Chris Martin Laughs At Bono's Insult

Coldplay singer Chris Martin says he still respects Bono even though the U2 singer called him a "wanker" last week.

Bono threw the verbal barb at Martin when U2 appeared on BBC Radio 1 DJ Jo Whiley's show. When Bono was asked to apologize, he called Martin "a completely dysfunctional character and a cretin."

"I always thought he felt that way," Martin jokingly told Australia's Melbourne Herald Sun newspaper.

"I think it's great that we're arch enemies. That's a joke, too."

Martin says he respects Bono and U2, to whom Coldplay are frequently compared, regardless of whether the feeling is mutual.

"We respect any musician, particularly ones who've kept going and not changed line up and have always been good.

"The difficulty of the whole U2 thing is we're only on our fourth record. We're competing with people on their fifth records. We're just coming up to where people were making [The Beatles'] Revolver or [U2's] The Joshua Tree. We're at a very different stage."

Martin also said he'd written a song for his ex-girlfriend, Australian singer/songwriter Natalie Imbruglia. But he regrets giving it to her since he considers it the best Coldplay song of all time.

"Half of me wishes we still had it. But she sounds fucking brilliant on it. I think she has a very unique talent and an incredibly unique voice."

Coldplay are touring behind last year's Viva La Vida Or Death And All His Friends, and plan to release a free live album for fans coping with the global economic crisis.

"We're playing a lot of shows in the summer and I think what we would like to do is — bearing in mind the recession we are in — record the live album then give it as a gift," Martin told the U.K.'s The Sun tabloid.

You can see Coldplay here:

March 4-5 Melbourne, Australia @ Rod Laver Arena
March 8-9 Brisbane, Australia @ Brisbane Entertainment Centre
March 11-12, 14-15 Sydney, Australia @ Acer Arena
March 14 Sydney, Australia @ Sydney Cricket Grounds (Sound Relief)
March 18-19 Auckland, New Zealand @ Vector Arena
March 23 Singapore, Singapore @ Singapore Indoor Stadium
March 25 Hong Kong, China @ AsiaWorld Arena
March 28 Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates @ Emirates Palace
July 2 Arras, France @ Grand Place (Main Square Festival)
July 3 Werchter, Belgium @ Rock Werchter festival
July 5 Roskilde, Denmark @ Roskilde Festival
July 10 Portland, OR @ The Amphitheater at Clark County
July 11 George, WA @ The Gorge Amphitheatre
July 13 Mountain View, CA @ Shoreline Amphitheatre
July 14 Wheatland, CA @ Sleep Train Amphitheatre
July 16 San Diego, CA @ Cricket Wireless Amphitheatre
July 18 Carson, CA @ Home Depot Center
July 21 Dallas, TX @ Superpages.com Center
July 22 Spring, TX @ Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion
July 24 Maryland Heights, MO @ Verizon Wireless Amphitheater
July 25 East Troy, WI @ Alpine Valley Music Theatre
July 30 Toronto, ON @ Rogers Centre
Aug. 3 Mansfield, MA @ Comcast Center
Aug. 6 Raleigh, NC @ Time Warner Cable Music Pavilion
Aug. 7 Charlotte, NC @ Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre
Aug. 9 Tampa, FL @ Ford Amphitheatre
Aug. 16 Herning, Denmark @ Messecenter Herning Arena
Aug. 19 Bergen, Norway @ Koengen
Aug. 22 Stockholm, Sweden @ Stockholms Olympiastadion
Aug. 25 Hannover, Germany @ Hannover Stadium
Aug. 27 Dusseldorf, Germany @ LTU Arena
Aug. 29 Munich, Germany @ Reitstadion Riem
Aug. 31 Udine, Italy @ Stadio Friuli
Sept. 2 Bern, Switzerland @ Stade De Suisse
Sept. 4 Barcelona, Spain @ Estadi Olimpic De Montjuic
Sept. 7 Paris, France @ Parc Des Princes
Sept. 9-10 Nijmegen, Netherlands @ Goffertpark
Sept. 12 Manchester, England @ Lancashire County Cricket Club
Sept. 14 Dublin, Ireland @ Phoenix Park
Sept. 16 Glasgow, Scotland @ Hampden Park
Sept. 18-19 London, England @ Wembley Stadium