I think this year they were definitely punishing us for Brexit. One of the funniest things is the English obsession with “doing well” at Eurovision. Le Bon: (laughs) Oh, it’s hilarious, and occasionally you get really good songs on it. Taylor: There’s something we disagree on! Simon, you don’t tweet very often, but you went on a tweeting spree in May during the Eurovision music competition. Le Bon: Maybe we don’t want to answer that question. The two of you have such an easy rapport when you’re interviewed together. The whole point of Coldplay has been voicing the big, cringe-y emotions other musicians are too cool to voice. Music Review: Coldplay successfully turns to Max Martin for hits, but there’s no helping these lyrics Le Bon: Well said for a man wearing a pair of duvets on his feet. When we came back after lockdown, I felt that those lyrics, particularly “ Invisible,” spoke to the moment, because the last 18 months have really been about intimacy politics. Many of the songs are about emotional crises, or long-term intimacy issues, let’s call them. Most of the lyrics were written before we went into lockdown. “Future Past” is a very emotionally deep album. You’d be hard-pressed to get away with a lyric like that today. Taylor: One of the most oblique lyrics to ever reach No. “The Reflex” is an extraordinary lyric and one of the most - what was the word you used? Esoteric? Look, I don’t think I appreciated a lot of the work Simon was doing in the ’80s. Taylor: It’s very cartoon-like, very manga. Taylor: Just think Marvel Universe and a sort of vengeful wife. I’ve listened to “Hammerhead” a few times, and I have no idea what that song is about. Le Bon: (laughs) I’ll be back in a few moments. John, do you need to know what a song is about when you’re recording a bass part? Simon sometimes has what one could call an oblique approach to writing lyrics.

I’ve just kind of cast my mind back to the session, and we came up with so many ideas so quickly and he conducted it all. If the music thing doesn’t work out, Le Bon and Taylor have a bright future as a comedy duo. Both maintained a merry disposition throughout the hourlong interview. Talk turned quickly to Le Bon’s unusual approach to lyrics, COVID-19, David Bowie, plastic trousers and Eurovision. 27, and John Taylor, 61, called from a hotel room (a luxury suite, most likely) in Austin, where the band was co-headlining the Austin City Limits festival. Guitarist Andy left for a second time in 2006, and the absence of his power chords has left room for a renewed focus on electronic sounds.

The lineup that recorded “ Hungry Like the Wolf,” “Girls on Film,” “ Save a Prayer,” “ Union of the Snake,” “The Reflex” and “ A View to a Kill,” each a huge hit, reassembled in the early 2000s. In recent years, Duran has amply integrated guest musicians and producers into albums, and the credits on “Future Past” include Giorgio Moroder, Graham Coxon of Blur, Mark Ronson, Tove Lo, British rapper Ivorian Doll and Japanese pop group Chai.

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