Coldplay are definitely back. Their first single off their impending sixth studio album ‘Magic’ made it into the UK Top 10 and ‘Sky Full of Stars’, produced by Swedish DJ Avicii is set to be just as successful. So first, let’s take a look at their illustrious career…
8 Brit Awards
7 Grammy Awards
More than 70 million records sold worldwide
1996
Chris Martin and lead guitarist John Buckland met at UCL during their orientation week.
1998
The band went through names such as Pectoralz and Starfish before they reached Coldplay in 1998 when Guy Berryman and Will Champion (known as the musical director) joined.
2000
They gained worldwide fame in 2000 with the release of their single ‘Yellow’ and their debut album ‘Parachutes’ followed soon after.
2002 – 2008
After that, a series of albums followed to much critical acclaim including ‘Rush of Blood to the Head’ and ‘Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends’. Meanwhile Chris Martin and Gwyneth Paltrow began dating, for whom he wrote ‘Fix You’. N’awwww.
2011
After the release of their fifth album they had their Xylo Myloto tour where they reputedly spent £4.22 million(!) wristband for the audience which changed colour in time with the music.
2014
Fast forward three years and the band are onto their sixth album, ‘Ghost Stories’ which will be released on 19th May. Talking about the album to Zane Lowe on Radio 1, front man Chris Martin gave listeners an idea of what to expect from the record. He said the idea behind the album and its title is to be thankful for the struggles we all go through in life, whether it’s love, loss or illness and to try and look at them positively.
“What changed for me was – I don’t want to go through life being scared of it, being scared of love, being scared of rejection, being scared of failure.”- Chris Martin
This idea of opening yourself up to all life can throw is the theme of ‘Magic’, which could seem like a depressing song about love not working out but the last line: ‘and if you were to ask me, after all that we’ve been through, if I still believe in magic, yes I do, of course I do’ shows its all about being positive. This seems particularly relevant considering Chris Martin’s recent events in his personal life, where he and Oscar-winning actress Gwyneth Paltrow have ‘consciously uncoupled’ after 12 years together and 2 children, Apple and Moses.
He also revealed that his daughter Apple features in a couple of the tracks on the new album! Apparently she is completely unfazed by the idea of singing in a recording studio, and sees Jay Z as just a normal guy! It’s another world…
So it seems this next album is the one to watch (or listen to…) and let’s face it, seeing the good things in our struggles, however big or small, can never be a bad thing. So maybe this album is what we all need to be a bit more positive during this hard time of revision!
References
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coldplay
http://www.nme.com/photos/50-geeky-facts-you-didn-t-know-about-coldplay/…
http://tunegrape.wordpress.com/2011/05/05/coldplay-is-definitely-a-band-in-decline/
Edited by Caroline Chan