It's written right there on the wall of the studio where Coldplay writes and records its hit songs under the title Band Rules: "6. Always keep the mystery. Not many interviews."
And it is rare for the multiple-Grammy nominated band to open up for the media, but front man Chris Martin bends the rules when he gives correspondent Steve Kroft a candid interview and lets 60 Minutes cameras into their private studio. The result is a unique look inside one of the world’s most popular musical acts that will be broadcast this Sunday, Feb. 8, at 7 p.m. ET/PT.
"I feel like I’ve shown you my underpants," Martin laughs, "This is private stuff," he tells Kroft, in the room where the band writes its hit songs.
Rule 6 went out the window for this interview. Martin reveals the secret to their success, a success that saw "Viva la Vida," the band's latest platinum album - its fourth in a row - sell seven million copies. "We rely more on enthusiasm than actual skill," says Martin. "Whatever you do, do it enthusiastically and people will like it more." People like it. Their world tour is completely sold out and "Viva la Vida" has garnered seven Grammy nominations, including best album, best song and best record.
"I can't dance like Usher. I can't sing like Beyonce. I can't write songs like Elton John, but we can do the best we can with what we've got," he tells Kroft.
In addition to concert footage and visits to the bands favorite pub and the apartment the band once lived in, the segment also includes brief interviews with band members Jonny Buckland, Will Champion and Guy Berryman - musicians who prefer to let Martin do the talking for Coldplay. So he does. He tells Kroft about the band's work habits, his feelings about being front man on stage and off, about him and his wife, Gwyneth Paltrow, being the target of the tabloids, and a plagiarism lawsuit brought against the band.
"One week you're divorced, the next your band's broken up," says Martin about the tabloid stories on him he says are not true. "It's terrible. I'm glad I'm not me," he says, echoing a Bob Dylan line. On the lawsuit, he says, "If you know it’s not true then you just have to say, 'I'm really sorry, but it isn't true.' The other alternative is give like a seven hour rant about why it isn't true and how it's just not possible…its best to say we would never do that," says Martin.
Watch the video at the CBS website here and discuss Coldplay on 60 Minutes in the dedicated thread in the Coldplay forum here
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