The familiar shouts of ‘encore’ were replaced by the repetitive drone of ‘Warnie’ after Coldplay’s first Melbourne show last Saturday night.
Coldplay frontman Chris Martin told a story about an awkward moment in an elevator with a girl he had just met – the girl, apparently, was not a fan of his band. Thankfully for Martin, he had his ‘wingman’ on hand, who managed to diffuse the awkward situation. He then went on to dedicate a song to his ‘wingman’, finally announcing that the man in question was none other than Australian cricketer and proud Melbourne lad, Shane Warne.
Warne was in the crowd at Rod Laver Arena for the 1 July show, and was immediately pointed out by fellow punters. After Coldplay left the stage for the first time, the crowd’s attention quickly shifted sideways, with the familiar ‘Warnie’ chant erupting across the sold-out arena.
Warne quickly clamoured his way backstage to escape the attention. Coldplay, meanwhile, returned for their encore, capping off a memorable set which included hits from all three of their studio albums, as well as a cover of Johnny Cash’s ‘Ring Of Fire’.
