With 80 million records sold and seven Grammy Awards to their name, Coldplay is one of the most successful rock bands of this generation. \u00a0The band’s being scheduled to perform\u00a0in India in November 2016 became a trending topic on the internet just minutes after Google India announced it recently on Twitter. \u00a0Even though the band had not made an official statement regarding their tour then, social media was ablaze with\u00a0the news.<\/p>\n
Now, many big names in the international music circuit have performed in India before. \u00a0Legendary rocks bands such as Beatles and Led Zeppelin performed in India in the ’60s and ’70s. \u00a0Bon Jovi, Deep Purple, and Slash toured India in the mid ’90s. In subsequent years, \u00a0rock giants such as\u00a0Rolling Stones, Sting, Iron Maiden, Scorpions, Lamb of God, Mutemath, Guns and Roses, Poets of the Fall, and Opeth and thrash metal bands such as Megadeth and Metallica have also graced Indian shores. \u00a0With the rise of\u00a0electronic music,\u00a0Swedish House Mafia, Afrojack, Avicii, Hardwell, David Guetta, and Armin Van Buuren, among many others, have pulled off successful music shows in India.<\/p>\n
Yet, it seems to be\u00a0the first time that a foreign music band is\u00a0getting\u00a0as much attention and social media coverage is\u00a0Coldplay getting. \u00a0That said, it got me thinking about how infrequent the performances by international music personalities have been\u00a0in India. \u00a0The number of international live music concerts in India is significantly lesser than that in\u00a0other Asian cities such as Tokyo, Shanghai, Malaysia, Singapore, and Seoul. \u00a0There is surely no shortage of fans here. \u00a0After all, you\u00a0have even as celebrated an author as Ken Follett touring India (“the market of the future”)\u00a0to promote a new book, simply because there are twice as many people in India than in England for whom English is the first language.<\/p>\n
One deterrent to musical concerts, though, may be\u00a0the shortage\u00a0of performance-worthy venues that match up\u00a0to international standards. \u00a0Also, because of lower-priced tickets, the revenue opportunities for the bands are also limited. \u00a0In addition to these issues, the perception of security risks\u00a0and insufficient\u00a0support from\u00a0government authorities tend to discourage\u00a0many\u00a0mainstream as well as indie\u00a0international bands from performing in India.<\/p>\n
Until the tide turns or, well, just as part of “Coldplay is coming!” fever, here are videos of 10 great foreign music concerts that happened in India.<\/p>\n
Music lovers of the land, rejoice!<\/p>\n