Punk duo The Molotovs gate-crashed Coldplay’s Wembley shows this week, playing surprise sets for stadium crowds on the Music Venue Trust stage next to the main arena.
The 17 and 19-year-old brother and sister duo, Mathew and Issey Carts, have already clocked up over 600 gigs despite their tender years. They’re backing Coldplay’s support of the Trust, which helps struggling grassroots venues across the UK.
Coldplay are donating 10% of proceeds from their Wembley dates to the cause, a move that makes perfect sense when you hear both bands’ origin stories.
“Whether it’s Coldplay or The Molotovs, one thing almost all bands have in common is that they developed their craft, and their audience, playing at grassroots venues up and down the country,” said Issey.
“While Coldplay started out at the likes of the Falcon and the Bull & Gate, we played the likes of The Half Moon, The 100 Club and Spice of Life – where we still host a weekly music night, Incendiary, with some of London’s best young guitar bands.”
The timing couldn’t be better for The Molotovs, who announce their third single ‘Rhythm of Yourself‘ next month. It could be their third physical chart number one – not bad for teenagers who’ve barely left school.
Coldplay’s Jonny Buckland gets it: “I think small venues are the breeding ground for lots of exciting music. There really is nowhere else for bands to start in, and there’s so many fewer of them left.”
Chris Martin went deeper on the venue crisis: “Organisations like Music Venue Trust are even more important in this country since Brexit because it’s so much harder for new artists to play in Europe. I just know that I would always want people younger than us to have even more opportunity than we had, and certainly not less.”
The Molotovs played the Trust’s Wembley stage on Wednesday and Thursday, proving that punk and stadium pop can actually get along just fine.
