Delayed Coldplay album set for June release

LONDON - Coldplay will release a long-awaited third album in June, the British rock band said as they announced plans to kick off their biggest world tour with UK gigs in London, Bolton and Glasgow.

The follow-up to the Grammy award winning "A Rush of Blood to the Head" will be welcome news to fans who have had to wait three years for the new album from a UK group that has also proved unusually popular in the United States.

"We've spent a long time in the studio and haven't played a gig for 18 months," guitarist Jonny Buckland said in a statement. "So we can't wait to get out on tour and play our new songs live."

The new album date will also be welcomed by investors in Coldplay's record label EMI which warned last month that sales in the year to March 31 would be lower than previously expected due to delayed releases from Coldplay and Gorillaz.

- REUTERS