Coldplay

History
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 ofLondon. 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 pianoas 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 untilhe joined Coldplay. He favored playing guitar, bass, and the tin whistle, but caught on to playing percussion when the band became official.

Coldplay was heart-rending like Travis, passionate like Jeff Buckley, and as fresh as Oasis when they first burst onto the scene, so it was ideal for the press and public to praise them. They played their first gig at a festival for unsigned bands inManchester, and 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. Their 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 popfoursome were hailed as the next Travis thanks to their simplistic acoustics and charming personas. Two more EPs, Shiver and Yellow, arrived in spring 2000.

The band has enjoyed both commercial and critical success relatively early in their existence through their first full-length album, Parachutes, and the single 'Yellow'. Along with the acclaim, Parachutes was sometimes criticised forbearing a strong resemblance to the music of Radiohead in their The Bends - OK Computer era. The band's second full-length album, A Rush of Blood to the Head, was generally considered to be musically and lyrically more mature and sophisticated, and less obviously the product of one particular influence.

Parachutes was nominated for the Mercury Music Prize in 2000 and won the Best Alternative MusicPerformance award in the 2001/44th Annual Grammy Awards. Coldplay's second album 'A Rush Of Blood To The Head' won two Grammys in 2002. In July 2003 they recorded a live DVD and CD, 'Live 2003', at Sydney's Hordern Pavilion. Coldplay has a huge fan base, particularly in Europe and in the U.S.

Coldplay spent most of 2004 out of the spotlight, taking a break from touring and releasing a satiremusic video of a song from a fictional band titled The Nappies while recording their third album.X&Y was released in June 2005 in UK and Europe. This new, delayed release date had put the album back into the next fiscal year, actually causing EMI's stock to drop. It became the best-selling album of 2005 with worldwide sales of 8.3 million. The lead single, "Speed of Sound", made its radio and onlinemusic store debut on 18 April and was released as a CD on 23 May 2005. The album jettisoned onto its original chart entry at the number one position in 20 countries worldwide, and was the third-fastest selling album in UK chart history. Two other singles were released that year: "Fix You" in September and "Talk" in December. Critical reaction to X&Y was mixed, though less enthusiastic than that...