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Phil Harvey is a member of Coldplay, one of the most popular rock bands on the planet. He also is an aspiring psychologist and a volunteer for a small mental health charity in London. Phil talks exclusively to Psychminded's Adam James in an online interview published today:   Six years ago an application to do voluntary work dropped through the letterbox of Upbeat, a small community mental health project in Camden, London. But this request was different. It was from someone called Phil Harvey. A

With a pending lawsuit already filed by Joe Satriani and Yusuf (the artist formerly known as Cat Stevens) waiting anxiously on the sidelines to see how that court case fleshes out, it’s as if everyone’s laying claim to Coldplay’s infectious “Viva la Vida.” Satch thinks the song sounds litigiously similar to “If I Could Fly,” and Yusuf believes the band used his 1973 tune “Foreigner Suite” for inspiration.   Below are the views of the general populous to grace the Rolling Stone website with their

There are so many people claiming to have written Coldplay’s “Viva La Vida” at this point that it’s become somewhat of a joke and has probably ruined the chance of any one accuser getting a settlement, writes TwentyFourBit.   Meanwhile, Cat Stevens is waiting for the outcome of Satriani's lawsuit before taking legal action and the Creaky Boards, the Brooklyn-based indie band that first called out Coldplay, probably can’t even afford lawyers.   Coldplay have been somewhat quiet on the issue, but

You've probably heard by now that, as of yesterday, there are now four groups claiming Coldplay plagiarized them, the latest being Yusuf Islam, who says 'Viva La Vida' swipes part of his 1973 song 'Foreigner Suite.' Here is a new interview with Will Champion online today, courtesy of Hampton Roads (Virginia) ahead of Coldplay's show on May 20th at the Verizion Amphitheater in Virginia Beach...   Malcolm: So I read that there was yet another plagiarism accusation to come out yesterday. I read tha

At last, some satire has eventually emerged from the Cat Stevens plagiarism claim. The Huffington Post blogs are now claiming they wrote Viva La Vida. Here is their online article:   I would like to take the opportunity to claim that I wrote Coldplay's "Viva La Vida." In fact, I wrote "Viva La Vida" just about an hour ago after hearing the news that my pal Yusuf -- the artist formerly known as Cat Stevens -- feels that the undeniable Coldplay smash is too close for comfort to one section of his

Prince started it, but the concept of giving away recordings to concertgoers could become a much larger trend, writes Digital Music News. On Friday, Coldplay announced that it would be giving away an album to those attending its upcoming, summer tour.   The live disc, LeftRightLeftRightLeft, includes versions of 'Viva La Vida', 'Death And All His Friends' and seven others. "This album is a thank you to our fans – the people who give us a reason to do it and make it happen," Coldplay stated.   In

Jon Hopkins' (Coldplay's friend, collaborator and frequent support act) self-produced third album, Insides, is out today. Here's what Jon had to say on Coldplay as part of the press release:   I was introduced to Coldplay by Brian Eno at the beginning of 2007 - he asked me to come into their studio for a day to play some keyboards and jam with the band. It went great and we all got on really well, and I ended up being asked back for much of the recording of the album.   Then when Chris heard my

As previously reported, TIME magazine announced its annual list of the world's 100 most influential people. In that list is Glastonbury Festival organiser Michael Eavis. His inclusion is accompanied by a very nice piece written by our very own Chris Martin. Here is said article:   I went to boarding school a short hop from Michael Eavis' farm, the bucolic setting of the Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts, or Glasto. It's the equivalent of living next to Yankee Stadium and sayin

Coldplay is generously offering 500-level seats to their July 30 gig at the cavernous Rogers Centre for $39.50, a bargain compared to the $79.50 and $99.50 demanded for an actual view of the stage or the whopping $5,200 someone's asking for a killer spot on the floor at TicketsNow.com, reports the Toronto Star.   Still, you could duplicate the 500-level experience by placing a ghetto blaster in your neighbour's yard and playing A Rush of Blood to the Head at highly distorted top volume. A cheape

LONDON (Billboard) - "It's been a busy week," deadpanned Jo Oliver, several days after a Swedish court sentenced four men behind the notorious BitTorrent tracker site the Pirate Bay to a year in jail each, after they were found guilty of assisting in making copyrighted material available. Billboard spoke to Oliver from the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry and the conversation touched on Coldplay..   Billboard: Pirate Bay spokesman Peter Sunde has claimed that what the site d

Joe Satriani has said that he is happy that Coldplay won a Grammy Award for 'Viva La Vida', even though he has accused the band of plagiarising its melody. Both parties are currently engaged in a lawsuit after Satriani claimed that the track used elements from his own 2004 instrumental 'If I Could Fly'.   Satriani told Ultimate Guitar: "I'm happy for the group, and in a very weird way, I was happy to hear my melody being celebrated. "However, I was slightly confused that...the organisation which

Oasis, Kanye and Coldplay will entertain the masses at the popular Roskilde music festival this year, writes the Copenhagen Post (online).   The complete line-up for this year’s Roskilde Festival has been released today with more than a few recognisable names on the list. The array of performers, which includes more than 150 names from almost all continents and genres, will take to the festival's seven stages from 2 to 5 July.   The Roskilde Festival, which is one of Europe's largest music fest

Joe Satriani v. Christopher Martin et al. (Coldplay) is back in the news now that laywers for Coldplay and Capitol Records have filed their responses to Satriani’s copyright infringement claim, writes The Open End.   They list nine defenses, including the tack that Satriani’s song “lacks originality and is thus not protectable by copyright”. This was the argument of their previous post on the case, where they provided several songs, spanning decades, which share the same melodic structure as the

A miserable Disneyland punter got decidedly more melancholy when he happened upon Chris Martin and family at the themepark this week, writes ivPressOnline. Here's what he had to say. Also see photos after the jump. Let us know what you think of this guy's pathetic rant at the Coldplay forum here [thanks mimixxx]   Chris Martin from Coldplay is a wuss. Besides all that ridiculous sad bastard music his silly band practices, he seems like a genuinely miserable human being, and another one of those

As you will probably know by now it has been reported that guitarist Joe Satriani has sued Coldplay, alleging that portions of Coldplay’s "Viva la Vida" incorporate material from Satriani’s "If I Could Fly", reports Madisonian today.   Read the actual court document detailing the case against Coldplay here [pdf... right click, save as]. For those who didn’t instantly know what the suit is about, Youtube has [Coldplay-Satriani-Verdes-Stevens] comparing the relevant portions of the songs - comp

According to the BBC, Coldplay has denied in a federal court that “Viva La Vida” was inspired by or originated from Joe Satriani’s “If I Could Fly” off the 2004 album Is There Love In Space? (For the last time, Joe, no: astronauts can’t love), writes Washington City Paper.   Satriani makes a decent living off the instrumental rock circuit and the G3 concert series, and, incidentally, hasn’t written an original melody since he penned the Top Gun theme song. (How bitter he must have been when lis

Opportunistic Coldplay fans Charlotte and Camille visited Coldplay's studio HQ in London earlier, and met Guy Berryman and Phil Harvey who happened to be there at the time. Here's their story:   So considering Cha had never visited the Bakery I brought her there as she's currently staying in England for 5 days in order to visit the country. I went there few times with Chavi (never met any member of the band) and wasn't expecting to meet anyone.   Was supposed to be a RAINY DAY today but it seems

Perhaps you have heard that sore loser Joe Satriani has sued Coldplay, asserting they stole their song "Viva La Vida" from his royal show-offness, writes MusFormation.com.   Today, Coldplay denied Satch's allegations that they ever would listen to his (I mean, these guys hang with Eno, they got no time for guitar masturbation albums, when they could be listening to the guitar solo in "Baby's On Fire"), in a Federal Court. While I think the Players will easily win this case, I have outlined ho

Guess what, Joe Satriani? Coldplay don’t think they plagiarized you, and they’re willing to swear on a stack of bibles over it, writes American Songwriter.   In a Los Angeles Federal Court on Monday, attorneys for the band responded to guitarist Joe Satriani’s lawsuit, which claims the multi-platinum British Band lifted the melody and chord progression to Satriani’s 2004 album track “If I Could Fly” for “Vida la Vida,” the hit single from their most recent album, Vida La Vida or Death and All Hi

He's been banging on about his love of Saints for years. Now one of the city’s most famous sons, Coldplay’s Will Champion is happy to beat the drum and lead fellow fans in the fight to save the club in its hour of need, reports the Southern Daily Echo.   The drummer – pictured left with youngsters from Cantell School in Bassett, Southampton – is backing the Daily Echo’s Save Our Saints campaign, calling on all fans to pull together to ensure all is done on and off the pitch to avoid the disaster

Coldplay probably can't get any bigger, so instead they're trying to get better.   In a chat with The Jakarta Post before their Singapore concert, Will Champion, who plays drums for the band, said, "Our goal is trying to improve in our next project. You can't judge *the success of* an album by the number of awards and sales. So what we do is we make better concerts, better videos."   Champion, who prefers to describe himself as a being in a band rather than as a drummer, told the Post that whe

Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these fans from the swift completion of their appointed concert. The scene outside of Saturday’s Coldplay concert at Emirates Palace is perhaps best described by reference to a ritual that, thanks to the creeping global expansion of American teen comedies, is known (and, increasingly, practised) across much of the world: prom.   The Coldplay show, like a typical prom, was long anticipated (prom comes but once a year; international pop stars

Coldplay have revealed they are returning to the studio with producer Brian Eno. Since releasing Viva La Vida Or Death And All His Friends last year the band have embarked on an extensive world tour.   They have though, found time to work on new material. Speaking to the band's official website bassist Guy Berryman said: "When we get back into the studio we'll be able to pick up where we left off with Brian. We've worked on a few ideas in soundchecks."   As previously reported Coldplay will pla

Coldplay.com have caught up with bassist Guy Berryman amidst thunder and lightning leaving Dubai in the latest of their exclusive online interviews. In it, Guy discusses Chris Martin's mad dash across the Sydney Cricket Ground, all the photos he has taken, and the latest on soundchecking some of the older songs. Read the interview below. More discussion on this interview is at the Coldplay forum here onwards.   Hello Guy. How are you? I'm good, thanks. I'm in a car on my way to Dubai airport. W

Despite heavy rain and powerful winds, attendance figures were strong at last weekend’s back-to-back concerts by Coldplay and Andrea Bocelli at Emirates Palace in Abu Dhabi, reports Digital Production Middle East.   Italian classical soloist Andrea Bocelli drew a crowd of 11,000 on Friday, March 27, while British four-piece Coldplay and American rockers Mercury Rev attracted 15,000 punters the following night. Production crews were forced to endure wet-weather and high winds in the lead-up and d