The BBC session saw them perform tracks from their latest album along with a cover of the Crystal Waters classic.
Last week Coldplay performed select songs from their new album, Everyday Life, live on Radio 1 at the historic Maida Vale studios. The world-dominating English pop-rock band also covered Crystal Waters’ universally beloved house track “Gypsy Woman (She’s Homeless).” Coldplay’s interpretation of the song used piano and strings to bring new life to one of house music’s most legendary tracks. Chris Martin did justice to Waters’ outstanding vocals with a sensitive and melodic performance: watch below.
“Gypsy Woman” appeared on Waters’ 1991 debut album Surprise. The song has become a classic tune thanks in part to its iconic “la da dee, la da da” refrain, which has been sampled countless times since release. The track went on to reach No 8 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and at the time of release, was the highest-debuting single for a new act on UK Singles Chart. It has been declared to be one of the greatest dance songs of all time by multiple publications.
“Gypsy Woman” is about a homeless woman singing outside a hotel in Washington, DC: Waters would walk past her, make-up on, dressed in all black, singing gospel songs on the street. Waters wondered why the woman couldn’t go find a job instead of singing on the corner asking for money, soon reading about the woman on the corner in the paper and how she had recently lost her job. This changed Waters’ perspective on homelessness, inspiring the lyrics to a track that’s now synonymous with the word house.