The Sigla Blog

When it was announced that Madonna was to play Slane last year, the Slane massive grumbled about the fact that she was a ‘pop’ act. The problem with this is that up until Madge’s gig there, Slane was the reserve of big rock bands. Despite the moans, she strutted and warbled her way through her back catalogue, no doubt raking in the a tidy sum for herself, Lord Henry Mountcharles and the Slane area in general.

If Maddy belting out ‘Like a Virgin’ pee’d on the sacred rock vibe of the place, this year it’s been announced that Eminem and 50 cent are set to play the castle this summer. Hip hop at a stately home? Surely not?, cry the rock-lock fans.

So why didn’t they get U2 subsitutes Coldplay as this year’s Slane act? They’re touring to support their ‘12 songs that sound like either U2 or Clocks‘ new album, X&Y. They’re more or less being honed and buffed as the U2’s replacement for when Bono goes off to be head of the World bank or to become pope. The British music press have long been after a British replacement for U2 and the NME insists that X&Y is ‘their best yet’ while the 5/5 rating from The Observer gushes about Gynneth Paltrow as Chris Martin’s muse.

What Coldplay are, is a cleverly marketed attempt at slipping into U2’s shoes when the lads get fed up with monumental tours. They are the ultimate stadium rock band and why? Because ailing record companies who are losing money hand over fist to music downloading know that the best way to make money, is not from album sales but from tours and ticket sales.

In The Ticket in The Irish Times recently, Brian Boyd tapped in to this in his ‘build your own Coldplay’ band aimed specifically any band with an eye on being a big stadium act.

It’s all very well having links to Amnesty and Greenpeace on your sleevenotes, but when you’ve got a musical symbol of marketing and globalisation, it’s hard to take them seriously as a credible band.