We're close to hitting 1,000 votes for our latest poll, in which we asked you to rate 'Viva La Vida Or Death And All His Friends' as an album title for Coldplay's LP4. So far the results are as follows (below). You can continue to add to the results by voting here.

Coldplay hope to continue the success of their first three albums. Parachutes, the band’s first album, sold 9.5 million records. A Rush of Blood to the Head upped the ante set by the band’s debut, by selling 11 million copies. X&Y sold 10 million copies. All three records have also debuted in Great Britain at number one. Their album will be released on Capitol records, and is a scheduled follow-up to 2005’s X&Y, which topped the Billboard 200 charts.

Coldplay has been very close to the vest in announcing their performance dates. The only two confirmed live dates by the band are at the Pemberton Festival in British Columbia on July 27 and Summer Sonic Festival in Japan on August 9-10.

Rolling Stone have summarised their Coldplay reports today. Here's what they told us:

Coldplay revealed to us that the title of their new album was Viva la Vida, which you all found to be amusing. Chris Martin and Co. later changed the album title to Viva la Vida or Death And All His Friends, which you all still found to be amusing. We also went inside the studio with the band to hear and preview their opus.

Amazon have updated their product page for Coldplay's new album. You can pre-order the CD by clicking here.

NME reports that Coldplay's Chris Martin admits he's useless at naming things... they report, "Following yesterday's announcement that Coldplay's new album will be called 'Viva la Vida', Chris Martin has admitted there's always fuss about him naming things. He said: "I've been through this before, naming something or someone and everyone saying 'That's a terrible name.'"

Meanwhile, Mick Jagger reckons Coldplay has Rolling Stone longevity. When asked if any other bands will keep going like the Rolling Stones have, he said, "No-one has done what we do. Maybe U2 will keep going. Coldplay possibly. I’d never say how long we’ll keep going. It’s not going to be forever. All things must come to an end, that’s just a universal truth."

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown claims to own an iPod - and even listens to Coldplay, U2, Leona Lewis, with Bach and Mozart thrown in for good measure.

Finally, check out the BBC’s uninspired’ Coldplay quiz. The BBC have just uploaded this quiz on their website The first question is about Coldplay, but when you clicked the correct answer [Frida Kahlo], it tells you you’re wrong… they have fixed it now.

On a Saturday night in late February, Coldplay are in their North London headquarters, listening to mixes of new songs. After spending months writing and recording with producer Brian Eno, the band is now painstakingly wrapping up its fourth album, Viva la Vida or Death And All His Friends. A few weeks ago, Eno jetted off to work on U2’s new disc, leaving Coldplay to mix, record overdubs and argue over which tracks to include. “I heard a Bono quote once that said, ‘Bands shouldn’t break up over money, they should break up over the track listing,’” says frontman Chris Martin. “Nothing could be more pertinent at this point.”

Earlier in the day, the group agreed on a core of six songs to anchor the album — and swore to finally stop recording and focus on mixing. While the other three members sit in a lounge listening to a mix of their new Afro-pop-influenced song “Strawberry Swing,” Martin bursts out of the studio and asks guitarist Jonny Buckland to recut some parts for “42.” The track — a thrilling three-part soundscape with multitracked pianos, swirling strings and looped beats — is one of the songs everyone in the band loves and is a front-runner for first single.

With a quick eye roll, Buckland follows Martin into the studio, where they spend the next hour trying increasingly heavy guitar parts. Finally, with Martin pushing Buckland for one more take, the guitarist pushes back. “I think it’s fine the way it is,” he says, before agreeing to give it one more try. “It feels like we’ve been finishing the album for six months,” Buckland says later. “The starting stage was enjoyable — there wasn’t too much hair-pulling. In the middle stage, suddenly you start thinking, ‘Well, we’ve got to figure out which songs are good.’ And this final stage, which has been going on for quite some time, is getting more and more intense.”

With Viva la Vida or Death And All His Friends, Coldplay are making a sharp break from the piano-and-guitar-driven anthems that have been their biggest hits. “We felt like the first three albums were a trilogy, and we finished that,” says Buckland. “We wanted to do something different.”

The band plans to reintroduce itself with “Violet Hill,” which will be given away in a promotion before Viva comes out. It opens with a jagged, distorted guitar riff and settles into a stalking, bluesy beat. Among the biggest changes on the disc is Martin’s voice, which has largely shifted from his trademark falsetto into a deeper register. On “Yes,” over an irresistible North African strings-and-percussion arrangement, he practically moans, “If you’d only, if you’d only say yes . . . I’m just so tired of this loneliness.” “My singing teacher said that it got her aroused when I sang low,” says Martin.

Despite the 11 million albums Coldplay have sold, the singer sees Viva as a make-or-break proposition. “This could be our last shot at the big time,” he says. “It’s something in my head, as in artistic relevance. There’s a voice that comes at three in the morning with songs. There might come an age when you say, ‘Ah, fuck it, I’m going to go back to sleep.’ But I’m still at the point where I’ll get up and work it out. Tom Waits or Bob Dylan said sometimes these things bug you until you deal with them. I suppose it’s like the urge to masturbate.” Adds bassist Guy Berryman, “Great bands — Pink Floyd, the Beatles — they’re always exploring.”

Back in the studio, close to 2 a.m., Buckland and Martin play the middle section of “42″ over and over, trying to create the perfect guitar line. As it turns out, the late-night overdubs were inspired by an offhand comment Martin heard about the song sounding like Radiohead. “There’s nothing wrong with sounding like Radiohead,” Martin says. “It’s just, when I hear it in my head, that’s not how it sounds. We have to make it right.”

Source: Rolling Stone

Coldplay fans around the world are getting used to the new album title 'Viva la Vida Or Death And All His Friends'. Early poll indications suggest that it has been well received, certainly better than 'Viva la Vida' on its own.

To add your vote, click here

A full report from Coldplay’s studio sessions for 'Viva la Vida Or Death And All His Friends', is expected at end of the week and may contain a tracklisting and dates for a possible single release or standalone track. Meanwhile, if you are interested in creating banners for this site (in 728x90 and 468x60 sizes) please submit them here. As always, all banners should include COLDPLAYING DOT COM in some large format somewhere.

'Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends' is confimed as the new Coldplay album title.

Prospekt has updated the new entry today on coldplay.com and has added quotes around BOTH titles which suggests that the title is "Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends", following the strong possibility that their original post was misinterpreted.

What do you think of 'Viva la Vida Or Death And All His Friends'? You can now discuss the real title of the album in the forums here [thanks BostonSportsTD]

Viva la Vida ... not that good. Death and all his friends .. pretty awesome. Viva la Vida or Death and all his friends.... fucking awesome! [thanks SamH]

Original. Ironic. Unexpected. And Totally Crazy. [thanks Zemy101]

VlVORDAAHF . . . Crazy . . . I'm really excited ! [thanks ~ Sandy ~]

Crazy, shocking, wonderful, surprising title! [thanks Coldpatrix]

Given that 'Death and all his friends' is already a track title and 'Viva La Vida' is not, it HAS to be one or the other. Not both. Seriously, some of you should lay off the shrooms. [thanks - DAN - ]

if it's double-titled then i'm DEFINITELY smacking my forehead and rolling my eyes. [thanks ApproximatelyInfinite]

VLVODAAHF is possibly the worst album title in the history of mankind! [thanks NeSs1776]

I haven´t seen this hype since they released the video of The Hardest Part, which is good IMO [thanks Ryujiki]

Check out the 2008 section of Coldplay.com for a new star.

Portland, Maine

March 19, 2008

Album should be finished by the end of the week. I'll write up a tracklisting once we've finally decided what it's going to be.

Prospekt.

PS - The actual title of the album is... 'Viva La Vida or Death And All His Friends'

We're finalising the tracklisting today.

We've been asking you what you think of Coldplay's latest album title, Viva la Vida. So far we've had hundreds of votes and counting, and there have been mixed results, both on the poll below and on the forums. There have been plenty of interesting comments. Some of them are below:

I personally love Viva La Vida. To be honest, WHATEVER it was called someone would have hated it and said it's cheesy [thanks Fixed]

It reminds me of Live's 5th album...Ed Kowalczyk wanted to call it 'Ecstatic Fanatic', and the fans hated it so much that he ended up calling it V instead [thanks TracieMorgan]

Viva la Vida isn't my favorite title ever, i'll definitely say that. but i can think of much lamer titles that we'd be bitching about more. and i'm just really happy it's not self-titled. that would have made me smack my forehead and roll my eyes [thanks ApproximatelyInfinite]

I don't really care for the title, but the title doesn't really matter to me,as long as the music is good [thanks snowshine]

I'm glad to finally know some details and yesterday was awesome due to the discovery of the new web site...but it would've been way more fun for Coldplay to tell us themselves instead of telling Rolling Stone...oh well... [thanks melanieau]

Honestly, it's a title. X&Y is a rather shit title if you think about it. As long as it's not a shit album, too, I don't care if they name it Miss Pendlewood's Day Care For Dangerous and Special Children or something like that [thanks rayman]

At the UKMIX site's latest UK album/single release schedule, which appears to be usually quite accurate, Coldplay's first single will be '42'.

No date is given for the release but it is beyond the week of 19th May 2008, which ties in with the release of the new album 'Viva la Vida' on 16th June.

More on this here [thanks DefDazz]

Coldplay may have decided on 'Viva la Vida' for the name for the fourth album as far back as March 2007, Coldplaying.com can reveal.

'Viva La Vida' can have different meanings, and is translated into various phrases, depending on the language and culture. The first meaning that comes to mind of any Spanish speaker when hearing "Viva la Vida" is 'Live Life' or 'Live The Life'. A reverse translation of 'Long Live Life' would be 'La Vida Vive', or 'the life lives on'.

But for those born and raised in Mexico (which is where the phrase eminates from) 'Long Live Life' translates correctly into 'Viva la Vida', and is used to celebrate life. The local Mexican meaning of 'Viva...' is to exclaim and celebrate.

The picture below was taken outside Frida Kahlo's house (which nowadays is a museum) last year during the Latin American tour 2007. Chris Martin bought three books about her paintings and her life.

More on this here [thanks hugo & Oenona]

Coldplay’s fourth album, due out on June 16th [uK], June 17th [uS], will be called Viva la Vida.

Singer Chris Martin chose it after seeing the phrase, which means “long live life,” on a painting by Mexican artist Frida Kahlo, who endured polio, a broken spine, and chronic pain for decades. “She went through a lot of shit, of course, and then she started a big painting in her house that said ‘Viva la Vida,’” says Martin. “I just loved the boldness of it.”

Of course, Frida Kahlo will not be the first name that jumps to most peoples’ minds when they hear the phrase. “Everyone thinks it comes from Ricky Martin, which is fine. I have absolute respect,” says the singer, who gave Coldplay its original name, Pectoralz, and named his children Apple and Moses. “I’ve been through this before, naming something or someone and everyone saying that ‘That’s a terrible name’. But then saying, ‘Well, fuck you, that’s what it’s called, and I’ll be proved to be right eventually’. So when Viva la Vida came along, I was kind of annoyed because I’m going to have to try and convince everybody of this, but it just felt right.”

Check back later this week for the full report from Coldplay’s studio sessions for Viva la Vida.

More on this here [thanks the_gloaming09 & mimixxx]

Four more screenshots from Coldplay's new website have been revealed today, which you can see here [thanks BigFatNoises]

In them, they have added a link to their Bebo site (now owned by AOL by the way) and also a short description of their 'Coldplayer Widget', which can be added to external websites to get the latest Coldplay news and information direct from the site. The tour dates revealed yesterday remain unchanged.

We are now rotating new Coldplaying.com banners based on the new designs and possible album artwork - you can currently see them around this site. If you want to create banners (in 728x90 and 468x60 sizes) please submit them here. As always, all banners should include COLDPLAYING DOT COM in some large format somewhere.

Check out the 2000 section of Coldplay.com for a new star.

Pilton Fete 2000 (1st Sept)

The Pilton Fete is Michael & Emily Eavis's thankyou to the village for letting millions of people trample all over at Glastonbury time. Jay Z is playing Glastonbury this year (2008) and I think that's the best idea since Radiohead in 1997. Anyway we played the fete and we were not too shit.

CM

More on this star here onwards [thanks Stefan-C8]

Read the full chronology, including all Prospekt updates, at WikiColdplay

Check out the 2008 section of Coldplay.com for a new star.

Coldplay - Pemberton Festival!

July 27 - Pemberton, BC

On sale Friday, March 28 at pembertonfestival.com

More on this star here onwards [thanks Stefan-C8]

Read the full chronology, including all Prospekt updates, at WikiColdplay

New images of Coldplay's new website have surfaced via their official web designers, SlenderFungus.com. In them, are confirmation that the album title has already been announced, as well a forthcoming signed Lithograph competition.

There is reference to lyrics from Yes! and image references to Death And All His Friends, Chinese Sleep Chant, and 'Viva La Vida' which was part of the short film previously seen during Coldplay's chronology timeline. There is also an article awaiting us from Chris Martin, who offers more on the new album, and says LP4 will be 'driving music'. The screenshots also give a clue to three new concert dates for the UK as 25th June at London's Wembley Arena, 26th June in Birmingham and 29th June at the Apollo in Manchester.

Could these screenshots be a hoax? Were they meant to be visible on slenderfungus website? Have Coldplay found out or were they waiting for the screenshots to be 'discovered'?

Click here for all the screenshots and to discuss them [thanks coldpatrix]

From this week’s NME:

Have you launched a new era of contemporary stadium rock?

[Matt Bellamy] “I hope there’ll be other bands coming through that’ll play large concerts. The old-school ’80s bands like Bon Jovi and U2 seem to be dominating that area and I think it’s time some other bands came through and had a go. I’m sure Coldplay will have a go when they come back, and there should be other bands coming through who can do this kind of thing…”

From The Daily Telegraph:

Being involved in a movie means facing the media again, but it doesn't mean Paltrow will field questions about Chris Martin - such as what it's like bringing someone as private as him into the acting world.

[Gwyneth Paltrow] "Oh, he doesn't like me to talk about him very much at all,'' she bats away. "I think we're basically, when it comes to our private lives, private. And I think he's probably even more so than me, and I just have to respect that. A relationship's a complicated thing, and to invite the whole world into it on purpose seems crazy. Jay-Z, whom I love, was being interviewed and was getting asked about Beyonce and he said: 'You know, a relationship is hard enough without telling 80,000 people about it.' I thought that was good.''

Coldplay's LP4 now has a release date of 16th June 2008, according to HMV's online catalogue. It was previously advertised as 19th May.

-----------------------

Hi,

You asked us to let you know when Coldplay : Prospekt was ready to pre-order.

Good news!

Coldplay : Prospekt has just been added to our catalogue, so you can be the first to get your order in now.

Coldplay : Prospekt

CD £8.99 Free Delivery

Release date: 16-6-2008

Number of Discs: 1

Catalogue Number: PRERELCD

Label: PARLOPHONE

----------------------

More on this here [thanks IpsRich]

Coldplay are today reportedly being paid a whopping £1.2million ($2.4million) to play the Summer Sonic festival in Japan later this year. If they gig for 75 minutes on both nights, they will trouser a jaw-dropping £8,000 ($16,200) a minute.

News of their payday has been spreading around the South By Southwest festival in Austin, Texas. One industry insider there said: “They say there is no money left in the industry but this shows the cash is still there for the top acts. It’s like football or any big business. The little people feel the pinch but the big boys get richer.”

Japan’s Summer Sonic Festival bosses are rightly chuffed with themselves. With a new album due out in June, Coldplay should reclaim their title of the biggest band in the world by the summer. If the album is as successful as the last two – coupled with this incredible booking – they truly will be the ultimate blue chip act of our generation.

More on this story here [thanks mimixxx]

Billboard.com has learned that Coldplay, Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers, Jay-Z and Nine Inch Nails will headline the first-ever Pemberton Festival, set for July 25-27 in Pemberton, B.C.

The festival is produced by Live Nation and Good Boy Productions. Live Nation Canada CEO Shane Bourbonnais will spearhead LN's efforts on the event. Good Boy Productions is a joint venture between Coldplay manager Dave Holmes and Depeche Mode manager Jonathan Kessler.

Also on the bill are My Morning Jacket, the Tragically Hip, Interpol, Flaming Lips and Death Cab For Cutie, along with newer acts like Vampire Weekend, MGMT and Sia. The plan is to feature two stages, a dance stage and more than 50 bands. Pemberton, a two hour drive from Vancouver, is a popular destination area due to its close proximity to Whistler ski resort, site for some competitions for the 2010 Winter Olympics.

More on this here [thanks Layne & crackerjack]

The event will boast a festival village, camping facilities, an RV Park and shuttle service to and from nearby Whistler, tickets for the Pemberton Festival go on sale through PembertonFestival.com beginning Friday, March 28.

Concert-goers will be able to camp on site or sleep in accommodations ranging from motels to top notch luxury hotels in Whistler.

The confirmed line up as of today (March 13) is:

Coldplay

Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers

Nine Inch Nails

Jay-Z

Flaming Lips

Interpol

Death Cab For Cutie

The Tragically Hip

Serj Tankian

My Morning Jacket

Metric

Sam Roberts Band

Vampire Weekend

Black Mountain

Minus The Bear

Wintersleep

Buck 65

Secret Machines

MGMT

Brazillian Girls

SIA

Fiery Furnaces

Mates of State

The Airborne Toxic Event

Carolina Liar

Grand Ole Party

Monte Negro

Low Vs Diamond

Annie Stela

The Crystal Method

DJ Shadow & Cut Chemist

Junkie XL

David Seaman

Booka Shade

MSTRKRFT

M.A.N.D.Y.

Tommie Sunshine

Chromeo

Deadmau5

3 OH! 3

Kevin Shiu

Timeline

Tony Pantages

Check out the 2006 section of Coldplay.com for a new star.

Talk Remix by Stuart Price (The thin white duke)

This is a wierd song for us, why I don't know... but we like the remix much better.

Also Stuart's remix of Mr Brightside is just about the best thing ever.

CM

More on this star here onwards [thanks 15simon]

Read the full chronology, including all Prospekt updates, at WikiColdplay

...from the new issue of Q magazine:

Q: In the past, you've baulked at the 'elder statesman of rock' tag.

MS: It just doesn't feel really appropriate to me. Or deserved. I don't think in terms of that. Y'know, Chris Martin is a great friend of mine and I think of him as a contemporary. We do the same thing. I don't think of him as someone who is...I don't even know how old he is. [Thinks] He's...31? He's...30. Which makes 18 years between us. But I don't think about it. Does the make me hopelessly immature or does it make me kind of level in the way I regard things? I don't know.

More on this here [thanks mimixxx]

All three Coldplay albums are featured in the UK's top 20 biggest selling albums of the 21st century. A Rush Of Blood To The Head is 7th, X&Y is 9th, and Parachutes is 12th. You can discuss this news here. The blurb is as follows:

7 A RUSH OF BLOOD TO THE HEAD – COLDPLAY

Coldplay’s 2000 debut Parachutes was one of the most impressive ever, spinning off the hits Shiver, Yellow and Trouble, and selling nearly 2.4m copies. The anticipation of follow-up A Rush Of Blood To The Head was intensified by the enormous popularity of first single In My Place, which reached number two. The album duly raced to first week sales of 273,924. With subsequent single The Scientist and Clocks also reaching the Top 10, the album spent more than a year in the Top 40, and has accumulated sales of 2,638,927, including 9,683 this year.

9 X&Y – COLDPLAY

Just as In My Place set the pace for A Rush Of Blood To The Head, Speed Of Sound was the first single from Coldplay’s follow-up album, X&Y, and also raced to number two. Although the band’s two previous albums selling 5m copies between them, it was still something of a surprise that X&Y scorched to the second highest first week sales in history to that point, selling a stellar 464,471 copies to debut emphatically at number one in June 2003. Number one for four weeks, it has now sold 2,473,433 copies, 17,511 of them this year.

12 PARACHUTES - COLDPLAY

2,385,676

Coldplay have switched their Summer Sonic tour dates around. The new dates are as follows:

August 9th, Osaka, Maishima

August 10th, Tokyo, Marine Stadium

Tickets on sale May 24th. More on Coldplay at Summer Sonic here [thanks fix_the_scientist & mimixxx]

We're still looking for that elusive new album release date and new summer tour dates for both Europe and the US. All the dates this time round can be compared to 6/6/05, which of course was when X&Y was let loose.

Here are just a few important dates from three years ago. By this time in 2005 Coldplay had announced all their summer tour dates and had already played a secret gig in London, and were half way through their set at The Troubadour. And that was all for a June 6th release.

Coldplay Announce Summer Dates

Tuesday, March 01, 2005 (Coldplay news)

Coldplay Play Secret London Gig

Saturday, March 05, 2005 (Coldplay news)

Coldplay Announce New Album/Single Details

Friday, March 11, 2005 (Coldplay news)

March 11, 2005: The Troubadour Gig

Sunday, March 13, 2005 (Coldplay news)

Coldplay Unveil LP Artwork & Tracklisting

Sunday, April 03, 2005 (Coldplay news)

Netherlands Secret Gig Yesterday

Thursday, April 07, 2005 (Coldplay news)

So, by our reckoning, if Coldplay were to release LP4 on May 19th (in the same timespan as X&Y), they would have had to announce it nearly three weeks ago.

Check out the 2004 section of Coldplay.com for a new star.

In 'Shaun Of The Dead' - 9/4/04

Will had turned into a zombie so Chris and I decided to do an interview to raise awareness. Guy didn’t turn up…

(JMB)

More on this star here onwards [thanks kmm1482 & mimixxx]

Read the full chronology, including all Prospekt updates, at WikiColdplay

Check out the 2004 section of Coldplay.com for a new star.

10 December 2004 - Garden State "Don't Panic"

It's not that often that I find myself listening to movie soundtracks but this one was so great and it was a great film. Zach Braff is a talented man and a lovely chap. Our songs aren't on many films but it was an honour to be in this one. Also it might be the only time we get to be on an album with Nick Drake.

WC x

More on this star here onwards [thanks kmm1482 & mimixxx]

Read the full chronology, including all Prospekt updates, at WikiColdplay