Fans that are familiar with Catherine Wheel, Radiohead, The House of Love, The Smiths, and The Chameleons UK may recognize these influences in Coldplay’s music. So-called England's favorite sons of rock & roll, the band is often compared with Travis and U2.
Featuring an alternative piano-rock proposal, Coldplay was formed in 1996 in London by Chris Martin (vocals & piano), Jon Buckland (guitar), Guy Berryman (bass), and Will Champion (drums). The band originally played for fun while attending the University College of London following the beat of their early influences; Neil Young, Bob Dylan, Eric Clapton, Tom Waits, and My Bloody Valentine.
Members' background reveals ordinary guys raised in solid working class households that probably increased their score to be considered an example to follow by the Londoner youth.
When the band decided to take their music seriously, success did not wait. Coldplay's debut album, "Parachutes" was released in 2000 and sold 8.5 million copies worldwide after it went number 1 on the British and Norwegian charts.
Coldplay's following album, "A Rush of Blood to the Head", sold over 12 million copies around the world after it was released in 2002, repeating number one chart's position in Great Britain. Commercial success of their recordings led the band to engage with supportive social and political causes that raised their profile.
Although, Coldplay's following production "X&Y", an album released in 2005, only sold 10 million copies, the band peaked number one in the UK, USA, Norway, Denmark, Sweden, Austria, France, Italy, and Australia at the same time.
Coldplay is also renowned for supporting the Amnesty International campaign. British vocalist Chris Martin severely criticized the 2003 invasion of Iraq and endorsed American Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry in 2004 on behalf of his US Citizen wife Gwyneth Paltrow.
The band has also been engaged with several charity projects including Band-Aid 20, the Teenage Cancer Trust, and Live 8. Incidentally, the band has also renounced multi-million dollar contracts to get their songs and image associated to products such as Gatorade or Diet Coke.
Actually, Coldplay is working with legendary producer Brian Eno and Timbaland on their fourth album, scheduled for release in 2008.
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