as Entercom). The Audacy platform functions as a music recommender system and is the national umbr ...

that "I can't even believe that was an opportunity or an option. I don't know why you would waste an opening slot on me". English band

then opened the

concert on 19 May 2014. Lead singer

Hannah Reid Hannah Felicity May Reid (born 30 December 1989) is the English lead singer, keyboardist and songwriter of the indie pop band London Grammar. Biography Reid grew up in Acton, and went to school in West London. She received vocal training, and wa ...

later commented talking with Martin was the "first time he wasgiven any really excellent advice" about protecting her voice before shows and how to handle tensions in a group. Meanwhile,

electronic Electronic may refer to: *Electronics, the science of how to control electric energy in semiconductor * ''Electronics'' (magazine), a defunct American trade journal *Electronic storage, the storage of data using an electronic device *Electronic co ...

duo

were chosen to play songs from their debut album, '' Body Music'' (2013), in the two performances at

between 1 and 2 July 2014. They became a supporting act for A Head Full of Dreams Tour (2016–17) as well.

Concert synopsis

The band used a different set list for every show and, unlike previous tours, did not divided them into sections. For the performance at Sony Studios (which was later released on '' Ghost Stories Live 2014''), they played singles "

Paradise In religion, paradise is a place of exceptional happiness and delight. Paradisiacal notions are often laden with pastoral imagery, and may be cosmogonical or eschatological or both, often compared to the miseries of human civilization: in para ...

" and "

Clocks A clock or a timepiece is a device used to measure and indicate time. The clock is one of the oldest human inventions, meeting the need to measure intervals of time shorter than the natural units such as the day, the lunar month and the ...

"; followed them with all standard edition tracks from the tour's namesake album in order; and finished the concert with "

Viva la Vida "Viva la Vida" (, ; ) is a song by British rock band Coldplay. It was written by all members of the band for their fourth album, ''Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends'' (2008). The lyrics to the song contain historical and Christian refe ...

" and "

Fix You "Fix You" is a song by British rock band Coldplay. It was written by all four members of the band for their third studio album, '' X&Y'' (2005). It was released on 5 September 2005 as the second single from ''X&Y'' and reached number 4 on the ...

". The remaining shows contained between 15 and 20 songs, combining Coldplay's back catalogue with their current material. With exception of "

Another's Arms "Another's Arms" is a song by British rock band Coldplay. It is the sixth track from their sixth studio album, ''Ghost Stories''. It was written, produced, and performed by Coldplay, with co-production handled by Daniel Green, Paul Epworth, and ...

" and " O", all tracks from the new album were played in every tour date. * Martin also stated they would be trying to incorporate a few rarities and fan favorites. During the song "

", him and Guy Berryman performed with a

laser harp A laser harp is an electronic musical user interface and laser lighting display. It projects several laser beams played by the musician by blocking them to produce sounds, visually reminiscent of a harp. It was popularised by Jean-Michel Jarre, ...

, while

Will Champion William Champion (born 31 July 1978) is an English musician and songwriter best known as the drummer and backing vocalist of the rock band Coldplay. Raised in Southampton, he learned various instruments during his childhood, being influenced b ...

used a

reactable The Reactable is an electronic musical instrument with a tabletop tangible user interface that was developed within the Music Technology Group at the Universitat Pompeu Fabra in Barcelona, Spain by Sergi Jordà, Marcos Alonso, Martin Kaltenbr ...

. The latter accompanied the singer in "O" by providing "subtle guitar licks", as track was mostly played solo on the piano. In the

, Coldplay had a circular stage said to be particularly close to the audience. For their show in

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mounta ...

, the band invited

Kylie Minogue Kylie Ann Minogue (; born 28 May 1968) is an Australian singer, songwriter and actress. She is the highest-selling female Australian artist of all time, having sold over 80 million records worldwide. She has been recognised for reinve ...

to perform "

Can't Get You Out of My Head "Can't Get You Out of My Head" is a song that was recorded by Australian singer Kylie Minogue for her eighth studio album, ''Fever'' (2001). Parlophone Records released the song as the album's lead single on 8 September 2001. "Can't Get ...

" and a cover of "

Where the Wild Roses Grow "Where the Wild Roses Grow" is a murder ballad by Australian rock band Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds and pop singer Kylie Minogue. It is the fifth song and lead single from the band's ninth studio album, ''Murder Ballads'' (1996), released on Mut ...

" by

Nick Cave Nicholas Edward Cave (born 22 September 1957) is an Australian singer, songwriter, poet, lyricist, author, screenwriter, composer and occasional actor. Known for his baritone voice and for fronting the rock band Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, ...

. The last concert from the tour saw them play "

Christmas Lights Christmas lights (also known as fairy lights, festive lights or string lights) are lights often used for decoration in celebration of Christmas, often on display throughout the Christmas season including Advent and Christmastide. The custom g ...

Reception

According to ''

Gigwise ''Gigwise'' is a British online music news site that features music news, photos, album reviews, music festivals, concert tickets and video content. Founded in June 2001, the site is based in London, England. History Gigwise was launched in 2001 ...

'', tickets for the first

show went sold out within minutes of availability, which led the band to announce a second date. Similar demand was registered in

Enmore Theatre The Enmore Theatre is a theatre and entertainment venue in Sydney, Australia. It was built in 1908. It is located at 118–132 Enmore Road in Newtown, in the inner west of Sydney's suburbs. It was first opened in 1912 as a photo-play theatre. I ...

. Overall, they grossed $3,092,008 from 29,129 tickets. The tour also received generally positive reviews from music critics: Robert Altman from ''

Consequence Consequence may refer to: * Logical consequence, also known as a ''consequence relation'', or ''entailment'' * In operant conditioning, a result of some behavior * Consequentialism, a theory in philosophy in which the morality of an act is determi ...

'' said Coldplay "are cohesive enough to rival the most skilled musicians in the industry", adding "what separates them from any studio performer is Martin's light stage banter and ability to connect with a multi-generational audience". ''

The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Hollywood film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade paper, and in 2010 switched to a weekly large ...

'' Roy Trakin stated they "turn heartbreak into transcendence, which is what all great artists do". Writing for ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers '' The Observer'' and '' The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the ...

'', Ian Gittins commented the band "always majored in empathy, and the sympathy vote being extended towards Martin tonight is palpable". Greg Inglis from ''

DIY "Do it yourself" ("DIY") is the method of building, modifying, or repairing things by oneself without the direct aid of professionals or certified experts. Academic research has described DIY as behaviors where "individuals use raw and sem ...

'' praised their confidence and emphasised it is "often overlooked how versatile Coldplay are", as Champion was taking piano duties.

Live album

Following the end of the tour, the band released '' Ghost Stories Live 2014'', their fourth live album. It consisted of a CD with selected renditions of each song from the original studio album and a recording of their Sony Studios performance directed by Paul Dugdale. Martin described it as "a very special moment for our band" and added the film was "basically our original vision" for the project. Bonus content included the director's cut for " Magic" and three new music videos: "All Your Friends", a tribute to those who fought in the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

; "Always in My Head", an animated version of the album cover; and "Ghost Story", which featured fading black and white shots of the band performing. Additionally, the second had an alternative concert take, along with "Oceans". Meanwhile, the Japanese CD edition included the tour's recording of "

". In 2014, the band received a

nomination at the

for the project, ultimately losing to ''

20 Feet from Stardom ''20 Feet from Stardom'' is a 2013 American documentary film directed by documentary filmmaker Morgan Neville and produced by Gil Friesen, a music industry executive whose curiosity to know more about the lives of background singers inspired the ...

''.

Set lists

Tour dates

Notes

References

External links

Coldplay Official Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ghost Stories Tour 2014 concert tours Coldplay concert tours Concert tours of Asia Concert tours of Australia Concert tours of Europe Concert tours of France Concert tours of Germany Concert tours of Japan Concert tours of North America Concert tours of Oceania Concert tours of the United Kingdom Concert tours of the United States