Shortly after arriving at University College London (in fall 1996), Chris Martin bumped into Jonny Buckland. They both loved playing music, and between them formed a band, called Pectoralz. Soon they recruited a third member, Guy Berryman. The band practiced daily, and soon were playing to small venues in the Camden area.
In 1998, Will Champion was enlisted to play the drums (he was a total novice, but a talented musician, so quickly picked them up). The band was complete muscially, but they still weren’t happy with the name, so tried <i>Starfish</i> before eventually settling on – Coldplay.
The first release from the the band was the <i>Safety</i> EP, of which only 500 copies were made – which nowadays change hands for a small fortune ($5000 plus). In the summer of 1999, the band played Glastonbury – great for word-of-mouth marketing.
After some bust-ups in the band (Will Champion once stormed out, only to return when begged to do so by the rest of the band), the foursome decided on some band democracy – all revenues would be divided 4ways, and everyone’s name would appear on song credits.
Late 1999 also saw the release of their first album Parachutes. The hit singles Yellow and Trouble came from the album. The band hit the US for a promotion tour.
The band’s second album A Rush of Blood to the Head was released in 2002 to worldwide success. Singles taken from the album include In My Place, Clocks and The Scientist. A Rush of Blood to the Head went on to achieve chart success – hitting number one both sides of the Atlantic. The band embarked on a megatour, with over a 100 live performances.
X & Y, Coldplay’s third album, came out in 2005. Wonderful tracks off the album include Speed of Sound and Fix You.
Chris Martin is now married to Gwyneth Paltrow, the Hollywood actress, who has taken title roles in lots of blockbuster movies, like Emma. (A talented couple!)
Best Band‘s ratings for Coldplay: Music 5 stars out of 5. Character 4 stars out of 5. Live Performance 4 out of 5.
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