Coldplay is an English rock band formed in London in 1996. The band's members are vocalist/pianist Chris Martin, guitarist Jonny Buckland, bass player Guy Berryman and drummer Will Champion. Coldplay became famous around the world with their 2000 song "Yellow". Their first album, "Parachutes", was very successful and was nominated for the Mercury Prize. Coldplay were nominated for this award again in 2003 and 2005. Coldplay is one of the most successful bands of the 21st century, selling over 90 million records worldwide. The band is also known for hit singles, including "Speed of Sound" and the 2 Grammy Award-winning songs, "Clocks" and their 2008 single "Viva la Vida" (Song of the Year for 2008).
Coldplay, is an English alternative rock band, formed in London in 1996-1997. Chris Martin, and Jonny Buckland, were looking forward to form a band while at University College London. After forming Pectoralz, Guy Berryman joined the group as the bass guitarist and they changed their name to Starfish. Will Champion joined as a drummer and backing vocalist who plays various instruments, making the band's lineup complete. Phil Harvey was the group's manager from 1998 to 2001. The band finally changed their name to "Coldplay" in 1998. Tim Rice-Oxley was to be added to the lineup, but he refused as he was already a member of Keane. The band later recorded and released three EPs; "Safety" in 1998, "Brothers & Sisters" as a single in 1999 and "The Blue Room" in the same year. The Blue Room was their first release on a major record label, after signing to Parlophone.
Coldplay's early material was compared to acts such as Radiohead, Jeff Buckley, U2, and Travis. They had achieved worldwide fame with the release of the single "Yellow" in 2000, followed by their debut album <nowiki>"</nowiki>Parachutes<nowiki>"</nowiki> released in the same year, which was nominated for the Mercury Prize. The band's second album, "A Rush of Blood to the Head" (2002), won multiple awards, including "NME"<nowiki>'</nowiki>s Album of the Year. Their next release, "X&Y", received a slightly less enthusiastic yet still generally positive reception upon its release in 2005. The band's fourth studio album, "Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends" (2008), was produced by Brian Eno and released again to largely favourable reviews, earning several Grammy nominations and wins.
Since the release of "Parachutes", Coldplay have drawn influence from other sources, including Echo & the Bunnymen, Kate Bush, George Harrison and Muse on "A Rush of Blood to the Head", Johnny Cash and Kraftwerk for "X&Y" and Blur, Arcade Fire and My Bloody Valentine on "Viva la Vida". Coldplay have been an active supporter of various social and political causes, such as Oxfam's Make Trade Fair campaign and Amnesty International. The group have also performed at various charity projects, such as Band Aid 20, Live 8, Sound Relief, , and the Teenage Cancer Trust.
Chris Martin and Jonny Buckland first met during their orientation week at University College London (UCL) in September 1996. The pair spent the rest of the college year planning a band, ultimately forming a group called Pectoralz. Guy Berryman, a classmate of Martin and Buckland, later joined the group. By 1997, the group, who had renamed themselves Starfish, performed gigs for local Camden promoters at small clubs. Martin also had recruited his longtime school friend Phil Harvey, who was studying classics at Oxford, to be the band's manager. Coldplay have since accepted Harvey as the fifth member of the group. The band's lineup was completed when Will Champion joined to take up percussion duties. Champion had grown up playing piano, guitar, bass, and tin whistle; he quickly learned the drums, despite having no previous experience. The band finally settled on the name "Coldplay" which was suggested by Tim Crompton, a local student who had been using the name for his group. By 1997, Martin had also met then Classics student Tim Rice-Oxley. During a weekend on Virginia Water, they asked each other to play off their own songs on the piano. Martin, finding Rice-Oxley to be talented, asked him to be Coldplay's keyboard player but Rice-Oxley refused as his own band, Keane, was already operational. Days after, this event would shape the second line-up of Keane and keep Coldplay's unaltered, thus leaving both bands as quartets.
In 1998, the band released 500 copies of the "Safety EP." Most of the discs were given to record companies and friends; only 50 copies remained for sale to the public. In December of that year, Coldplay signed to the independent label Fierce Panda. Their first release was the three-track "Brothers and Sisters EP", which they had quickly recorded over four days in February 1999.
After completing their final examinations, Coldplay signed to Parlophone for a five-album contract in the spring of 1999. After making their first appearance at Glastonbury, the band went into studio to record a third EP titled "The Blue Room". Five thousand copies were made available to the public in October, and the single "Bigger Stronger", received BBC Radio 1 airplay. The recording sessions for "The Blue Room" were tumultuous. Martin kicked Champion out of the band but later pleaded with him to return, and because of his guilt, went on a drinking binge. Eventually, the band worked out their differences and put in place a new set of rules to keep the group intact. Inspired by bands such as U2 and R.E.M., Coldplay decided that they would operate as democracy, and that profits would be shared equally. Additionally, the band determined they would fire anyone who used hard drugs.
At first, the band planned to record their debut album in the space of two weeks. However, tours and other live performances caused the recording to spread out between September 1999 and April–May 2000. In March 1999, Coldplay began work on their debut album, recorded at Rockfield Studios, Matrix Studios, and Wessex Sound Studios with producer Ken Nelson, although the majority of Parachutes' tracks were recorded at Liverpool's Parr Street Studios. The band worked in three studio rooms at Parr Street, and tracked much of the album in one of these rooms—the project studio which Nelson describes as "basically a demo room". The album was mixed by American engineer Michael Brauer in New York. Coldplay's record label had originally intended to use a mixing engineer for the tracks they picked as singles, but eventually hired Brauer to work on all songs for the album. During that period, they played on the Carling Tour, which showcased up-and-coming acts.
After releasing three EPs without a hit song, Coldplay charted into the Top 40 with the lead single from "Parachutes", "Shiver". Released in March 2000, it reached number 35 on the UK Singles Chart. June 2000 was a pivotal moment in Coldplay's history: the band embarked on their first headlining tour, including a showing at the Glastonbury Festival. The band also released the breakthrough single "Yellow". The song shot to number four on the UK Singles Chart and placed Coldplay in public consciousness. "Yellow" and "Shiver" were initially released as EPs in the spring of 2000. The former was later released as a single in UK on 26 June 2000. In the United States, the song was released as the lead single off the then-untitled debut album. In October 2000, the track was sent to US college and alternative radio outlets.