Stay-at-home dads

Coldplay's decision not to tour new LP Everyday Life for environmental reasons was an open goal for jokes (for what it's worth, probably my favourite response was from Memorial Device: "Another thing we have Greta Thunberg to thank for") - but let's give credit where it's due.

Tours for mega-bands like Chris Martin's crew are enormous operations, with carbon footprints to match - but the decision not to criss-cross the globe in support of a new album is certainly not one to be taken lightly, given the huge revenues that such tours can reap. Their last jaunt made $523m - so to pass up the chance of another bumper pay day shows that they're really putting their money where their mouth is.

Martin has said that their aim is to be more than merely carbon neutral: they're taking time out "to work out how our tour can not only be sustainable [but] how it can be actively beneficial" - an admirable ambition. In the meantime, it's unfortunate that fans will be denied the opportunity to see them in the flesh, but they are broadcasting a couple of gigs in Jordan free on YouTube. Live streaming may be the answer - not only for bands of Coldplay's stature, but also smaller acts for whom the cost of international or even national touring is prohibitively expensive.