- British alt rock band formed in 1996, from London England. Members are Chris Martin (lead vocals, keyboards), Jonny Buckland (lead guitar), Guy Berryman (bass guitar) and Will Champion (drums, backing vocals).
- Martin and Buckland met during freshman orientation week at college. They had similar interests in music, and they decided to form a band, called Pectoralz. Berryman was a classmate who later joined the band. By 1997, they were playing in small local clubs, using a new band name – Starfish. In July that year, Champion joined the group, and they settled on the name Coldplay. The name was suggested to them by a student that they knew, who was using the name for his own small band.
- In 1998, the band recorded a demo EP of 3 songs, called Safety. 500 copies were made – many were given to friends and record companies, and only 50 or so made it to the record stores. If you find a copy, you can sell it on ebay for $2,500. Late that year, they were signed to an independent record label. A 3 song EP was released, titled Brothers and Sisters. The title track was their first released single.
- In 1999, they signed a 5 album deal with another record company. Their third EP, called The Blue Room, was released. They began to get radio airplay. In 2000, their debut studio album was released – Parachutes. Several singles were released, including their breakthrough song, Yellow, which peaked at #4 in the UK and at #48 in the U.S. The album has sold over 14 million copies worldwide. It won a Grammy award for Best Alternative Music album in 2002.
- Their second album, A Rush of Blood to the Head, was released in 2002. By now, they were well established in Europe, and had growing momentum in the U.S. The album peaked at #1 in the UK (all 7 Coldplay studio albums have reached #1 in the UK), while in the U.S. it reached #5. The album is Coldplay’s biggest selling album, with over 22 million sold worldwide. The hit singles included Clocks, The Scientist and In My Place. Coldplay earned 3 more Grammy awards, including Record of the Year for Clocks.
- The album X&Y was released in 2005. It charted at #1 in the U.S., as did their following 3 albums. It was the best selling album of the year, and to date has sold nearly 21 million copies. The CD contains a hidden track, only identified as “+” on the label and album booklet. The song, titled ‘Til Kingdom Come, was originally planned to be sung by both Martin and Johnny Cash, but Cash died before he was able to record it. Speed of Sound from the album was the first Coldplay song to crack the top 10 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 200 chart. See my July 23 AWESOME! post for the video to this song – it is AWESOME!
- In 2008, they released their fourth album, Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends. The album continued Coldplay’s string of very successful releases. The single Viva la Vida is their only song to reach #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart – in the U.S., it has sold over 6 million downloads. It was the best selling album of 2008, and the band won 3 more Grammy awards.
- Since 2010, 3 more studio albums have been released – Mylo Xyloto, Ghost Stories and A Head Full of Dreams. They all sold over 1 million copies in the U.S. – global sales are not as high as previous records, but are still huge. Hits include Every Teardrop is a Waterfall, Paradise, Princess of China (a collaboration with Rihanna), Magic, A Sky Full of Stars, Adventure of a Lifetime, and Hymn for the Weekend. All of these songs were top 10 in the UK and top 25 in the U.S. Another song, Atlas, was written for the film The Hunger Games: Catching Fire and was nominated for a Grammy and a Golden Globe award.
- Coldplay’s latest release is a 5 song EP, released in July 2017. It includes a collaboration with EDM artists The Chainsmokers, titled Something Just Like This. This song is their second highest charting single in the U.S., at #3 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.
- Coldplay concerts are unforgettable spectacles. Their 2016 – 2017 tour included xylobands for each member of the audience – these wristbands contain LEDs that are controlled by a signal that causes the wristband to turn color or blink or glow or fade along with the music. Very cool.
- Listen to this group. They are different than anything else you’ve heard. Their most awarded music video is The Scientist – here it is for your viewing pleasure. Chris Martin had to learn how to sing the song backwards for the video, because of the reverse footage in the video. It was nominated but did not win the Grammy award for Best Video – instead, Johnny Cash’s Hurt won the Grammy for Best Video in 2004 (rightfully so – it is the best video of all time in my estimation).
The first popular song let Asian remember Coldplay should be YELLOW, like A SKY FULL OF STARS, the song sometime is like a poem or painting of Van Gogh’s style which is always drawing my attention no matter what and you cannot tell why it happens—‘call it magic’ ; ) !