Coldplay fans attending the second night of the band's four-night residency at the Etihad stadium were treated to a very special guest performance last night as Manchester rap royalty took to the stage.
Rapper Aitch joined the band on the C-Stage at the stadium just before the encore to perform two of his hit songs, with fans in the crowd in complete disbelief at the surprise collaboration. The Brit Award-winner, whose real name is Harrison James Armstrong, joined Chris Martin and the group on stage for renditions of his tracks '1989' and 'Buss Down'.
The rapper and Coldplay frontman can be heard duetting on both tracks, with '1989' having particular poignancy for the Manchester crowd as the song sees Aitch rapping over a sample of The Stone Roses' 'Fools Gold'. The recorded version of the track, which was released last year, features the lyrics "put my shades on and rave like its 89" and even features Shaun Ryder, after the rapper said the Happy Mondays' frontman agreed to do the track for "four cans of Guinness".
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In videos shared on social media, the 23-year-old from Moston, who won his first Brit Award earlier this year, can also be heard rapping his track 'Buss Down', with Chris Martin joining him on vocals too. And fans could not believe what they were seeing - and hearing.
Many took to Twitter to share their disbelief at the collaboration, with one writing: "Coldplay duetting with Aitch wasn't on my 2023 bingo card." Echoing this, another wrote: "Coldplay bringing aitch out was the last thing I expected."
Others, however, weren't initially sure who the special guest was, with one person sharing: "Anyone else at Coldplay tonight think that when Chris said Aitch is coming out to perform with them, he meant H from steps."
Meanwhile, some of those who had turned out for the band's first gig of the four-night tour on Wednesday, were more than disappointed that Aitch hadn't been brought on for the first show. Writing in all caps, one Twitter user wrote: "Why did we get no one last night and now Aitch is on stage with Coldplay????"
At Coldplay's opening show at the Etihad on Wednesday night, frontman Chris Martin paid a special tribute to the city, telling the crowd he wanted to play a very special Manchester anthem for the occasion. Playing Sit Down by James, he explained the song had become one of his own personal favourites from the moment he heard it back in 1990.
Martin also revealed that "a special guest" had been due to join him at the Etihad Stadium on opening night but had "unfortunately come down with Covid", leaving many fans to speculate that James frontman Tim Booth has been due on stage, but Tim quickly cleared that up and declared on Twitter: "Not me. I had a bug, but not Covid. I'm sitting here in Brighton" in response to a fan.
While most were happy with the special guest, some complained that the addition of the Manchester rapper meant certain songs weren't played. One person, addressing the band on Twitter wrote: "Can’t believe you didn’t play Politik BUT spent ten mins with the likes of “Aitch” on stage. Shocking beyond belief for proper fans."
Another wrote: "never thought I’d see aitch and Coldplay performing together.. it was the weirdest combination of artists ever."
Though most were just in disbelief at the unlikely mash-up, with another Twitter using writing: "Never did I think I’d see aitch at a Coldplay concert let alone Chris Martin singing buss down what was that all about?"
Raised in Moston, Aitch used to play football for a team called Moston Brook but after his freestyle raps caught the attention of industry professions, he quickly catapulted to fame and has since collaborated with the likes of Ed Sheeran and fellow Mancunian rapper Bugzy Malone.
Back in February, Aitch picked up his first Brit Award for British Hip Hop/Grime/Rap Act at a glittering ceremony down in London. Sharing a heartfelt message to his loyal fans on Twitter, the rapper wrote: "Big up all my fans that voted we won a Brit together.
"Not many people where I’m from, especially my side of Manchester, get the opportunity to receive such an amazing award. Thank you all, my fans are the best."
It was his first Brit Award success, having been nominated for two Brits in 2021 and two more this year. It follows the release of his album Close to Home, which reached number two in the UK album chart last year.
Coldplay's tour continues returns to the Etihad Stadium on Saturday (June 3) and Sunday (June 4). The band then move on to Cardiff for two nights at the Principality Stadium.
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