Coldplay star Chris Martin surprises Melbourne band Shakerfaker mid-rehearsal

Oasis tribute band Shakerfaker has gained a new fan after Coldplay frontman Chris Martin paid an impromptu visit to their Melbourne rehearsal space.

Sebi White, Richard Garner, Coldplay’s Chris Martin, Kieran O'Sullivan, Andrew Barraclough and Sam Kay. Picture: Supplied

Coldplay’s frontman Chris Martin delivered the surprise of a lifetime to a Melbourne Oasis tribute band on Monday, interrupting their rehearsal to tell them they sounded “terrific”.

Martin was attending a secret gathering at Richmond’s Bakehouse Studios on Monday where he met with a handful of local artists to get a sense of the city’s music scene.

Downstairs, Shakerfaker was crammed into one of Bakehouse’s smallest rehearsal spaces, completely unaware the popstar was nearby.

It was the only room the group had been able to book at late notice but, in a perfect turn of events, just happened to be right in Martin’s path toward the exit.

The band was midway through rehearsing its first song, Columbia, when lead singer Kieran O’Sullivan felt the door hit his back.

Shakerfaker lead vocalist Kieran O’Sullivan with Chris Martin at Bakehouse Studios in Melbourne. Picture: Supplied

“We just started practising and he must have finished what he was doing upstairs and the door to our rehearsal room opens up,” O’Sullivan said.

“I just saw everyone else in the band sort of raising their eyebrows and nodding their head towards the door, and I peered around behind me and the bloke from Coldplay is there.

“He just stands in the doorway, bopping along to the song we’re playing.

“We’re all sort of looking at each other and looking at him going, ‘that’s f---ing Chris Martin’.”

The band members, all Coldplay fans, managed to keep their cool and finished out the song.

“He was very polite and said, ‘I’m really sorry to interrupt, but you guys sound terrific, so I had to pop my head in’,” O’Sullivan said.

“It was nice getting sort of a bit of validation from someone who’s extremely famous and good at music and also a massive Oasis fan.”

O’Sullivan was quick to invite the star to their gig in St Kilda on Saturday night, before realising Martin was already booked to play a show of his own at none other than Marvel Stadium.

“He said ‘oh, I think we’re busy’,” O’Sullivan said.

“He went, ‘yeah, we’re playing’. I went ‘of course you are’.

“I knew they were touring soon but didn’t know it was now – I thought he was here for something else. Thankfully everyone laughed about it and how much of a goose I am.”

Talking about his upcoming shows, Martin uttered “one of the most rock n roll things ever”.

“We asked him where he was playing, he said ‘I dunno’,” O’Sullivan said.

“I guess someone who travels the world playing at different stadiums in different countries all the time, you lose track, I suppose.”

Chris Martin is in Melbourne for Coldplay’s Australian tour.

Martin hung out with the band in the tiny room for 15-minutes, spending time perusing their set list and helping them make last minute song cuts.

“We just got chatting with him and it was all very nice and organic,” O’Sullivan said.

“I sort of got the impression he enjoyed talking about something other than himself for five minutes. It was just really fun.”

O’Sullivan said the fluke encounter was the ultimate accumulation of “little sliding doors moments”.

“I was late to rehearsal that night because I had to put my baby boy down to bed,” he said.

“Had I been on time, he might not have heard the song he heard, or had I been 10 minutes later, it wouldn’t have happened.

“If we’d been playing Wonderwall, he probably wouldn’t have bothered to stick his head in.”

Martin “really politely posed” for photos to help the band plug their upcoming gig, but the group had to keep the photos under wraps for a few days while no one knew he was in town.

In the tiny room, O’Sullivan bent down to try and make enough room for the shot.

“He actually grabbed me by the shoulder and picked me up, saying ‘you can’t crouch – you’re Liam Gallagher in his band. You can’t be on the floor. You’ve gotta stand up.’ And so I stood up at the behest of Chris,” he said.

“The first song we played after he left, I don’t think we’ve ever played it so well. We must have had some extra gust of excitement after that interaction.”

Shakerfaker is celebrating its 19th year, showcasing “all the best bits and all the worst bits” of Oasis with stage gimics and impressions.

“It’s become this far greater thing than we ever intended,” O’Sullivan said.

“It’s always just been for fun.”

Originally published as Coldplay star Chris Martin surprises Melbourne band Shakerfaker mid-rehearsal