Coldplay's Chris Martin 'happy to be a human punchbag'

Coldplay frontman Chris Martin has insisted he doesn’t mind being mocked for refusing to tour in order to save the environment, declaring “even being a human punching bag is being useful to somebody”.

The musician and his band have recently released their eighth album, Everyday Life, but have said that they won’t be touring with it until they can guarantee that their shows will be environmentally sustainable.

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However, many people took the carbon neutral stand with a pinch of salt, pointing out that Martin made the announcement from Jordan where he had travelled to launch the album, and that he must have taken a huge number of flights during his two decades in music.

But Martin refused to be put off by the criticism, telling the Sun: “No, we definitely aren’t going to tour this album. We are going to do our very best to tour again in the future, but I’m serious about what I said.

“I’ve been talking about that sort of thing, environment sustainability, for a long time — and getting some flack for it along the road — so yes, it’s good to see other artists are getting on board with it. But listen, really taking flack is what we do — it’s okay, I’m cool with that.

“I’m pretty thick-skinned, and I’ve realised that even being a human punching bag is being useful to somebody, so now I’m okay with that too.”

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He had previously told the BBC that he hoped to be able to put on carbon-neutral shows that were solar powered and didn’t include single-use plastics, but acknowledged that flying was an issue.

Martin also added that he was refusing to look at any reviews of Everyday Life in case he was “thrown off course” and took Robbie Williams’ comments that he would be crushed if Coldplay beat him in the charts in good humour, adding “honestly, we’re cool with that...he was around first, too”.