Coldplay frontman Chris Martin has said the band will not go on tour, including to support their new album, for environmental reasons. Martin told the BBC that the group is taking time off from the road to figure out how to make touring sustainable. The band’s new record, “Everyday Life,” comes out Friday.
“We’re not touring this album,” Martin told BBC News on Thursday. “We’re taking time over the next year or two to work out how our tour can not only be sustainable [but] how can it be actively beneficial.”
The band will play two gigs in support of the album, in Jordan. These will be streamed for free around the world on YouTube. The concerts will take place at sunrise and sunset in the Arab country this Friday.
Not touring is in keeping with the unconventional approach the band is taking to support “Everyday Life.” Earlier, it had revealed the track listing for half the album in classified newspaper ads.
Martin said the plan is to ultimately return to touring – but in a sustainable form.
“The hardest thing is the flying side of things. But, for example, our dream is to have a show with no single-use plastic, to have it largely solar-powered,” he said. The Coldplay star added that, having done huge tours, the band is asking: “How do we turn it around so it’s not so much taking as giving?”