Coldplay were a man down, with Jonny’s illness. They were also, doubtless, feeling somewhat under siege, given the recent press salvo from Alan McGee. Enjoying the night was always going to be a tough proposition. Despite this being before my time, I was working at the show and remember their soundcheck being a long and somewhat fraught affair. I also remember there being a mad roadie scramble getting them onstage at showtime, as the globe wouldn’t light up (eventually remedied with a torch and some gaffa tape!).
Quite how much this influenced the outcome of the awards is not known…