Coldplay salute Mary Poppins

Coldplay have based their latest tour on ‘Mary Poppins’.

The British rockers – who played an exclusive show at London’s Brixton Academy last night (16.06.08) – have been inspired by the hit Disney film about a magical nanny.

Frontman Chris Martin said: “We grew up with ‘Mary Poppins’ and all those sorts of things. We love making big shows up and trying to work out what lights will look cool. We get very nerdy about it because we can’t believe we’re allowed to do it.”

However, Chris admits the band’s shows don’t quite rival those of rivals Muse, whose incredible pyrotechnics and stage sets have won them several best live act awards.

He added to Britain’s The Sun newspaper: “We’ll never get as extreme as Muse. We’ll let them do the biggest thing and think, ‘OK, how did they did it?’ We have always been a step behind Muse. They’re so great live.”

Meanwhile, the band have been accused of stealing the melody for the title track of their new album ‘Viva La Vida Or Death and All His Friends’ from US indie band Creaky Boards.

Frontman Andrew Hoepfner claims he wrote a “strikingly similar song” over a year ago and says Chris came to watch his band perform in October 2007.

However, a Coldplay spokesman dismissed the claims and insisted the band’s track was written in March 2007.