PLACEBO, Coldplay and Mansun were the three surprise secret acts at the free MILLENNIUM DOME SKYSCAPE gig in LONDON last night (September 26).
They joined previously announced performers Toploader and Reef.
The gig was part of a three-night stand being filmed for Japanese TV, and last night’s rock event was mercifully free from the technical gremlins and last-minute hitches which had plagued the previous day’s performances by pop artists including Westlife, Louise, and Five with Queen‘s Roger Taylor and Brian May.
First band of the night were Mansun, who kicked off their set with vintage single ‘Take It Easy Chicken’. Second were Placebo, whose frontman Brian Molko took to the stage saying, “Welcome to the Terrordome. Claire Short wants to tear this place down. I think we should turn it into a centre for the homeless. How about spending #600million on the homeless? That would be interesting, wouldn’t it?” before dedicating new single ‘Slave To The Wage’ (released September 25) to Prime Minister Tony Blair. They played tracks from their new album ‘Black Market Music’, and wound up the set with ‘Nancy Boy’ segueing into ‘Pure Morning’ in a feedback frenzy.
Toploader’s set finished with their biggest hit ‘Achilles Heel’, but next band up Coldplay were given a lukewarm reception from the rock kids who had amassed to mosh to Reef, some of them hurling abuse at Coldplay frontman Chris Martin.
Reef’s 45-minute set had 2,000 fans in the arena bouncing before the show drew to an energetic close.
Tonight’s show features The Animalhouse, Shed Seven, Space and The Bluetones, plus another secret guest to be announced after the doors open at 6.30pm.