Coldplay Biography

Coldplay is an English rock band from London. Memeber of Coldplay are: vocalist and pianist Chris Martin, guitarist Jonny Buckland, bassist Guy Berryman and drummer Will Champion.

Having released three successful albums (all of which debuted at number one on the UK album chart), Coldplay have also achieved great success with their singles, such as "Yellow", "Speed of Sound" and the Grammy-winning "Clocks" (although, perhaps surprisingly, they have yet to achieve a UK number-one single).

Coldplay's early material was often compared to Jeff Buckley Radiohead, U2 and Travis. Since the release of the band's debut album, Parachutes (2000), Coldplay has drawn influences from Echo and the Bunnymen and George Harrison on A Rush of Blood to the Head (2002) and Johnny Cash and Kraftwerk for X&Y (2005), the band's latest release.

Biography:

Coldplay never intended to become England's favorite rock & roll sons when their signature rock melodies ruled the charts throughout 2000.

The Brit-rock quartet — composed of Chris Martin (vocals/piano), Jon Buckland (guitar), Will Champion (drums), and Guy Berryman (bass) — yearned to mess around a bit, plucking their own acoustics for fun while attending the University College of London. All had been playing instruments since their early teens and had been influenced by the likes of Bob Dylan, the Stone Roses, Neil Young, and My Bloody Valentine.

They never imagined taking reign of the U.K.'s ever-changing rock scene. Each member had come from solid households of working-class parents that encouraged music to be played. Martin, the eldest of five, began playing the piano as a young child. He started playing in bands around age 15 and sought solace in the words of Tom Waits.

Buckland, on the other hand, was into the heavy guitar work of Eric Clapton and Jimi Hendrix and was playing guitar by age 11.

Scotland native Berryman was into funk instead of indie rock, therefore leaving him to play bass. The multi-instrumentalist, Champion, didn't plan to be a drummer until he joined Coldplay. He favored playing guitar, bass, and the tin whistle, but caught on to playing percussion when the band became official.

Coldplay has heart-rending elements like Travis, passionate vibes like Jeff Buckley, and was fresh as Oasis when they first burst onto the scene.

Coldplay played their first gig at a festival for unsigned bands in Manchester. The Safety EP was issued shortly thereafter. The Brothers and Sisters EP was issued by Fierce Panda and released a year later. Both releases saw only 500 pressings.

Coldplay's sweet melodies and swooning lyrics landed Coldplay a U.K. deal with Parlophone in April 1999, and the limited-edition five-track. The Blue Room EP, followed that fall. With endearing nods from the media, the dream pop foursome were hailed as the next Travis thanks to their simplistic acoustics and charming personas. Two more EPs, Shiver and Yellow, arrived in spring 2000.

Artist Discography

Albums

A Rush of Blood to the Head (2002)
Parachutes (2000-07-10)
X&Y (2005-06-06)

EPs

Brothers & Sisters EP (1999-04)
Clocks (2003)
Clocks: 11-05-2002: Ahoy, Rotterdam (2002)
Clocks Remixes
Safety EP (1998-05-18)
The Blue Room EP (1999-10-25)
Trouble: Norwegian Live EP: Rockefeller Music Hall, Oslo (2001)

Singles

Clocks (2003-03-24)
Don"t Panic
Fix You (2005-09-05)
God Put a Smile Upon Your Face
In My Place (2002)
Shiver (2000)
Speed of Sound (2