James Blake defends Coldplay, calls criticism of band 'not cool anymore'

James Blake has called for an end to people criticising Coldplay, stating that it's "not cool anymore" to express hatred towards the band.

Speaking on BBC Sounds podcast Sidetracked with Annie and Nick, Blake shared his frustrations regarding negative comments about the group. "Coldplay bashing has got to stop. It's not cool anymore! It's not cool anymore to just be like 'Coldplay's not cool.' Just fuck off," Blake said. "There are so many amazing Coldplay songs. And Chris Martin is clearly a melodic genius."

The musician elaborated on his stance, adding: "[If] you don't like the sound of their last few records, OK…? When you go and see them at Glastonbury, did you like a lot of the songs? Probably. Maybe the band changed the way they dressed? Are we not allowed to change the way we dress? Are we not allowed to bloody write songs in a different genre? Like, who cares, man? I get really a bit irate about this!"

During the podcast, Blake also discussed meeting Stevie Wonder at a post-Oscars party. "I couldn't really talk. I just said thank you over and over again, even though he wasn't saying anything nice to me really," he told Annie Mac and Nick Grimshaw. "I believe we talked about him playing on some music. [But] I was actually too afraid to get in touch. I didn't in the end, because it was almost too overwhelming. He's number one. It's not like meeting any other musician for me. I cried afterwards. It was just totally overwhelming and kind of impossible!"

Coldplay frontman Chris Martin recently addressed online criticism in Rolling Stone's January 2025 cover interview, stating: "It would be terrible if we lived in a society where everyone had to [like the same thing]. We're a very, very easy, safe target. We're not going to bite back. We are four white, middle-class men from England. We deserve to take some shit for what our people have done. There's a reason we get to play all around the world, and part of it is not necessarily very healthy."