Coldplay

How did these four college friends become the poster children for a nation's emotions? It may have happened at the speed of light, but it wasn't as easy as it seems.

Coldplay secured a permanent position in Britain's music elite by writing beautiful, simple songs that gently pulled at the heartstrings of a nation. Somewhere in between the confident, vulnerable guitar playing of Jonny Buckland, the melodic bassline of Guy Berryman, thoughtful drumming of Will Champion, and lead Chris Martin's stark, tenor vocals are answers for the soul. Although melancholy stands behind every Coldplay song, each one is also steeped in an unusual and sincere optimism rarely found in English bands.

The name COLDPLAY was nicked off their friend Tim before he could use it for his band. He'd originally taken it from a book of poetry. In fact, they used to be a boy band called "Pectoralz," and played their first gig under the guise of "Starfish" at Camden Laurel Tree.

Chris' old school mate Phil Harvey became their manager, and financed Coldplay's first recording and release of the Safety EP on a 500-copies limited CD.


In May of 1999, Coldplay signed with Parlophone Records, and on June 8th, Coldplay signed to BMG Publishing. By October, their first Parlophone release, The Blue Room E.P, 5000 limited edition CD/12" with video was released. Lead track Bigger Stronger started picking up plays on Radio One, as Steve Lamacq and Jo Whiley pronounced themselves Coldplay fans. In October Coldplay also embarked on their first national tour, co-headlining with Bellatrix.

At the end of 1999, Coldplay found themselves being touted by the music press as a band to watch in 2000. NME particulary displayed their faith in them by putting them on the bill for the January NME Premiere tour. Shortly thereafter, Coldplay began recording their debut album for summer release.

When the band went into the studio with co-producer and engineer Ken Nelson to record Parachutes, they agreed that nothing would go on the album that they all four didn't agreed on. This led to a fierce and gut wrenching recording session that the guys thought might be their last. Songs ended up veering from fragile to forceful, from understated to epic, all-the-while carried by Chris' gorgeous vocal range and endearingly bashful lyrics. On a bittersweet morning in May, the album was finished.

That Summer, Yellow hit no.4 in the singles charts. In July, Parachutes goes in at no.1 in the UK album charts. The soaring yet depressing single Shiver is a masterpiece of swelling emotion, and makes the charts as well.

Parachutes has sold almost 5 million copies world-wide, and, in addition to the two Brits they won last year, Coldplay recently picked up a Grammy for Best Alternative Music Album.

Side Note: If you're wondering why "Don't Panic" is so named (rather than "Beautiful World"), it's because Chris swiped the title from Douglas Adams, as Radiohead did with "Paranoid Android."

The "bridge" between album #1 and #2, was an EP featuring the soulful In My Place, which opens with a single crash cymbal followed by two bars of 4/4 drumming, then a plaintive three-note guitar line rings through a strummy, celestial rhythm. Martin's lonely, aching vocals drift across the sonic landscape like steam escaping a metal pipe: "In my place, In my place/ The lines I couldn't change/ I was lost, oh, yeah."

This past August 27th, Coldplay's sophomore album, A Rush of Blood To The Head was released.

"We wanted to make the most passionate, moving, melodic, uplifting and sad record of all time," Chris said, in an interview with MTV. "There's no point in trying to do anything less, and if we get maybe one-tenth of the way there, that will be better than no part of the way there."

For Coldplay, crafting a great record meant writing from the heart and conveying those sentiments in a fresh and impassioned way. Many songs were scrapped in the process because they sounded like they could have been on Coldplay's first album, Parachutes.

The new album is full of plaintive strums, weary arpeggios and pained melodies that ring and ripple like a lake in a summer rain. The disc is also colored with textural washes that provide the songs added dimension. Throughout, Chris Martin portrays himself as if in a constant state of epiphany; sometimes wondrous, sometimes grim.

From Amazon's Editorial Staff writer, Aidin Vaziri:
"...As a band they have advanced to a stage where they outshine nearly every one of their rivals in terms of imagination and emotional pull. A Rush of Blood to the Head is a soulful, exhilarating journey, moving from the cathartic rock of "Politik" to the hushed tones of "Green Eyes" without once breaking its mesmerizing spell. Singer Chris Martin takes his voice on soaring flights... And the music is nearly flawless, a persuasive cross between Pink Floyd and The Verve. Even if they haven't come up with another "Yellow," you would be hard-pressed to care. This is exquisite stuff."

Side Note: The popular song God Put a Smile Upon Your Face from AROBTTH was originally titled, "Your Guess Is As Good as Mine." It was originally going to accompany other songs that didn't make it onto the final cut: A Ghost, Deserter, Fingers Crossed, Murder, This Hollow Frame, In Isolation, and Animals.

After one week of sales, A Rush of Blood To The Head went to #1 in Australia, Canada, Denmark, Germany, Hong Kong, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Norway, Switzerland, UAE, UK, and performed exceedingly well in other countries as well: Austria #10, Finland #4, France #4, Holland #3,
Portugal #5, USA #5.

Their recent "celeb" fans include Brad Pitt, Jennifer Aniston, Gwyneth Paltrow, Julia Roberts, Al & Tipper Gore, Jack Nicholson, Winona Ryder, Sylvester Stallone, Kirsten Dunst, Tobey Maguire, Keri Russell, Elijiah Wood, Daphne Zuniga, Jennifer Love Hewitt, and Bob Saget, just to name a few...

Then there are the millions of us out there...

"Success is a journey, not a destination. May their journey be a long one, and may we be along for
the ride..."