Steven Wilson says he never called Coldplay “wankers”

nme.com:

Steven Wilson has put the almost two-decade-old myth that he called Coldplay “wankers” to bed.Today, (July 17), the Porcupine Tree singer and multi-instrumentalist has finally addressed the infamous image of him holding up a sign that reads “Coldplay are wankers”.

Taken at a US Porcupine Tree show in 2006, the photo went viral, and for years fans have taken it as official confirmation of Wilson’s stance on Coldplay.Now, Wilson has taken to Instagram to quash the rumours once and for all, admitting that he was actually a fan of Coldplay at the time, and continues to listen to their music today.Wilson shared that the sign had been passed to him by a member of the audience, writing: “Now I kinda liked Coldplay (still do), so I was nonplussed and held up the sign to ask the author something along the lines of why had they written such an incorrect and inappropriate statement.”He continued: “Unfortunately for me, someone else took a photo of me at the exact moment of holding up the sign, and it got uploaded to the internet and went viral, with everyone attributing the sentiment of what was written there to me.”Wilson shared that, despite the photo being taken 18 years ago, its legacy lives on and has haunted him for years. “I still to this day get asked in interviews about my legendary hatred of Coldplay,” he wrote.It turns out, though, he’s still a fan.

He encouraged any followers still in doubt to check out the “utterly sublime” track ‘Coloratura’ from Coldplay’s 2021 album ‘Music Of The Spheres‘, writing: “you can thank me later…”A post shared by Steven Wilson (@stevenwilsonhq)Last month, Wilson announced a 2025 UK and EU tour.