Coldplay locked in multi-million legal battle as former manager claims he is owed compensation

Coldplay has filed a multi-million pound lawsuit against their former manager, just weeks after he sued the band for £10 million in "unpaid commission."

Dave Holmes - who worked with the musicians from 2005 to 2022 - initiated the proceedings back in August against bandmembers Chris Martin, Will Champion, Guy Berryman, and Jonny Buckland.

He alleges he is owed compensation after Coldplay were paid a £35 million advance for their 10th album and £30 million for their 11th and 12th albums, all of which are yet to be released.

Mr Holmes states he organised studio recording sessions, cleared samples, and communicated with producers for the records before his contract wasn't renewed by the band last year.

He states he is owed payment for a live contract which covered the 10th and 11th albums.

The group have denied the claims and have submitted a counter-lawsuit demanding £14 million in damages.

In court papers seen by The Times, Coldplay alleges that Mr Holmes had obtained loans totalling $30 million (£24.6 million) from concert promoters Live Nation, who have worked with the group for years.

"To the best of (our) knowledge... Mr Holmes used monies obtained by the loan agreements to fund a property development venture in or around Vancouver, Canada."

The band argued that this happened while their former manager was negotiating terms for their Music of the Spheres tour in 2021.

They claim that this could have interfered with his obligations to secure the "best possible deal" for Coldplay.

Mr Holmes also failed to "adequately to supervise and control the tour budget", the court documents state.

It's claimed that he ordered expensive equipment that was not unusable for tour, including a $9.7 million (£8 million) projector screen that was too large to take on the road and 16 stage pylons which cost €10.6 million (£9 million) that were also not fit for use.

It is alleged that under Mr Holmes' supervision the band incurred at least £17.5 million excess costs.

"Had Mr Holmes exercised reasonable care and skill in the performance of his obligations," the counter-claim continues, the band would not have incurred costs of at least £17.5 million.

In response to Coldplay's lawsuit, a spokesperson for Mr Holmes told the newspaper: “Coldplay know they are in trouble with their defence.

"Accusing Dave Holmes of non-existent ethical lapses and other made-up misconduct will not deflect from the real issue at hand – Coldplay had a contract with Dave, they are refusing to honour it and they need to pay Dave what they owe him."

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