Chris Martin and Jonny Buckland met at University College London in 1996 and spent a large part of their first year planning to form a band. They recruited Guy Berryman to play bass guitar and the line-up was completed with Will Champion on drums. They were initially signed by indie label Fierce Panda, but they soon caught the attention of Parlophone who signed them in 1999. Their breakthrough single 'Yellow' followed in 2000 and they became one of the most popular bands in the world with debut album 'Parachutes' (2000) reaching the number one spot in the UK and winning a barrage of awards, including a Grammy for Best British Album. They followed this up with 'A Rush of Blood to the Head' (2002) which had similar success, with the singles 'Clocks' and 'The Scientist' both making the top ten. After the band had taken most of 2004 away from the spotlight, they came back with 'X&Y' (2005) which proved to be another chart-topping, award-winning record for the band. They began work on their fourth album after touring Latin America in 2007 and revealed that 'Viva La Vida Or Death and All His Friends' (2008) would be largely influenced by their travels. They joined forces with producer Brian Eno and set about making their next number one record. It became the world's best-selling album of 2008 and one of the fastest-selling of all time. Despite allegations from Joe Satriani that Coldplay had plagiarised his song 'If I Could Fly' for 'Viva La Vida', after a private settlement was reached out of court, the single won the band Grammy Awards for Song of the Year and Best Pop Performance. 'Mylo Xyloto', a concept rock opera album, was released as their fifth record in 2011 and went to number one in the UK, US and 17 other countries. The single 'Paradise' scored them another number one and a Grammy nomination. Announcing a three-year break from touring, the band started working on new material resulting in the 2014 release 'Ghost Stories'. The record won the accolade of Best Rock Album at the 2015 Billboard Music Awards and they released 'A Head Full of Dreams' shortly after, to be their seventh studio album. Another number one album for the band, it features guest performances from actress and Martin's former wife Gwyneth Paltrow, Noel Gallagher, Beyoncé and American President Barack Obama. In 2017 they released a collaborative single with The Chainsmokers titled 'Something Just Like This'. Shortly after they announced that an EP with the title 'Kaleidoscope' was released featuring brand new track 'Hypnotised' along with a live version of 'Something Just Like This'. 'Life Is Beautiful' was released in support of the earthquake in Mexico on 18th September 2017 and they also performed at the benefit concert for the victims of the disaster. EP 'Golden Citizen' was released in 2018 featuring 'E-Lo', a collaboration with Pharrell Williams.2019 saw the release of singles 'Orphans', 'Arabesque' and 'Everyday Life', featuring on Coldplay's eighth record, double album 'Everyday Life', comprising of two parts named 'Sunrise' and 'Sunset'. The band used an unusual marketing tactic by listing the album in the classifieds section of newspapers such as the Express and Echo newspaper in Exeter - Martin's own hometown - and in the Daily Post in north Wales. Shortly after the record's release, they announced that they would not tour the album, choosing instead to try to reduce their carbon footprint.
Artist biography compiled by BDS/West 10. All rights reserved
