The band who were playing in Norway on October 31 as part of their Twisted Logic world tour were scheduled to perform Talk at the prestigious awards ceremony, as well as being nominated in a number of categories. With the band's load-in scheduled for November 2, there was no way to guarantee getting the backline from Oslo to Lisbon in time for the planned rehearsal slot using regular commercial air freight methods. The solution was to charter an aircraft of a suitable size to carry the equipment. The aircraft in question was an AN (Antonov) 26.
Immediately after the Oslo show, Andy Lovell of EFM took the musical equipment to Oslo Gardemoen Airport, where it was put through extensive preparation procedures including customs clearance and X-Raying in order to ensure it met with all the current international security measures. Once loaded, the aircraft sat on the runway until 0605 local time when it left, having been given the first available departure slot.
Ten hours later, the Russian ex-military propeller aircraft landed, via a fuel stop at an airfield near Paris, in to Lisbon where it and Lovell were met by EFM's Lisbon representative. The equipment was off loaded and cleared Customs and ready for delivery within 60 minutes of arrival.
The MTV Europe Music Awards 2005 took place at the Atlantic Pavilion, Lisbon, with Coldplay picking up two awards for Best Song for Speed of Sound and Best UK and Ireland Act. EFM has worked with Coldplay for four years, helping them tour both the Parachutes and Rush Of Blood albums along with the current release X & Y.
(Jim Evans)
