The Sun Newspaper's Friday Entertainment Section, alternatively known as Something For The Weekend, or TheSunSFTW, as seen on Twitter, has published an article interview with Chris Martin following news that they have chosen Mylo Xyloto as SFTW's no.1 album of the year. Read on for the article, entitled 'I don't know who bribed you but we're very grateful'...
The unusually titled Mylo Xyloto – the fifth album from music giants Coldplay – was the sound of a band with a new confidence. And it's rightfully Something For The Weekend's number one album of 2011. "We're SFTW album of the year — that's fucking incredible. Come on!" shouts Chris Martin down the phone, en route to a show in Paris. "I don't know who bribed you and I can't believe we beat Adele. But it's definitely not because of our album title because no one can still pronounce it!" he laughs.
(For the record, it is pronounced My-low Zy-letoe). Anyone who saw Coldplay on tour this year, whether headlining Glastonbury in June or on The X Factor last week, knows the band are at their peak live. "I think the success of this album comes from a group of friends who are very tight at the moment," explains Chris. "The moment we had to play Glastonbury it was a boot up the backside because that's the closest we get to a home crowd. We worked extra hard knowing we had to headline it...
"If you're lucky enough to play arenas, sometimes you relax too much. But with Glastonbury it's playing to people who you haven't played to before so there's new energy which seeps into your own show. We love it there and we always will. It has been a fantastic year for us with Mylo."
SFTW joined the band in Cape Town in October to witness the power of Mylo Xyloto's songs live. The chimes of Every Teardrop Is A Waterfall, to the singalong anthem Paradise and new single Charlie Brown saw the 50,000 crowd at Cape Town Stadium go wild. It was Coldplay's most pop album to date, influenced by the music the band — Chris, guitarist Jonny Buckland, bassist Guy Berryman and drummer Will Champion — all listen to. "We took off all our shackles and constraints," Chris, 34, tells us. "It's not great we wind people up. Maybe it's our Englishness that meant it took us a while to be comfortable with that. We had to think, we're not playing for people who don't like us — we're playing for the people who like us. Our main producers, Brian Eno and Markus Dravs, are strong-minded, hardcore individuals and they're on our side. They said it had to be a passionate album and reflect what we listen to. It didn't have to fit the indie or pop box. It just had to be true. So Mylo reflects that we do listen to a lot of Rihanna, Lady GaGa and Jay-Z as much as we listen to Arcade Fire and Nick Drake."
With Chris and his film star wife Gwyneth Paltrow being close to Jay-Z and Beyonce, did this influence Coldplay's new sound? "I've always listened to pop," he replies. "And I've been hanging out with Jay-Z for a lot more albums than this one. Mylo gave us a sense of freedom because on our last album we got sued and had so many crazy things thrown at us. It spoilt things for us a bit. Every album is a challenge. We're only making music but we know it irritates a lot of people, who really hate what we do. This was the first time we just accepted it. It galvanised us and gave us a sense of 'Well, f*** it'. Now we don't care what anyone thinks.'"
Last week the band did a special Radio 2 gig to just 500 people at Dingwalls, the London venue they performed at in 1998 as an unsigned student band. More than 60,000 fans applied for tickets for the special one-off show, presented by DJ Jo Whiley. Chris says: "I'm glad the crowd enjoyed it as, to be honest, we were fucking awful. We played there 13 years ago and as I stepped on stage my brain regressed to that day. I remembered we were shit the first time as well. We are a very tall band and that venue is designed for bands of lesser height. But it did bring back memories. Though we don't want to go back to 1998 because it was all bad clothes and dentistry."
Playing Sunday's X Factor final at Wembley was a more enjoyable experience, although the band have been unsure about appearing on the show in the past. Chris says: "We were watching The X Factor a lot and thought, 'We'd love to do it', so we finally said yes. We were very nervous because it's such an unknown territory. But it was one of the most fun TV shows we've ever done. Though we could only do it once all of us agreed."
Chris is looking forward to spending Christmas with his family, especially children daughter Apple, seven, and son Moses, five. He won't be seeing the rest of the band in their break. He says: "We're best friends who never hang out with each other except for ten hours a day when working."
So what do you buy each other at Christmas? Chris replies: "I'm the worst at buying presents. I simply don't know what kind of Lego they want."
One highlight the band must be looking forward to is performing Princess Of China with Rihanna at next year's Brits. However Chris jokes: "It's been discussed but no one has said 'yes' or 'no' yet as we need to look at diaries etc. Tell you what, if you think we should do it, then we'll try and do it?"
He adds: "I think it's getting older and wanting to soak it all up while it's happening rather than thinking ahead. The only thing I am sure of is I won't be swearing as much next year. My swearing has been terrible recently. I'm sorry to everyone. But we're all very happy. It's been a great year for Coldplay and we just hope it continues. "And being your number one album is a plus. We are very grateful."
New photos of Coldplay @ Ahoy, Rotterdam, Netherlands (18th December 2011):
Photos courtesy of 3FM
Don't forget to check out your tour discussion thread if you are getting tickets/excited for the European & North American 2011 and 2012 shows:
DECEMBER 2011
14 - Paris, France @ Bercy [discussion]
15 - Cologne, Germany @ Lanxess Arena [discussion]
17 Rotterdam, Netherlands @ Ahoy [discussion]
18 Antwerp, Belgium @ Sportpaleis [discussion]
20 Frankfurt, Germany @ Festhalle [discussion]
21 Berlin, Germany @ O2 World Arena [discussion]
APRIL 2012
17 Edmonton, AB @ Rexall Place [discussion]
18 Calgary, AB @ Scotiabank Saddledome [discussion]
20 Vancouver, BC @ Rogers Arena [discussion]
24 Portland, OR @ Rose Garden Arena [discussion]
25 Seattle, WA @ KeyArena [discussion]
27 San Jose, CA @ HP Pavilion At San Jose [discussion]
28 San Jose, CA @ HP Pavilion At San Jose [discussion]
MAY 2012
1 Los Angeles, CA @ Hollywood Bowl [discussion]
2 Los Angeles, CA @ Hollywood Bowl [discussion]
18 Porto, Portugal @ Dragao Stadium [discussion]
20 Madrid, Spain @ Estadio Vicente Calderón [discussion]
22 Nice, France @ Stade Charles Herman / Nikaia [discussion]
24 Turin, Italy @ Olympic Stadium [discussion]
26 Zurich, Switzerland @ Letzigrund [discussion]
29 Coventry, UK @ Ricoh Stadium [discussion]
JUNE 2012
1 London, UK @ the Emirates Stadium [discussion]
2 London, UK @ the Emirates Stadium [discussion]
4 London, UK @ the Emirates Stadium [discussion]
7 Sunderland, UK @ the Stadium of Light [discussion]
9 Manchester, UK @ the Etihad Stadium [discussion]
10 Manchester, UK @ the Etihad Stadium [discussion]
22 Dallas, TX @ American Airlines Center [discussion]
25 Houston, TX @ Toyota Center [discussion]
28 Tampa, FL @ St. Pete Times Forum [discussion]
29 Miami, FL @ American Airlines Arena [discussion]
JULY 2012
2 Atlanta, GA @ Philips Arena [discussion]
5 Philadelphia, PA @ Wells Fargo Center [discussion]
6 Philadelphia, PA @ Wells Fargo Center [discussion]
8 Washington, DC @ Verizon Center [discussion]
9 Washington, DC @ Verizon Center [discussion]
23 Toronto, ON @ Air Canada Centre [discussion]
24 Toronto, ON @ Air Canada Centre [discussion]
26 Montreal, QC @ Bell Centre [discussion]
27 Montreal, QC @ Bell Centre [discussion]
29 Boston, MA @ TD Garden [discussion]
30 Boston, MA @ TD Garden [discussion]
AUGUST 2012
3 East Rutherford, NJ @ Izod Center [discussion]
4 East Rutherford, NJ @ Izod Center [discussion]
7 Chicago, IL @ United Center [discussion]
11 St. Paul, MN @ Xcel Energy Center [discussion]
28 Copenhagen, Denmark @ Parken Stadium [discussion]
30 Stockholm, Sweden @ Olympic Stadium [discussion]
SEPTEMBER 2012
02 Paris, France @ Stade de France [discussion]
04 Cologne, Germany @ Rheinenergie Stadium [discussion]
06 The Hague, Netherlands @ Malieveld [discussion]
12 Munich, Germany @ Olympiastadion [discussion]
14 Leipzig, Germany @ Red Bull Stadium [discussion]
16 Prague, Czech Republic @ Slavia Eden Stadium [discussion]
19 Warsaw, Poland @ National Stadium [discussion]
22 Hannover, Germany @ AWD Arena [discussion]
Read also: European Stadium Tour announced! (general discussion thread for the Europe tour)
Read also: North America Tour announced! (general discussion thread for the US/Canada tour)
Read also: 2012: Live Appearances - Easy Thread Finder (last updated - 17th December 2011)
Read also: 2012 tour date rumours (please post dates for ALL countries in here)
Kit yourself up for the forthcoming MX tour and get spotted with Coldplaying's new range of merchandise! [click on the items for the full shop]
The new range of Coldplaying merchanise (unofficial of course to the official shop) has hit our stores, with our biggest range of goods so far. Prices are as low as they can be for a Cafepress shop so more people will be able to afford them. We don't take any profits for the sale of the merchandise as a result. Take a browse in one of the online stores nearest to you: UK | US | Canada | Australia | European (shipping is worldwide, but you can choose what currency to pay in) - simply alter the country dropdown menu at the top of the shop page. [thanks to TracieMorgan and zzz]
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