Introduction

Coldplay is a British music band that has enjoyed continuous success since their inception in 1996 through their intelligent and soulful songs. The band members are Chris Martin (lead vocals), Jonny Buckland (lead guitar), Guy Berryman (bass guitar) and Will Champion (drums). Coldplay have differentiated themselves from their contemporaries of bubblegum pop stars and aggressive rappers by steering clear of brand endorsements and promoting several causes like environment preservation and world poverty. Coldplay is nothing short of a musical sensation having sold millions of albums and collecting all manners of praises, awards and recognitions. They have won 7 Grammys, 3 World Music Awards, 4 Billboard Music Awards, 5 MTV Video Music Awards and 8 Brit Awards. Coldplay have sold 80 million copies of their albums globally. Coldplay is known in the media for giving 10 percent of the band's profits to charity. In December 2014, Spotify named Coldplay the most-streamed band in the world for 2014.

Band Members

1. Chris Martin – lead vocals, rhythm guitar, piano, acoustic guitar, keyboard

2. Jonny Buckland – lead guitar, backing vocals, acoustic guitar, keyboard, harmonica

3. Guy Berryman – bass guitar, backing vocals, keyboard, harmonica, percussion

4. Will Champion – drums, percussion, drum machine, backing vocals, piano, keyboard, bell, acoustic guitar.

Band History and Record

Chris Martin, Jonny Buckland, Guy Berryman and Will Champion met in their common dormitory at the University College of London. They became friends and formed a band together named Pectoralz. Later they renamed themselves to Starfish and finally they settled on the name Coldplay. Another band of their friends who later decided not to use it originally used the name ‘Coldplay’. A poetry book “Child’s Reflections, Coldplay”, inspired the name. All members of the band except Berryman, who dropped out, completed their university education. Their chief occupation at the university however was writing and recording songs. In an interview, the band front man Chris Martin revealed that he actually enrolled at the university to find band members more and less to educate himself in ancient history.

After adopting the name Coldplay in 1998, the group released three EP’s namely Safety (1998), Brothers & Sisters (1999) and The Blue Room (1999). The Blue Room was their first release by a major label, Parlophone. Their first full length album Parachutes (2000) was preceded by its lead single “Yellow” which resulted in international fame for the band and a nomination for the Mercury Prize. Coldplay’s’ second studio album A Rush Of Blood To The Head (2002) fortified their position on the global pop-rock scene as a band that was melodically sturdy. This album spawned a bunch of big hits like "In My Place", "The Scientist", "God Put a Smile upon Your Face" and "Clocks".

Coldplay’s third album X&Y (2005) opened at No.1 in 22 different countries. The album lived through tremendous success despite some criticism. It contained super hit tracks like "Speed of Sound", "Fix You", "Talk" and "The Hardest Part". Viva La Vida Or Death And All His Friends, released in 2008, had more experimental sounds that brought the band major critical acclaim. “Viva La Vida”, the album’s most successful song won Song Of the Year at the 2009 Grammy Awards. Their fifth and sixth albums Mylo Xyloto (2011) and Ghost Stories (2014) were as successful as their predecessors. Ghost Stories debuted at No. 1 across the world. "Magic" and "A Sky Full of Stars" were two of the most successful singles from the album. Their seventh studio album has been entitled A Head Full Of Dreams.