Coldplay
‘We wanted to be a reaction against soulless rubbish.’ Chris Martin, frontman of Coldplay, 2002.
The coming together of Coldplay is almost a story of fate, the four members having grown up completely different parts of Britain and meeting later on in life. Originally, Martin himself was raised in the country’s south-west (Devon), bassist Guy Berryman in its furthest northern point (Scotland, then further down in Kent), drummer Will Champion in Southampton, and guitarist Jonny Buckland in North Wales. But, it was in the mid-90s at University College, London where the characters all stumbled across one another, sharing between them a joint love for music and a quiet aspiration to form their own band – and then take it as far as it could go.
So, following fruitful years spent practicing and writing songs together – in a variety of locations, ranging from bathrooms to public-area parks – the natural urge to release something soon fell upon them, leading the four-piece to record a four-track EP of their material and press up just 500 copies, this in turn prompting an appearance at UK industry bigwigs-conference, In The City. Present at their performance was Simon Williams, head of top-indie label, Fierce Panda, who signed the group up for a one-single release of ‘Brothers & Sisters’.
It didn’t take long until the major-label pursuit of the group followed – and it was Parlophone of EMI that soon bagged the band for its roster. However, despite the huge corporate structure soon to be fitted around them, Coldplay remain to this day greatly independent-minded, choosing to have a say on all of their artwork and videos, whilst constantly preventing their music from being cheapened via the inclusion of their work in motion-pictures or TV-advertisements.
Yet, now that all this had been formed, it was time for the rest of the world to be convinced of the group’s greatness. Though that didn’t take too long, either. Their debut-single proper, ‘Shiver’, was played on Radio One continuously in both prime-time and alternative-music evening slots, and enabled the group ecstatic write-ups in all sectors of the press; couple these with co-headline tours with other indie-upstarts of the time and you’ve got a debut top-40 hit. Compare this triumph to their follow-up, though, the starkly beautiful ‘Yellow’, and you’ve got yourself a debut top-5 global smash, raising the group’s profile tenfold, and setting up the release of their debut LP, ‘Parachutes’, for a catapult into the ‘classic albums of the 90s’ league (it even going on to win awards worldwide and sell over five million copies).
Photo Credit: Copyright Tom Sheehan
Following this, the challenge would be to recreate it – though they’re doing well so far, with follow-up LP ‘A Rush Of Blood To The Head’ rumoured to be even stronger than prior efforts: up-tempo, passionate and possibly the group’s swansong so early on into a career that could span for decades given proper nourishment. But why bother when the peak has been met; Glastonbury has been headlined, the new single is sure to be a top-three and their soon-to-come UK arena tour will be nigh-on impossible to witness due to demand.
... Fittingly to what’s been achieved thus far, however, what comes next either way will be the right move for Coldplay – they haven’t let us down yet, after all.
OFFICIAL SITE: Extensive set-up, with new photos, chances to purchase tickets for their soon-emerging and low-key US tour and more.
LIFE IS FOR LIVING: A stunning fan-site, with polls, up-to-date news and gossip, plus archives of reviews and interviews on the band.
A BEAUTIFUL WORLD: \'We\'ve got everything you want, need, have to know about Coldplay,\' claim these guys on Australia\'s number-one Coldplay site.
THE BLUE ROOM: A unique lay-out and design is on offer in this exquisite Japanese effort.
COLDPLAYONLINE.COM: A US-run web-space, this is dilligently packed with info, including a staggering backlog of recent news.