Coldplay played ‘The Karate Kid’ live for the first time on Thursday, alongside the star of the 1980s film of the same name, Ralph Macchio.
The ‘Moon Music’ track was given its debut at the band’s second show at Melbourne’s Marvel Stadium on October 31, as the ‘Music Of The Spheres’ world tour begins its Australia and New Zealand leg.
Before beginning the song, frontman Chris Martin joked that he was losing his voice and asked if there was anybody out there that could help him sing the next song. With that, Macchio, who played Daniel LaRusso in the original trilogy of The Karate Kid films in the ‘80s, walked on stage to an ovation from the crowd.
As the band started the song, Macchio appeared to sing along, but it soon became clear that he was in fact miming to Martin’s own pre-recorded vocals. Fan accounts on social media suggest that Macchio was there to film the song’s video. Watch fan-captured footage of the performance below.
It is the second time in recent months that the band have shared the stage with an icon of 1980s cinema, after Michael J. Fox joined them during their triumphant headline set at Glastonbury 2024. Fox played guitar on three songs during the encore, including ‘Humankind’ and ‘Fix You’.
Coldplay’s setlist at Melbourne Marvel Stadium on October 31:
‘Higher Power’
‘Adventure of a Lifetime’
‘Paradise’
‘The Scientist’
‘Viva La Vida’
‘Hymn for the Weekend’
‘Everglow’
‘God Put a Smile Upon Your Face’
‘Yellow’
‘All My Love’
‘Human Heart’
‘People of the Pride’
‘Clocks’
‘We Pray’
‘Infinity Sign’
‘Something Just Like This’
‘My Universe’
‘A Sky Full of Stars’
‘The Karate Kid’
‘Sparks’
‘The Jumbotron Song’
‘Fix You’
‘Good Feelings’
‘feelslikeimfallinginlove’
On the previous night, Wednesday (October 30), the band played their first-ever show without all four members, after bassist Guy Berryman was taken ill. The group’s co-producer and engineer Bill Rahko stood in on bass.
Coldplay released their 10th studio album, ‘Moon Music’, at the start of last month. It has since become the fastest-selling record by a UK act in 2024 so far and earned the biggest week for a British act on the UK’s Official Albums Chart since Adele‘s ’30’.
READ MORE: Exclusive: Check out Coldplay’s Chris Martin’s NME playlist
Ahead of the release, Martin spoke to NME exclusively in his only written interview for the album. The wide-ranging conversation saw the frontman reveal the topics that had inspired the record and how the band were coming to the end of writing new music.
As for whether the group were still planning on concluding their recorded catalogue after 12 albums, Martin told NME: “The 12 album thing is very real, and it’s a nice feeling. It doesn’t mean we won’t tour or finish some compilation things or outtakes or whatever. It just means that the main story is told. That’s just what feels really right. Just knowing that’s happening supercharges all the work we’re doing now.”
Coldplay. Credit: Anna Lee
Elsewhere, Martin said this deadline had led to the members having “more hunger” in their creative approach, and determined to make sure they don’t “dilute” anything they put out. He reassured fans that by the time their 12th album is complete, “everything will make sense” in terms of Coldplay’s story.
Read NME’s exclusive interview with Martin in full here, where he also talked about the likes of Fontaines D.C., IDLES, Chappell Roan, Coldplay’s history-making set at Glastonbury 2024 and the band’s vow to help support grassroots venues across the UK.
Next year, Coldplay will take their ‘Music Of The Spheres’ world tour to North America before returning to the UK for performances in London and Hull. They will play a historic 10-night run at Wembley Stadium in the capital – beating the previous venue record set by Taylor Swift and Take That.
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