Articles

The Guardian newspaper was the first media source to review last night's Coldplay Crisis gig at the Royal Court Theatre in Liverpool last night - and it appears it went down well with them, who once famously labelled Coldplay with having the prize for the silliest wardrobe in mainstream rock. Here is their review...   "If anyone's here for the pantomime I'm afraid you're gonna have a shit evening," quips Chris Martin, kicking off the first of two gigs for homeless charity Crisis, in "intimate" v

One of the most open and intriguing LP5 articles has emerged this morning, courtesy of BBC. They have been speaking to the band about the recent recording sessions, and according to BBC it has taken Coldplay four albums and 10 years to get around to it, but the band have confirmed they are finally on the verge of releasing their "concept" album. Read the full article below, and more discussion and a new poll is at the Coldplay forum here now [thanks IneedYou23]   The as-yet-untitled record is be

Director of Coldplay's Christmas Lights video, Mat Whitecross, has been speaking to website PromoNews.tv about working on the set on the South Bank of the Thames. He talked about the ideas involved, and the different incarnations the filming could have taken before they decided on a waterside location with a boat full of Coldplayers... [thanks mimixxx]   "Every Coldplay shoot involves a leap of faith," explains Whitecross. "The band are always intuitive and overflowing with great ideas. My job i

The transcript of a recent interview with Brian Eno conducted by a German radio station has been issued by his press people. The interview refers to the making of Eno’s new album, Small Craft On A Milk Sea, his decision to sign with Warp Records, and his ongoing interest in minimalism, and more interestingly, some new information that came to light about Coldplay's recording sessions during the Viva era, including the first introduction of Jon Hopkins to the Bakery recording process.   We're not

Coldplay are looking after their studio engineer and making him eat breakfast with them, as he doesn't allow himself time to take a break during the day, reports ContactMusic this morning, in an article that follows on from Roadie #42's latest blog last week. Bit harsh, ContactMusic?!   The article continues by saying - the band have become concerned about the state of Rik Simpson - who is manning music composition program Pro Tools at the Beehive studio where the band is preparing their fifth a

If we take out of the equation some of the pretty droll and one sided articles written by The Telegraph and MTV for example, about Chris Martin's surprise performance at the Apple Keynote convention on Wednesday, there are actually some interesting reads about the use of technology and the link to the music industry. Following the convention it appears that Coldplay's Ping social network account has gone viral, and there is this article by the Irish Times, who suggest that EMI Music chiefs might

MTV got the wrong end of the stick today by suggesting that Coldplay's new song was a subconscious way of telling the media of the current state of Chris Martin's marriage to Gwyneth Paltrow. In their online article, they suggested that it points to an "imminent split" and that Chris is "goofing on the press". Wedding Bells was first heard live on the South Bank Show last September and the couple are still together. One could argue that the article is just another cheap shot at an easy target. R

Music group EMI have slashed annual losses by two-thirds but said it needs millions more to stay out of the hands of lenders. Pre-tax losses at the group, whose artists include Coldplay and Katy Perry, fell 64% to £624m in the year to March 31. EMI wrote off £602m, although revenues rose 5% to £1.65bn after successes like the remastered Beatles catalogue.   Terra Firma, the private equity who bought EMI for £4.2bn in 2007, was forced to raise £105m earlier this year to meet covenant tests. EMI'

More fan reviews of Coldplay roadie Matt McGinn's new book are now available online as Coldplayers finish reading their copies. The very latest discussion on the book release is at the Coldplay forum now. Thanks to everyone who has read and reviewed the book. If you want to be in with a chance of your review appearing on the main page all you have to do is write a fairly sizeable review and post it in that thread. Here are the most recent reviews...   I had a reading marathon last night. I wasn'

As part of Coldplaying's countdown to the 10th anniversary of Coldplay's debut album, Parachutes, we look back on the reviews of the album, courtesy of NME, at a time when the music magazine used to like Coldplay, of course...   Forget trashing rooms and rent-a-quotes, just listen. It's all a question of what you want from your rock stars. The criticism most often levelled at Coldplay (certainly round these parts) is that they will never be the saviours of rock'n'roll. They will never cause fron

As part of the countdown to the 10th anniversary of Coldplay's debut album, Parachutes, Coldplaying looks back on the recording process, courtesy of producer Ken Nelson...   Ken Nelson favours the old school of recording, based around clean signal paths, live playing and analogue tape — but that hasn't stopped him working with some of the hottest new bands in Britain. Among them are Coldplay, whose debut Parachutes album crashed straight into the charts at number one. "I like bands who can play

A new review of Coldplay roadie Matt McGinn's book has been found online. The very latest discussion on the book release is at the Coldplay forum now. Here is the most recent review, courtesy of Express Nightout below...   There's something impressive about a band that's so big even its roadie can publish a book. That band is Coldplay, and the group's roadie (and guitar tech) Matt McGinn spills tons of tales from tour in "Roadie: My Life on the Road With Coldplay" (Anova Books).   The book is an

Viva la Vida collaborator Jon Hopkins was exclusively interviewed by Coldplayzone.it this week, in which he answers questions on working with Coldplay on their last album 'Viva La Vida Or Death And All His Friends'. The musician talks also about coming back to the studio, and his recent collaborations. You can discuss this latest interview here at the Coldplay forum [thanks coldpatrix]   Hello Jon! It's a real honour and a great pleasure for Coldplayzone to interview you. How are you? Hello. Tha

EMI has won a year's breathing space in its fight to avoid being taken over by its lender Citigroup after the music group received a £105m bail-out from Terra Firma, its private equity owner, according to the Financial Times today.   Guy Hands, chairman of Terra Firma, this week won the approval of 80 per cent of his investors to inject more of their money into EMI. Mr Hands bought EMI for £4.2bn in a deal that has become the poster child for the excesses of the buy-out bubble . "This is an exce

Classically trained musician Jon Hopkins is proof a modern composer can be esoteric and widely appealing at the same time.   A former child prodigy on piano, his first two releases were introspective, subtle and dreamlike, but over the last few years those qualities have been augmented by a deeper rhythmic expression. Hopkins attention to detailed, cinematic sonics caught the attention of Brian Eno, who introduced him to Coldplay when Eno produced 'Viva La Vida' two years ago. That led to a tou

In an extraordinary article in the Times Online this week, Coldplay's Will Champion has been giving an insight into the pressures exerted on the band by EMI during the X&Y era. You can discuss this article at the Coldplay forum here onwards. The rest of the article is an interesting read as well...   Read enough reports about EMI's current tribulations and it’s all too easy to imagine that EMI’s problems began when Hands took over. But the recorded-music industry has been suffering for years

When a village side faced closure, they asked some famous locals for help. Simon Turnbull (Independent) talks about an unlikely alliance of rock and cricket...   The sun was not the only one with its hat on in the village known as "the Venice of the Cotswolds". By the gentle slopes of the River Windrush, a group of men with peacock-feathered head gear, blacked-up faces and red and green ribboned clothing were dancing up and down, banging their sticks and whooping.   It was, it transpired, Morri

Following yesterday's release of the 'Slashed' footage, Tim Wheeler tells Coldplay.com about their appearance in Ash's discarded film, which instead makes up the Alternative video to their new single. Here's the official interview:   Good afternoon. A few years ago, Chris and Jonny were persuaded to star in Slashed, a horror movie made on the road by Northern Irish band Ash. The film never saw the light of day and has since become the stuff of legend. But now, Ash have decided to use some of the

The first full fan reviews of Coldplay roadie Matt McGinn's forthcoming book are now available online as Coldplayers begin receiving their copies. The very latest discussion on the book release is at the Coldplay forum now. Here are the most recent reviews...   To say I was excited about reading this book would be an understatement, like any dedicated fan I love discovering little details about the inner workings of the band, whether it’s from an interview, backstage photos, a blog, or in this c

Guy Hands’s Terra Firma Capital Partners Ltd. is telling investors they could earn a rate of return of as much as 58 percent if they provide cash needed to keep lenders from seizing control of EMI Group Ltd, Business Week are reporting today. More discussion on this is at the Coldplay forum here onwards.   The projection includes any recovery of the original equity, which would probably be worthless without the new investment, according to a presentation Terra Firma sent its clients April 27. Th

In our new poll, we're asking you to decide who or what will have the biggest influence on Coldplay's fifth album. You can vote for your choice at the poll on the left of the page. Based on previous interviews with the band and news articles on LP5, the shortlist is below. You can also comment on the poll at the Coldplay forum, and we will synch the frontpage/forum poll results later in the month. The best comments will be published with results soon...   Roadie #42 on the solar system: Frontman

The first full reviews of Coldplay roadie Matt McGinn's forthcoming book are now available online. Many thanks to the publishers for allowing Coldplaying to review the full book ahead of its release next month. Here is the review from Coldplaying's admin, Jenjie :   As a Coldplay fan and an avid reader who'll try most genres, there was always a strong chance I was going to like 'Roadie'. Having said that, I have also read some pretty dreary autobiographies, which had promised to be interesting,

He may look like just any other music-loving old hippy, but Guy Hands appears increasingly out of tune with EMI, for which he paid an astronomical £4.2 billion in August 2007, according to the Sunday Mail today.   Hands has already admitted that the company is now worth only about half that sum, making it one of the most disastrous private equity takeovers. He is, of course, trying to sue his backer on the deal, Citi, to save face on this foray. But it is his spectacular failure to achieve any o

Simon Williams is the founder of Fierce Panda records, the much-loved UK independent label which released Coldplay's Brothers & Sisters EP in April 1999. Coldplay.com called him up to chat about his memories of working with Coldplay. This interview comes a couple of days after it was announced on the official site that Coldplay's former label will release Goldheart Assembly's debut album.   Back in 1999, Coldplay released the Brothers & Sisters EP, via UK independent label Fierce Panda.

Rio De Janeiro: Coldplay bassist Guy Berryman spoke with Brazilian music website, Terra, in the latest of Coldplay's Latin American interviews of 2010. Below is the roughly translated article of the Brazilian article found online. Guy confirms that Coldplay are hoping for a December release to their 'acoustic' fifth album, but if it doesn't appear by the end of the year then it won't be the first time a deadline has been extended. More discussion on this latest article is at the Coldplay forum n