Coldplay Play Third Headline Slot at Glastonbury

In this year's battle of the Glastonbury headliners, the old guard vs newcomers roles were reversed. U2 may be the elder statesmen of communal stadium rock, but they were wet behind the ears new boys when it came to headlining Worthy Farm. Coldplay, one of many bands in U2s stadium wake were the band to be contended with here. On Saturday night they took to the Pyramid Stage as headliners for the third time.

Chris Martin and co.'s strong relationship with the festival started in 1999 -- they only headlined in 2002 after they agreed to play the local village fete the year before to help festival organiser Michael Eavis out of a tight spot. So you could have been forgiven for thinking headlining wouldn't have given them too many butterflies in the stomach, but then there was the spectre of U2's bloody-minded debut the night before; fierce, and with something to prove.

With fireworks wrupting at their entrance, Coldplay alunched into new song 'MX,' a song that bears more than a little of the urgent DNA of Arcade Fire.

The start was a mix of old and new, with 'Yellow' rubbing shoulders with another new cut, 'Major Minor' and 'Lost!' and 'The Scientist' leading to a particularly grungey but splendid 'Shiver,' with Martin saying at the end, "That was the first song we ever played at Glastonbury." Maybe Coldplay had been taking some notes from U2 in how to suff up their back catalogue. 'Politik', too, was particularly loose-limbed and lusty.

The question everyone was asking beforehand was would Martin's mate Jay-Z make it to the stage. After all, his missus Beyoncé is playing Sunday. TV footage showed them singing along to 'Viva La Vida' in the pit. That's one thing U2 didn't seem to have...

Coldplay are sometime half-jokingly referred to as the Pyramid Stage House Band. After a night which cemented their special place around the Glastonbury table, expect another Eavis invite soon.

Watch Coldplay Perform 'Clocks' at Glastonbury in 2005
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