12 Coldplay Months of 2013: September (in which we DID explode!)

[JillyBlue]

September 2013 (in which we DID explode….)

 

September found the Bakery and the Beehive in Camden uncharacteristically quiet as the members of Coldplay scattered, some for holidays and some for life-changing events. But among Coldplay fans life was far from peaceful! Around the globe, we were scouring the Web and waiting impatiently for the event we’d been anticipating since the release of Mylo Xyloto almost two years before – a new song from Coldplay.

 

The Release of Atlas

 

It was Coldplay’s first time writing and recording a song for a motion picture, which made the release doubly exciting. The announcement had been made weeks before that “Atlas,” written for the upcoming feature film “The Hunger Games: Catching Fire,” would come out in August. Unforeseen and unknown circumstances caused the release of the single to be delayed until September 6 (September 8 in the UK).

 

Fans began searching for a leak days ahead of time with no results, only some false alarms. Finally, even before dawn on September 6, Coldplayers found themselves at their keyboards, fingers itching to access the new release. Links began to appear on some torrent sites; causing so many Coldplayers to be stuck in download mode at 7:1% that many joked the name of LP6 should be “7:1.”

 

Coldplay helped by announcing the exact time “Atlas” would be available online (11 a.m. where I live!) around the world. As the hour came closer the excitement grew greater (as Joseki said, “Thriller and drama live on CPing!”).

 

Finally the moment came when we could all hear “Atlas” for the first time. Accompanying the song was a lyric video that featured stars cavorting through a sky filled with symbols from the film. In addition, Coldplay Atlas posted a tender video that reflected our reaction (later retweeted by Coldplay):

 

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bi7wqR52HDM]Atlas Project - YouTube[/ame]

 

Reviews of the new single were overwhelmingly positive from fans and the media alike. In a Coldplaying poll, 51.9% voted “Atlas” a solid 10. Reviewers used words like “stunning, uplifting, and utterly beautiful” to describe the song. The single charted in 16 countries, reaching the top ten in three.

 

Later in the year, “Atlas” would win and be nominated for several prestigious awards – some unprecedented for Coldplay. I’ll let the reviewers for the upcoming months tell the story of those honors.

 

Read the reviews of “Atlas” starting here: http://www.coldplaying.com/?p=18063

 

Martins on the Move

 

For several months the rumor had circulated that Chris Martin and his family were planning a move to the Los Angeles area of California. During September the move apparently happened as the Martins began to show up all around the L.A. area, often on their matching Vespa motor scooters, kids along for the (sometimes harrowing) ride:

 

 

Chris dutifully visited his local Department of Motor Vehicles to obtain his California driver’s license:

 

 

The Martins seemed to fit right in with the West Coast lifestyle, with Chris being spotted at a party after the Emmy awards with Jimmy Fallon and Barry Sobel:

 

 

Fans worried about the fate of LP6 with Chris relocating to the U.S., but were relieved as the singer was seen catching a flight back to London later in the month:

 

 

Is Guy or Isn’t He?

 

While Chris was settling into his new life in America, rumors began circulating that Guy Berryman had become engaged to his girlfriend, Dutch model Keisha Gerrits. Some in the know had spotted Miss Gerrits’s Facebook page where she apparently announced the engagement and posted a photo of the ring. The truth of the rumor was never fully substantiated, however, leaving Berryman fans to wonder if the bassist had really taken the plunge.

 

Guy did surface once in September as Hudson Hank released their Berryman-produced album “Daybreak.”

 

 

Other Band News

 

On September 11 fans celebrated Jonny Buckland’s birthday, many with various forms of cake (thanks, TraceOddity!).

 

 

Also in September Phil Harvey and his wife Yasmin welcomed a new baby into their family, their second child. Phil himself told this news to PrincessofChina during their encounter at the Bakery in October. You can read about that encounter and Phil’s news here: http://www.coldplaying.com/forum/showpost.php?p=5592669&postcount=2354 (Thanks, Ellen!)

 

Will Champion must have enjoyed a peaceful holiday as there were no sightings, encounters, or news from him during the month.

 

Bakery encounters would pick up again in October!

 

Twitter Activity

While most of the band kept a low profile during September, Anchorman kept Twitter busy! In addition to keeping us informed on the progress of “Atlas” in the charts and in iTunes listens, Anchorman reminisced about past shows and concerts, unveiled the new “Atlas” T-shirt available from the Coldplay Store, revealed information about their Twitter habits (all tweets get read though not all get a response; some unused accounts get unfollowed) and maintained a high level of downright chattiness with fans (even agreeing to help one fan with homework!).

 

 

As September drew to a close and we all queued up “Atlas” for another listen, fan anticipation started to heighten once more. Was LP6 any closer? Only time would tell…

[suzanafg]

Thanks a lot for the review, JillyBlue! Really liked your way of organising and writing up the review!

[Coeurli]

Awesome review :awesome: