Two big names announced to play at the Nippon Budokan during the coming year. British band Coldplay, riding the global success of their latest album “X&Y”, will have their first solo gigs in Japan in August. The band, whose three albums have sold over 25 million copies to date, played the SummerSonic festival shortly after their debut in 2000 and have also played the Fuji Rock festival twice. The dates confirmed for this year are July 18 & 19, but more may be announced later. Vocalist Chris Martin said, “Japanese fans are different than anywhere else. They’re so polite that we can concentrate on the music and give our best. So we want to play more than two dates. I’d like to play Osaka.” Tickets are due to go on sale on April 1 from Smash.
• Local boy Kondo Masahiko (photo, 41) played the Budokan yesterday for the first time in 22 years. Celebrating his 25th year in the business, the veteran Johnny’s Jimusho star has been making something of a comeback recently after pursuing a career as a racing driver. He also announced yesterday that he will star in his first TV drama role in 8 years in the autumn, and play the Budokan again on Valentine’s Day, 2007.