Coldplay Paper..

Though flash-in-the-pan bands mark today’s music industry, one band remains an eclectic constant. Coldplay is considered one of the most popular bands today. They are known for their alternative rock English style of music. Lead singer, Chris Martin, considers them to be “not the heaviest of rock bands,” but more of a “limestone rock band.”

According to All That is Cold Play, in September of 1996, Chris Martin and Johnny Buckland met during orientation week at University College London. Durint their freshman year, the two banded together and started a band called Pectoralz. Guy Berryman soon joined the group, becoming the third member. The name Pectoralz was soon changed to Starfish. The trio took part in a few shows until Will Champion came into the picture. According to Coldplaying.com, Champion originally played piano, guitar, bass, and tin whistle, but he quickly learned how to play drums for the band. The group played a few gigs, until they finally decided on the name: Coldplay. The complete band consisted of Martin: lead singer, piano, and guitar player, Buckland: lead guitar, Berryman: bass, and Champion: percussion.

The band began writing songs instantly. Safety EP was their first release, but they only had 50 copies to sell to the public. In the spring of 1999, the band signed a five-album contract to Parlophone. Coldplay’s debut album, Parachutes, was released in July of 2000 in the UK, including the hit singles: “Yellow,” “Shiver,” and “Trouble.” The album had a unique acoustic style. During this time, they went on their first headlining tour. The next album that Coldplay released, A Rush of Blood to the Head, in August of 2002, also produced many successful singles. These consisted of: “Clocks,” “In My Place,” and “The Scientist.” During their A Rush of Blood to the Head Tour, they travelled throughout 5 continents. The following album that was released by the band was X & Y. This album was a little less popular than the previous albums, but it did have various popular tracks. Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends was the most recent album that Coldplay unveiled. This was more upbeat than the others, including “Viva la Vida,” “Violet Hill,” “Life in Technicolor II,” and many other popular songs. They went on their Viva la Vida Tour in June of 2009, and toured throughout Europe and the United States.

Coldplay is known for their energetic concerts. They rely on enthusiasm more than actual ability. “Whatever you do, do enthusiastically, and people will like it more,” says Martin. This has been made very clear in each of their concerts. Martin is always jumping around and dancing as he sings, along with the rest of the group as they wholeheartedly play their instruments. This demonstrates that the band tries it’s hardest to get everyone to enjoy what Coldplay is doing for them. Throughout the concert, there are many different light/laser shows. During several songs, items, such as confetti butterflies and giant balls stream through the crowd.

Many famous bands have inspired Coldplay. According to contactmusic, the band a-ha, was a favorite of Martin growing up. A Scottish band, Travis, was claimed to be a big influence to Coldplay in their earlier years. As said by Rolling Stone, Martin considered Coldplay to be “incredibly good plagiarists” by taking someone else’s song, and redoing it in a completely different way. The songs that they “redo” are mostly just inspirational to them. U2 and Radiohead have also been important influences. U2 and Coldplay both had similar styles of music, and possessed a love of concern for charity.

Coldplay is involved in numerous charity organizations. Martin is a strong advocate for Oxam’s Make Trade Fair campaign. This is an association established to create fair trade and justice amongst governments. During concerts, he will usually write different variations of Make Trade Fair and an equal sign on his hand to promote this. Coldplay has also been known to donate 10 percent of all of their earnings to charity. Amnesty International is a charity supported by the band as well. This is an organization that was created in London to end mistreatment of human rights and order justice for any person whose rights have been violated.

One thing that makes Coldplay as a band unique is that they are timeless. They are not a band that is streaming colorless words and profanities together; instead, their songs tell stories and speak to people’s souls. Most people can relate to at least one song written by them. From love to politics, Coldplay says it all.

Unlike many other rock bands in the past, Coldplay has never split up. There has only been one time when a member was removed from the band. The article written by Fuse.tv mentions that Martin and Champion did not get along preceding the release of Parachutes. Martin kicked Champion out, only to beg him to return. Champion concurred, as long as Coldplay would run as a democracy. The rest of the band agreed, and made a list of rules, including a pact with one another to never do hard drugs, or they would be kicked out of the band. Many rock bands in the past have been highly influenced by drugs. Coldplay is different from this, showing that they have higher values.

Overall, Coldplay possesses a well-deserved popularity. The band is very hard working and talented, as it easily shines through them in an album or concert. They have good morals and do a large amount of charity work. They are unique in very many ways. Through their high standards and dedication to charity work, Coldplay has remained the epitome of rock bands. This group will be remembered for many years to come.

Works Cited

Scaggs, Austin. “Coldplay’s Quiet Storm.” Rolling Stone 25 Aug. 2005: 40-46. Print.

Jollett, Michael. “Planet Coldplay.” Filter Summer 2005: 54-63. Print.

“Timeline.” coldplay.com. Coldplay. Web. 3 Dec. 2009.

“Origin and Early Years (September 1996 – October 1999). Coldplaying.com. Web. 3 Dec. 2009.

“Coldplay’s Slow Burning Success.” News.BBC.co.uk. BBC News, 5 May 2005. Web. 4 Dec. 2009.

Ali, Mehreen F. “All That is Cold Play.” dawn.com. Dawn the Internet Edition, 26 Nov. 2005. Web. 4 Dec. 2009.

J, Regan. “Coldplay.” fuse.tv. Fuse. 13 Aug. 2008. Web. 6 Dec. 2009.

“Coldplay - Martin: I’m a Fan of A-Ha.” contactmusic.com. Contactmusic.com, 20 April 2005. Web. 7 Dec. 2009.