Singapore - Someone joked that it would have been a good night for cat burglars as most houses on the small island were probably empty - almost everyone had turned out for the sold-out Coldplay concert last week.

 

That, of course, was far from the truth because there are more than 15,000 people in Singapore, but even so, it felt like the entire island was on hand to welcome Coldplay back to Singapore.

 

Chris Martin, Jon Buckland, Guy Berryman and Will Champion were back to rock out as a part of the first MTV Centrestage, a new project from the music channel launched in order to host big name artists.

 

Coldplay's first visit to the city was back in 2001, when they shared the bill with Scottish soft rockers Travis, who were then arguably better known. But times have changed. In 2003, they performed before a sold-out crowd in Bangkok. And you thought they were big then? Think again. Coldplay are now one of the "biggest bands in the world". They have been elevated to the super A-List league reserved for bands with prominent status and respectable live reputations such as U2. Despite the downloading frenzy on the Internet, Coldplay are one of the few bands that manage to boast skyrocketing record sales, and their "Twisted Logic 2006 Tour" has sold out everywhere it has been.

 

Then again, it's no surprise they've joined the ranks of big boys. Martin's marriage to Hollywood star Gwyneth Paltrow in 2003 might have helped a little, some say. But most importantly, it is Coldplay's melancholy that has propelled them into the spotlight. For three albums straight, Coldplay haven't lost the magic that captured the world's attention. The tunes are grand and the melodies are epic, but never too hard to digest. A winning recipe, indeed.

 

You might find Coldplay a tad too clean, a bit too emotionally clingy or a little too straight-edged public-schoolboy-ish for your tastes, but you have to see their live show to really understand them. The sounds are fuller, more rockish. Even if you've never been a big fan - and the Singaporean concert probably wouldn't have turned you into one - you would have had to admit that the improved performance skills and stage presence of the band members were well worth seeing and waiting for. Every member of the band, especially Martin, was confident and comfortable. Just like expensive wine, Coldplay have aged very well.

 

Moreover, Coldplay didn't just slide on some guitars, bang a few drums, then leave town: They brought a real show to Singapore. The production costs must have been through the roof since the lighting techniques, effects and visual screens were expertly executed. Everything seemed to be timed right down to the second to achieve the most satisfying results.

 

The lighting was grand and never let up. Normally, it's tricky to manage the lighting, but Coldplay's engineers and designers should pat themselves on the back. They managed to showcase their extravagant creativity while directing the focus toward the band at the same time. The lights were warm and inviting, fitting the changing moods of each song.

 

The screens and video projectors were, at times, showing the band members, and they were presented in such a way that it kept you on your toes, as you realised that it didn't really matter how big the hall was since all these ingredients were there to make you feel Coldplay all at once. With enough hits - most every Coldplay song is a camera phone-waving anthem - to last for about three concerts, the former University College London students carefully paced the moods and rhythms throughout the entire show. They seemed to know what people wanted to hear and what they wanted to play.

 

Kicking-off the show with Square One, Coldplay followed with Politick, and surprisingly, brought out their first hit, Yellow, sooner than expected. They also covered the late Johnny Cash's Ring of Fire (co-written with his wife, June Carter-Cash) as a way to pay homage to the Man in Black (who didn't chase aliens for a living!).

 

The night ended with cheers, screams and applause when Coldplay finished their encore with In My Place and Fix You. Judging from their performance and the reaction of the crowd, it won't be long before dear old Gwynie becomes known as Mrs Coldplay, rather than the other way around. And honestly speaking, these four gentlemen deserve the mammoth recognition they are receiving.

 

'Outlook' catches up with Coldplay's drummer, Will Champion, in Singapore

 

You would have thought Coldplay frontman Chris Martin would be able to afford a decent pair of shoes now that he and his band have become such best-selling, high-grossing artists. But no. He chose to walk barefoot towards a group of journalists and record company executives who were to present Coldplay awards for selling over 60,000 copies of their latest outing, X&Y in each country including Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia.

 

Martin, Jon Buckland (guitar), Guy Berryman (bass) and Will Champion (drums), all decked out in black, appeared at ease with the shaded singer capturing most of the attention with his verbal niceties and air of friendliness. Other members were polite and obliging for what seemed to be a time waster. After the short ceremony was over, the four were separated for the conducting of group interviews.

 

Slightly bigger built than the rest of the band, Champion is the only one who doesn't possess a head full of curly hair. He comes off as equally nice and well mannered as Coldplay's overall public image. Champion has a kind of smile that calms strangers who might walk home with him in a dark alley - a kind of smile that says "harmless". Even when the subject veers to the heated matter of England's failure at the World Cup, Champion, a passionate footie fan, expresses his frustration in a polite way whereas regular Englishmen might swear.

 

"We were dreadful. We didn't play well enough. We have superstars, but they're not a good team. They don't work well together. They all play the same kind of game and they don't work as a team. And that's the problem we have," said the Southampton supporter.

 

As expected, some of the journalists tried to switch their pre-assigned interviews with other band members so as to interview Chris Martin instead - the journalistic instinct to secure face-to-face time with the lead singer, no doubt. But there's more to Coldplay than Chris Martin: It takes four to tango.

 

Champion acknowledged the fact that Martin was far more visible than the rest of the band, even though it has become obvious, especially since X&Y, that the band is placing greater emphasis on the fact that they are a group.

 

"The other three of us are not as well known as Chris, but that's very natural because he's the singer. We try to push the image of a band. For whatever reasons, people have come to associate Coldplay with just Chris, and we want to explain or push the fact that it's a band, you know. It's four people. I mean Chris is the figurehead because he's the singer, the songwriter. But we learned very, very early on that each part of the band is as important as the others. If you take one part away, the rest kind of collapses. We're under no illusion that one of us is more important than the others. If one's not there, it doesn't work," he said.

 

Given Champion's prim, gentlemanly manners, it becomes clear why Coldplay have been labelled and mocked as unlikely rock stars. Then again, it might have been this way since Martin, Buckland, Berryman and Champion started the band back in 1998 while studying at University College of London.

 

Their debut, 2000's Parachutes, with hits like Yellow and Trouble, earned worldwide attention and a Mercury Music Prize. The success was overwhelming, and no one expected Coldplay to repeat themselves with the follow-up, A Rush of Blood to the Head, which came out in 2002 - but they did, and from that point on, these unlikely rock stars just keep getting bigger.

 

Coldplay's, or Chris Martin's to be more exact, celebrity barometer got hoisted up a bit when the singer started dating Hollywood actress and Oscar-winner Gwyneth Paltrow, eventually married her in 2003. The couple now have two children, daughter Apple and son Moses, and live in London. Has Martin's celebrity status had any effect on the band?

 

"Not really, no. We don't really have to deal with anything. The only time we have to deal with it is when he gets so much attention that he gets upset because people are chasing after him or chasing after his wife, driving them off the road. That's when we have to deal with it, when we have to support him," he said.

 

The effort to take some of the load off Martin can be seen in the stronger, more visible band image. It pays off in a way that more people now understand that Coldplay isn't just Martin. Still, Champion said he doesn't feel much heat from the spotlight.

 

"I'm comfortable. It's still not a very bright spotlight, you know! I don't get recognised that often. If I'm at my own concert or someone else's concert, people might recognise me, because it's in the environment that people expect to see musicians. But if I walk around at the supermarket, doing my grocery shopping, they don't recognise me."

 

Coldplay have been using their high profile for good causes, joining the caring rock star brigade with the likes of Bob Geldof, Bono and Radiohead's Thom Yorke.

 

The members of Coldplay are passionate about their charitable works, as evident when the subject was brought up. Champion said that even though they might not be directly involved in the policy making process, by advertising the causes and getting the messages across, changes on an international scale might hopefully occur.

 

"I think we've made decisions to use our fame and position for a good cause rather than to make ourselves money. We can use our music to sell fizzy drinks or we can use it to promote a concept that would help people around the world, to make a difference."

 

Coldplay are staunch supporters of Make Trade Fair, with band members travelling to farms in Mexico, Ghana and Haiti to see the real living conditions of less unfortunate individuals.

 

"The basic idea behind the campaign is that there are many countries in the world that are economically crippled by international trading laws, basically implemented by large Western countries who are rich. Basically, the laws all work in favour of these countries. They refuse basic things that could be changed that would make an enormous difference to the people in these countries. People are really suffering. We've seen that aspect of it, so we can understand how important it is. It's a big issue that should be personal to everyone because it will make an enormous difference if these basic laws are changed," said Champion.

 

With all the buzz over the heightened state of fame, the hectic touring schedule and rumours that A Rush of Blood to the Head would be the last album from Coldplay, fans were left in a state of uncertainty. As it turns out, for good reason: Half of the songs on X&Y were scraped during the production process.

 

"We all knew that what we'd done wasn't good enough. We all accepted that we had to go back and redo it. We all came to the same decision as the same time. It wasn't like one of us was saying, 'I like this. I don't like that.' We agreed to do it again," said Champion.

 

The end result was 2005's X&Y, which went on to top last year's best-selling record list. Coldplay have been saying that they were strongly influenced by '70s electronic music from people like Kraftwerk and Brian Eno.

 

"Their approach to music wasn't just about melodies and songs. Their approach to sound was what we were interested in. We were really inspired by the way Brian Eno made things sound incredibly creative. We were interested in how they can make electronic music sound soulful," said Champion.

 

Tracks like Speed of Sound and Talk became instant favourites, but don't hold your breath for the same epicness and bruised emotions often located in Coldplay songs.

 

"I think we've had enough of it, and I think the world probably has had enough of it too. So we wanted to try to make something new. We've got to a point where we've been very successful, we've sold many records. We've made three records, which is more than we thought we would ever make. We're very lucky in that aspect. Now we feel like we've earned that freedom to do whatever we want. We've worked very hard for eight years. It's time to make a new sound. We want to try to make something that is not just another Coldplay record. I think we've taken that sound to its logical conclusion. It can't get any bigger. It can't get any more kind of grand," he said, adding that they will gather in their own newly-built London studio after a holiday.

 

What kind of sound can we expect?

 

"We can't be very specific at this moment because we don't know. We just know that we want to change. We want to have something that still has focus on great melodies, great songs and great lyrics, but present those songs in way that is completely new, sonically, in a way that you wouldn't expect Coldplay songs to sound, but it'll still be Coldplay because it will still have great melodies.

 

"I think we want to try to be like the Beatles, you know. Make something amazing. Make things that no one has ever heard before. Sometimes when we say we would like to be like the Beatles, people think it's kinda funny, but you have to aim to be the best, otherwise there is no point in doing it. I am not gonna sit and say, 'Well, I'd like to be the 8th or the 15th best band in the world.' We want to be the best, not necessarily most successful, but the best."

 

Who knows, these subdued rock stars might indeed be another Fab Four in the making.that more people now understand that Coldplay isn't just Martin. Still, Champion said he doesn't feel much heat from the spotlight.

 

Source: http://www.bangkokpost.com

Awesome! =)

 

Thanks for posting. :)

 

I think the rest of the band are quite lucky. They are part of a huge band, make more money than any of us could fathom...but they can go about their day to day lives like everyone else and not have to worry about people loosing their heads. Sounds like a good deal to me!

 

It's sad what he said about Chris and his family...running them off the road. Paparazzis love to do that. It's dangerous...they've already killed one person doing that...

more than one..

yah unfortunately, the paps can be super unfriendly and imposing.