Coldplay

History

Coldplay formed at the University College of London in 1998 by guitarists Martin, a pianist from childhood and also a singer, and Jon Buckland; they were later joined by drummer Will Champion and bassist Guy Berryman. (Tim Rice-Oxley was asked to join on keyboards, but was too busy with his own group, Keane.) They played their first shows as "the Coldplay," and in 1998 self-issued an EP, Safety. The following year, the group released the Brothers and Sisters EP on U.K. indie Fierce Panda, performed their first sessions for the BBC Radio 1 presenter Steve Lamacq, played Glastonbury, and signed to Parlophone in short order.

Fun Facts

• Martin and Buckland formed the band when they met at the University College London (also known as the UCL).
• They were originally called Pectoralz.
• In 1997, they renamed themselves Starfish.
• Champion had no previous experience with the drums when he joined the band, now named Coldplay.
• Tim Rice-Oxley of Keane was asked to be their keyboardist. He denied this position to work on his own band.
• Coldplay originally signed with independent label, Fierce Panda.
• They signed with Parlophone Records in 1999.
• They recorded their debut album Parachutes in four different studios.
• Their first single Shiver from Parachutes was 35th in the UK Top 40.
• Yellow, their signature track from Parachutes was 4th in the UK Top 40.
• Coldplay won Best British Group and Best British Album at the 2001 Brit Awards.
• The track The Scientist came from the second album, A Rush of Blood to the Head and was inspired by the George Harrison track, All Things Must Pass.
• The band covered The Pretenders track 2000 Miles and donated the proceeds to Future
• Forests and Stop Handgun Violence Campaigns.
• The album X & Y had six singles; Speed of Sound, Fix You, Talk, The Hardest Part, What If and White Shadows.
• Viva la Vida, the self-titled track from the album Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends, was number 1 on the Billboard UK Download Chart.
• Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends had Hispanic influences.
• Mylo Xyloto was described was being an album about addiction, escape, love, OCD and working for someone you do not like.
• Paradise was their best-selling rock single it sold over 410,000 copies.
• The band have sold over 55 million records worldwide.

Click on ALBUMS to see more information about ColdPlay