Will Coldplay swap ‘yellow’ for ‘orange’ at gig?

Coldplay in Manchester stadium — Image caption,

Coldplay are closing BBC Radio 1's Big Weekend in Luton on Sunday, 26 May

By Louise Parry & Justin Dealey

BBC News, Luton

It was Coldplay's international breakthrough hit and remains one of their best-known numbers: Yellow.

But could they change the lyric, just for one night to appease football fans with local rivalries?

The band is headlining Radio 1's Big Weekend in Luton in May, which is home to orange-kitted Luton Town, while just down the M1, Watford play in yellow.

Some Lutonians are suggesting the Y-word could be changed. The BBC has asked the band for its reaction.

Luton resident Bex Jones suggested Coldplay "should change 'yellow' to 'orange and blue'".

Luton Town footballers at Kenilworth Road — Image caption,

Luton Town footballers playing at Kenilworth Road in their orange home kit

Sir Elton John mural — Image caption,

Watford FC play in yellow – as sported by former chairman and lifetime honorary president Sir Elton John in a mural at Vicarage Road

Bex appealed to lead singer Chris Martin: "Come on Chris, do it! You have to, you're coming to Luton for one night only."

Kev Harper from the Luton Town Supporter's Trust says: "The crowd would love it!"

He joked that Coldplay "should have called it orange in the first place; it's a superior colour".

James Taylor, head of regeneration at Luton Borough Council, said: "The crowd would absolutely pop.

"It would honour the Luton fans and honour Luton as a team and as a town.

"We've seen some of the world's biggest football teams come to Kenilworth Road and have to adapt their style of play, so why not have the world's biggest band come to Luton and change the words just for us?"

As it happens, Chris Martin says he wrote Yellow while his bandmates were watching football at Rockfield recording studios in the Welsh countryside.

He was inspired by seeing the starry sky, but the title came as he spotted the Yellow Pages across the room.

With the same number of syllables, it remains to be seen whether Coldplay will swap "yellow" for "orange" at Stockwood Park to keep Luton fans happy.

The BBC has contacted them for comment.

Luton's old-school stadium, surrounded by the terraced housing of Bury Park, became football's most-memed away end when they got promoted in 2023 and returned to the English top flight for the first time since the 1991-92 season.