Coldplay

a British pop group formed in the mid 1990s with three members including the lead singer Chris Martin. Their first album Parachutes (2000) won a number of music awards including two Brit Awards and a Grammy. Their second album A Rush of Blood to the Head (2002) also won three Grammy s.

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▪ 2006

 Repeatedly honoured with music industry awards but famously demeaned by tastemaker Alan McGee for producing music for “bed wetters,” the guitar-based British rock group Coldplay seldom elicited neutral responses. If some hated the band, many more loved it, and Coldplay topped the charts in 2005 with its much-hyped third studio album, X & Y. When the album's first single, “Speed of Sound,” debuted at number eight, the quartet became the first British group since the Beatles to enter the U.S. charts in the Top Ten.

      Coldplay began in 1998 at University College, London, with the pairing of pianist-vocalist Chris Martin (b. March 2, 1977, Exeter, Eng.) and guitarist Jon Buckland (b. Sept. 11, 1977, London). Fellow students Guy Berryman (b. April 12, 1978, Kirkcaldy, Scot.), a bass guitarist, and Will Champion (b. July 31, 1978, Southampton, Eng.), a guitarist who later switched to the drums, rounded out the group. Following the self-financed extended-play release Safety, Coldplay penetrated the U.K. Top 100 in 1999 with the single “Brothers & Sisters” on the independent Fierce Panda label before signing with major label Parlaphone. With the 2000 release of the hauntingly melodic single “Yellow,” featuring Martin's impassioned, bittersweet vocals, Coldplay scored a huge hit. The acoustic-tinged album Parachutes (2000), which showcased “Yellow” as well as such other hit songs as “Shiver” and “Trouble,” sold millions, drew comparisons with critics' darlings Radiohead and Tim Buckley, and earned Coldplay a Grammy Award for best alternative album.

      The more ambitious A Rush of Blood to the Head (2002), containing another instant pop classic, “Clocks,” went multiplatinum and earned Coldplay a slew of British and American awards (including two more Grammys). Together the group's first two albums sold more than 20 million copies. A concert album, Live 2003, followed. Determined to explore new ground, Coldplay then spent 18 months recording X & Y, jettisoning a number of the project's most experimental recordings on the way to an album of arena-friendly rock anthems.

      A study in contradictions, Coldplay willfully sought and attained the “big band” status of its role model, U2, even as it refused to stoke the music industry's standard star-making machinery. Despite the group's democratic structure (all four members shared songwriting credits and equal royalties), Martin became the face of Coldplay, an international celebrity whose fame resulted as much from his marriage to American movie star Gwyneth Paltrow as it did from his distinctive plaintive singing, good looks, and high-profile advocacy of fair trade for small farmers in less-developed countries. Coldplay reportedly donated 10% of its earnings to a variety of social causes. Not merely content that his band had joined U2 at the top of the world, Martin, like Bono, seemed determined to save it.

Jeff Wallenfeldt

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▪ British rock group

 British rock group whose melodic, piano-driven anthems lifted it to the top of the pop music world in the early 21st century. The quartet's 2005 single "Speed of Sound" made Coldplay the first British group since the Beatles (Beatles, the) to enter the U.S. charts in the Top Ten; it debuted at number eight.

      Coldplay was formed in 1998 at University College, London, with the pairing of pianist-vocalist Chris Martin (b. March 2, 1977, Exeter, Eng.) and guitarist Jon Buckland (b. Sept. 11, 1977, London). The band was later filled out with fellow students Guy Berryman (b. April 12, 1978, Kirkcaldy, Scot.) on bass and Will Champion (b. July 31, 1978, Southampton, Eng.), a guitarist who later switched to drums. Coldplay penetrated the U.K. Top 100 in 1999 with the single "Brothers & Sisters" on the independent Fierce Panda label before signing with major label Parlaphone. Later that year the band released the Blue Room EP to a flurry of glowing reviews.

      Coldplay's full-length debut Parachutes (2000) sold millions on the strength of Martin's vocals and such singles as the bittersweet "Yellow." Parachutes earned the band its first Grammy Award, for best alternative album, and paved the way for the more ambitious A Rush of Blood to the Head (2002). The latter album earned the group two more Grammy Awards, and singles such as "Clocks" helped drive the band's total album sales over the 20 million mark. Coldplay followed the concert album Live 2003 (2003) with X & Y (2005), a collection of guitar-driven, arena-friendly rock anthems (including the chart-topping single "Speed of Sound" ) that elevated the group to the rank of such “big bands” as U2 and Radiohead. Meanwhile, Martin's marriage to American actress Gwyneth Paltrow earned him celebrity status independent of his musical achievements. The band's 2008 release, Viva la Vida, topped the charts in the United States and the United Kingdom, and the album's title track, arguably Coldplay's most radio-friendly effort yet, was the number one single on both sides of the Atlantic.

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