The REAL reason why Chris Martin kisses the tarmac before he flies after Coldplay frontman was seen planting his lips to the ground ahead of New Zealand shows
Chris Martin shocked onlookers on Monday when he kissed the tarmac at Sydney Airport before boarding a private jet to Auckland, New Zealand.
Moments before boarding the plane, the Coldplay frontman, 47, got down on his hands and knees and pressed his lips to the ground.
The unusual tradition, performed before and after his flights, has a very valid reason.
Although Chris hasn’t revealed why he performs the act, the ritual may stem from a brush with death he had early in his music career.
The English star, who formed his band in London in 1997, claimed he almost died in 2005 when his plane was caught in a dust storm while flying over West Africa.
He was traveling to Ghana with Oxfam earlier that year when disaster struck just as the rocker’s flight entered Tamale Airport.
“It was so scary, the plane was flying everywhere,” Chris said Sun newspaper at the time.
‘Once a year, for a week, all that dust blows over from the Sahara. You couldn’t see anything. I couldn’t see the ground and it turned out the pilot couldn’t see either.
Chris Martin (pictured) shocked onlookers on Monday when he kissed the tarmac at Sydney Airport before boarding a private jet to Auckland, New Zealand
Moments before boarding the plane, the Coldplay frontman, 47, got down on his hands and knees to kiss the ground
‘I discovered we were about 200 meters above the ground. The plane made a violent jump to the right and then far to the left. It swung in all directions. But somehow the pilot pulled it free and landed.
‘I don’t know how he did it. I was convinced he wouldn’t. Did the pilot know Chris Martin was on board? I don’t think he cared,” Christ added.
Chris was still married to American actress Gwyneth Paltrow at the time, with whom he shares daughter Apple, 20, and son Moses, 18.
During the horrific plane ordeal, Chris said his mind was racing and thinking about his daughter, who had been born a year earlier.
“I thought, ‘My daughter is going to have to have a stepfather,’” he continued.
Although Chris has not revealed why he performs the act, the ritual may stem from a brush with death he had several years ago. The England star claimed in 2005 that he almost died when his plane was caught in a dust storm while flying over West Africa
‘I also thought, “I wrote a will. The band has finished the album, but they know how I want to finish certain songs.”
Chris and Gwyneth announced their split in 2014, saying they were “consciously uncoupling.”
On Monday, airport workers watched as the award-winning artist pressed his lips to the ground near the plane steps.
Wearing a white long-sleeved shirt and black cargo pants, the Fix You hitmaker didn’t seem to mind getting a little dirty while performing his unusual pre-flight act.
It seems that kissing the tarmac before flying and when landing has become a common ritual for the musician.
Chris was still married to American actress Gwyneth Paltrow (left), with whom he shares daughter Apple (right), 20, and son Moses, 18. During the horrific plane ordeal, Chris said his ‘mind was racing’ thinking about his daughter, who was born a year earlier
He was also seen picking at the ground when he landed in Malaysia last November, ahead of his concert in the Southeast Asian country.
Chris made the same entrance in Indonesia during his previous tour.
During his recent trip Down Under, Chris saved a young boy from being crushed during one of Coldplay’s concerts in Sydney.
Chris saw the young boy struggling in the standing portion of the crowd Thursday night.
The father of two pointed out the boy and offered the young fan a safer place to watch the show.
“You can sit here, no pressure,” Chris said.
“You don’t need to be squashed by all these adults,” he added, as the young fan was lifted over the stage barriers to a spot next to the runway.
“Sit there, my little brother…better? We’ll take care of you, man,” he added before continuing his performance.
Coldplay had a rocky start to their Australian stadium tour when their first show was derailed after a band member suffered a health emergency.
For the first time in his career, singer Chris announced that the band would play their first show at Melbourne’s Marvel Stadium without bassist Guy Berryman, after he was struck down with an illness.
During the concert Chris said: ‘We will have a slightly different show and we will do our best to make it great because we are in Melbourne with all you beautiful people.
“If you see mistakes and problems, it’s because we don’t have our bass player. You won’t see Guy tonight because he’s throwing up.’
After the show on Instagram, the band thanked their fans for their understanding.
“Tonight was the first time in our band’s history that we played a show without all four members on stage. Guy unexpectedly fell ill just before the show. Thank you for helping us get through it,” they said.
Coldplay performed their final Australian concert on Sunday night and have now taken their Music of the Spheres tour to Auckland for three sold-out shows.