Coldplay are featured as part of the HDNet Concert Series schedule for the week beginning Monday, Dec 31. Here is the Coldplay listing:

Tue., Jan 1 - 1:30 AM ET / Mon., Dec 31 - 10:30 PM PT

COLDPLAY: HOW WE SAW THE WORLD (PART ONE)

The British alternative rock group Coldplay performs hits from their multi-platinum

and critically acclaimed albums, including Parachutes and X&Y.

See the HDNet web site at www.hd.net for the latest information.

Jude Law's New Year's resolution is to play the piano like Coldplay's Chris Martin.

The "Sleuth" star, who can already play the saxophone, harmonica and guitar, is desperate to become an amazing pianist because he is "rubbish" at playing the other instruments.

He told BANG Showbiz, "I don't usually make New Year's resolutions because I try and have resolutions and ambitions all through the year. You know what, though, I don't know whether I'll be able to accomplish this next year but I've always wanted to learn a musical instrument well. I play a few badly - the harmonica, saxophone and guitar - but I'm rubbish at all of them. I'd like to be able to play like Chris Martin, who I admire an awful lot."

Jude's ambition for 2007 was achieved when he produced and starred in a re-make of 1972 film "Sleuth" alongside Sir Michael Caine.

The original movie saw Caine play a young man who is having an affair with the wife of an older successful writer, portrayed by screen legend Laurence Olivier.

He said, "I had dinner with Michael and asked him to star in a remake of 'Sleuth', but this time with me playing his old part and him switching to the role originally played by Olivier."

"To have Michael agree, and then get Kenneth Branagh to direct definitely fulfilled my ambition for this year."

Source: http://www.exposay.com

Head over to Coldplay.com to check out the video of a festive ditty which Coldplay recorded this week as a Christmas message for you folks.

Happy Christmas and Chanukah and Eid-ul-adha.

Love

Will, Guy, Jonny, Chris

You can watch the video at here. More on this star here onwards [thanks Loretin]

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

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

A Christmas card for people to laugh at.

I think it’s imporant to not take oneself too seriously, otherwise things just get boring.

W x

You can watch the hilarious video at here. More on this star here onwards [thanks melanieau]

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

Chris Martin - who is well-known for his charity work - has been using his skills to help out at a temporary shelter for alcoholics in London.

A source at the shelter, run by the Crisis charity, told Britain's Daily Express newspaper: "Chris has been doing their plumbing for them. He does this every year, for free. Apparently he's quite a dab hand with it all."

Chris - who is married to Hollywood beauty Gwyneth Paltrow - is keen to remain anonymous. A Crisis spokesperson said: "We have 7,000 volunteers helping at Christmas. There are celebrities among them but we can't name those who wish to remain anonymous."

It was recently revealed Coldplay's new album has turned Chris into an insomniac.

Chris is determined to make the British band's fourth studio album - which is due to be released next February and expected to be called 'Prospekt' - as successful as their hit 2005 LP 'X+Y' and has been working round the clock on new material.

An unknown source named Prospekt wrote on the band's official website: "Chris just keeps on writing. He has shown me five new songs in the last two days. I seriously don't know when he sleeps."

More on this story here

Violinist Vanessa-Mae retains her place at the top of the Young Music Millionaires List, although her wealth, at £32 million, would not be enough to get her into the actual Sunday Times Rich List.

She is followed once again by Coldplay who take second place again. James Blunt has risen up the chart from 13th to sixth with £18 million compared to £5 million last year.

Other risers include Joss Stone with £10 million from £6 million in 2006, and Katie Melua with £8 million from £5 million in 2006. Welsh singer Katherine Jenkins makes her debut on the Young Music Millionaires list with £6 million. Charlotte Church and her boyfriend Gavin Henson have been ranked together at £10 million, although it is the former child star who has the bulk of the wealth, with an estimated £9 million.

Andrew Lloyd Webber has shot up The Sunday Times Rich List of Music Millionaires - thanks to his BBC show How Do You Solve a Problem Like Maria?

The theatre owner, composer and producer, 59, has replaced Sir Paul McCartney by taking the second spot in this year's rankings, with a total wealth of £750 million. Highest earner, Clive Calder, the former record label boss behind pop acts including Britney Spears, is once again Britain's only music billionaire, with £1.3 billion. Sir Paul, 64, slips to third place with £725 million, thanks to the predicted £100 million divorce settlement experts believe he will pay estranged wife Heather Mills, 39. If Mills, who has just been booted out of US reality show Dancing with the Stars, gets the predicted £100 million it will earn her a place of her own on the List.

But Lord Lloyd Webber would not have overtaken the ex-Beatle without the huge success of the BBC show How Do You Solve a Problem Like Maria? according to Philip Beresford, who compiled the Sunday Times Rich List. He said: "How Do You Solve a Problem Like Maria? has not harmed Andrew Lloyd Webber. The reality TV shows have clearly helped. The exposure means that the shows, when they open, get free PR, translating it, dare I say it, into bums on seats. The Sound of Music is on at Andrew Lloyd Webber's theatre and it is his production so it's a double hit."

He added: "Without the shows, Andrew Lloyd Webber's wealth would have gone up a little but he would not have replaced Sir Paul McCartney in the list."

Lord Lloyd Webber's climb up the Rich List follows news that some West End producers wrote to the BBC complaining that his programmes were "unfairly promoting" his productions, his theatre and his ticket agency. Last year's How Do You Solve a Problem Like Maria? found Connie Fisher to star in the impresario's revival of The Sound of Music.

BBC1 is currently screening talent show Any Dream Will Do for a new staging of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat for the West End. Lord Lloyd Webber himself takes part in the BBC1 show. He composed Joseph and will put the production on in one of his own theatres.

But his spokesman has rebuffed criticism from West End producers, saying that Joseph does not need a TV show to make it work in the West End and that he could have taken the TV show to ITV for more money and a share of the profit from telephone calls.

According to the Rich List, Lord Lloyd Webber's West End theatres and his intellectual property rights to a raft of hit musicals are worth £550 million alone.

His vast personal wealth, which also includes his art collection and homes in Britain and abroad, has gone from £700 million last year to £750 million in 2007.

Britain and Ireland's top pop and rock bands account for almost £3 billion of wealth in The Sunday Times Rich List 2007, published this Sunday. Bolstered by the huge success of American Idol, Simon Fuller's wealth has risen by 50% in the past year from £300 million in 2006 to £450 million.

At joint fourth place in the music millionaires list with Sir Cameron Mackintosh, his wealth is now more than four times that of David Beckham, who he manages and for whom he negotiated the huge transfer this summer from Real Madrid to LA Galaxy.

David and Victoria Beckham are up from 25th place last year to 22nd place, with £112 million. Madonna and Guy Ritchie remain static in sixth place even though their wealth has increased from £248 million last year to £275 million this year.

Sting, who is about to begin touring again as The Police, has remained static with £185 million. Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne slip two places to 24 although their wealth has stayed the same at £100 million.

The Sunday Times Rich List 2007 Music Millionaires

1. Clive Calder £1,300m

2. Lord Lloyd-Webber £750m

3. Sir Paul McCartney £725m

4. Simon Fuller £450m

4 Sir Cameron Mackintosh £450m

6. Madonna and Guy Ritchie £275m

7. Sir Elton John £225m

8. Sir Mick Jagger £215m

9. Robert Stigwood £212m

10. Sir Tom Jones £190m

10 Keith Richards £190m

Source: http://www.dailymail.co.uk

Coldplay are an unconfirmed act at the forthcoming 'Live Earth Latino' concerts, due to be staged on 29th March 2008. Just like the first Live Earth on 7.7.07, there will be concerts around the world.

Date: March 29 2008

Places confirmed: New York City (New York, United States), Madrid (Spain, European Union), Buenos Aires (Argentina), Mexico City (Mexico)

Places still to be confirmed: Miami (Florida, United States), Rio de Janeiro (Brazil), Los Angeles (California, United States), Bogota (Colombia)

More on this story here [thanks swallowed_in_coldplay]

Sir Paul McCartney has accused EMI, his former record company, of becoming boring and taking him for granted. The former Beatle, speaking to The Times, complained that the British record company had become too bureaucratic – and how he had “dreaded going to see them”.

“Everybody at EMI had become part of the furniture. I’d be a couch; Coldplay are an armchair. And Robbie Williams, I dread to think what he was. But the most important thing was, I’d felt [the people at EMI] had become really very boring, you know?”

Last summer, after 4½ decades, Sir Paul left EMI to join the start-up Starbucks-owned record label Hear Music, which released Memory Almost Full. The album, which attracted positive critical reviews, has sold more than a million copies worldwide since its release this summer.

Sir Paul accused EMI of being unimaginative, telling him that he should “go to Cologne” to market a new record. “This idea became symbolic of the treadmill, you know? You go somewhere, speak to a million journalists for one day and you get all the same questions. It’s mind-numbing. So I started to saying: ‘God we’ve got to do something else’.”

EMI owns the rights to all the Beatles albums, which were released on its Parlophone label or the group’s Apple label. Although Apple was owned by the Fab Four, EMI retained the distribution rights in an agreement struck in the late 1960s and continued to distribute Sir Paul’s material after the band split up.

He also complained about the long marketing lead times demanded by EMI, the so-called process of “setting up a record” in an attempt to enhance sales, recalling that John Lennon was able to force EMI to release Instant Karma a week after he had written it in 1970.

Sir Paul said that he would ask EMI to release a song “next week”, to which executives would reply: “You can’t do that these days.” When told that EMI wanted six months “to figure out how to market it”, Sir Paul asked: “Couldn’t some bright people do that in two days? Jesus Christ, I said, ‘Look boys, I’m sorry, I’m digging a new furrow’.”

The comments are a further embarrassment for Eric Nicoli, the former EMI chief executive who left the music major after its takeover by Terra Firma, the venture capital group led by Guy Hands. But Mr Hands is unlikely to be quite so concerned, as he is thought to agree with Sir Paul’s criticisms of the previous regime.

Source: http://business.timesonline.co.uk

Coldplay, who have been steadily releasing tidbits about their forthcoming follow-up to 2005's 'X&Y,' have announced that while they're still wrestling with songs, they are already planning out their 2008 tour and will hit the road next year on a tour to coincide with the release of their fourth album, report Spinner.com and the Daily Star.

Writing on their website, Chris Martin and co. have indicated that they’re having some trouble sorting out the logistics of the tour, report NME and plans for the entire campaign are up for discussion at the moment, report Yahoo. “One minute we’re over the moon about a new artwork idea - add yours! - the next we’re all gloomy about our slow progress in designing the live show,” the band wrote. “We’re trying to pull all the threads together and get these songs (and all the hoopla that goes with them) ready to present to the big wide world.”

Meanwhile, Coldplay's new album has turned frontman Chris Martin into an insomniac, report sofeminine.co.uk. Chris is determined to make the British band's fourth studio album - which is due to be released next February and expected to be called 'Prospekt's March' or 'Leftrightleftrightleft' - as successful as the group's hit 2005 LP 'X&Y' and has been furiously working round the clock on new material. An unknown source named Prospekt has written on the band's official website: "Chris just keeps on writing. He has shown me five new songs in the last two days. I seriously don't know when he sleeps."

Roll on 2008, say the Daily Star.

Coldplay have recorded a cover version of a classic Christmas song. A version of ‘2000 Miles', a hit for The Pretenders in 1983, has been posted up on the Coldplay website, allowing fans to listen to it now.

The track was initially available for download on their official site in 2003. It was the top selling UK download that year, with proceeds from the sales donated to Future Forests and Stop Handgun Violence campaigns.

Writing on the site, frontman Chris Martin writes: “We love Christmas songs, but every time we try and write one it’s awful. So we cover them. Well, once or twice actually. The one song I would most liked to have written is ‘Fairytale of New York’ by de bloody Pogues of Ireland.”

You can listen to the band covering a festive classic here. More on this story here [thanks Stefan-C8 & Loretin]

AOL today announced the year’s top searches in a variety of categories, based on the people, places and topics that received the largest volume of search queries on AOL Search (http://search.aol.com), on mobile devices (http://wap.aol.com), and the most searched for Viral Videos, Music Videos and Television Moments on Truveo.com (http://www.truveo.com), a one-stop destination where consumers can find millions of videos from across the Web.

Top Bands: 1) Coldplay; 2) Fall Out Boy; 3) My Chemical Romance; 4) Jonas Brothers; 5) Linkin Park; 6) Van Halen; 7) Nickelback; 8) Rascal Flatts; 9) U2; 10) Evanescence.

Read the other top search results here

Check out the 2007 section of Coldplay.com for a new star.

Thursday 6th December, 2007

Mixing, New York

The ups and downs come thick and fast at this point in proceedings. One minute we're all buzzing about the mix of Prospekt's March; the next we're crippled by doubt over the drum track for Lost!

One minute we're over the moon about a new artwork idea; the next, we're all gloomy about our slow progress in designing the live show. Later today, we've got a meeting about coldplay.com and how to make it the best darn website out there.

So, as you can gather, there's a lot going on... we're trying to pull all the threads together and get these songs (and all the hoopla that goes with them) ready to present to the big wide world. The funny thing is (and this is always the case), the creative momentum just keeps gathering. There's no sense of consolidation or winding down. In a couple of hours, we've got a colliery brass band (tubes, trumpets, French horns etc) coming in from Brooklyn to reinvent the third verse of Famous Old Painters. Hats off to producer Markus (Dravs) for finding a group of musicians playing a style of music unique to a small area of Northern England in New York City at 24 hours' notice. And Chris just keeps on writing... he's shown me five new songs in the last two days. I seriously don't know when he sleeps.

Prospekt.

More on this here onwards [thanks sylvia & Loretín]

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

LONDON (Thomson Financial) - Guy Hands has written to EMI recording artists, saying they are 'at the epicentre' of his plans to turn around the struggling music company, according to a report in The Daily Telegraph.

The boss of the private equity group Terra Firma circulated a letter last month to EMI's artists, which include Robbie Williams, Kylie Minogue, Coldplay and Gorillaz, following reports the group would axe acts who do not work hard enough.

Hands wrote to artists: 'Firstly, let me say how much I am looking forward to working with you, your managers and our staff at EMI to transform the company into the really successful business we know it can and should be.'

He added: 'Believe me, I do know how hard you work in the creation and promotion of your records. We really value the collaborative relationship you have with the many EMI staff globally, who work on your projects.'

The newspaper said Terra Firma's private equity management style has put it on a collision course with many creative staff in the industry. Terra Firma is believed to be turning down over half of EMI's proposed new artist signings as it works on a strategic review.

Source: http://www.forbes.com

Once again, Waxploitation has united a ton of excellent artists (and sure, some less than excellent ones too) in a benefit for the victims of the conflict in Darfur.

The label's fourth auction for the cause has already begun, and it includes signed guitars and other items from Kanye West, Wilco, the Flaming Lips, the Decemberists, TV on the Radio, Gnarls Barkley, Gorillaz, Bloc Party, Aesop Rock, Common, El-P, Coldplay, Thievery Corporation, RJD2, and my personal faves (seriously) Deftones.

There are also unsigned items in the auction from Brian Wilson, Lupe Fiasco, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Bob Marley, Julius "Dr. J" Erving, Don Cheadle, Bam Margera, and Adult Swim. You can access the auction here.

Coldplay Fans! Happy Holidays from the Coldplay Official Store...

The end of the year is upon us. ‘Tis the season of parties, gift giving and receiving, and New Years resolutions. In the spirit of the season, The Coldplay Official Store is giving back. Visit the store today to get your free gifts!

1) Free Mousepads - get a free Coldplay mousepad with the purchase of $35 or more

2) Free Shipping - get free Standard Shipping on orders of $70 or more (free shipping applies to US orders only through December 10)

And don’t forget, for those hard to shop for friends, we have Electronic Gift Certificates available in the store in 5 Denominations. From all of us at the Coldplay team, we hope you and your loved ones have a safe and happy Holiday Season. Stay tuned for more updates in 2008.

EMI's new owner Terra Firma has told executives at the music group they will receive no bonuses unless the music company hits a £150m underlying earnings target by next June.

The private equity giant has also imposed a hiring freeze and told EMI to slash its £250m marketing and promotions spend by more than 10pc between now and the end of June.

Terra Firma has also asked EMI to present a sample of around a dozen different artists - from international stars such as Robbie Williams, Coldplay and Norah Jones to breaking stars and local acts - to study which type of artists produce the best returns.

Terra Firma is striving to impose private equity-style management on the company and is working on a strategic review.

Separately, Terra Firma boss Guy Hands has told EMI staff that they should ''not try to be or act like artists themselves" and that Terra Firma plans to display ''leadership" which in the past had been "confused".

EMI's previous bonus scheme ran from March to March, but managers are being set new targets for the year to June. Even if they achieve divisional targets they will get nothing unless the group profit target is achieved.

Sources close to Terra Firma insist that EMI's £150m earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (ebitda) target does not relate to the private equity group's banking covenants with Citigroup, which loaned £2.5bn towards its surprise acquisition of the company this summer.

In the year to March 31, 2007 EMI saw ebitda slump from £276m to £174m on revenues down 16pc at £1.75bn. However, Terra Firma is comfortable it can beat £150m, helped by its clampdown on costs.

The cuts in marketing spend are expected to target parties and other discretionary spending.

Terra Firma has parachuted approximately 45 people into EMI to help its review but has imposed a ban on replacing any leavers unless exceptional cases can be made.

It is also clamping down on overshipping. It is understood that EMI had 65m unsold CDs returned to it by retailers last year at a cost of about £1.50 per unit, almost £100m in total.

In the letter to his staff, Mr Hands writes that Terra Firma is ''driving value-added changes" in several ways. These include: ''Making the people in the business understand what it is they are supposed to be doing, that is, that they are there to serve the customer and the artist and not to try and be or act like artists themselves; and changing the culture and displaying leadership where previously there was little and, what little there was, was confused."

Source: http://www.telegraph.co.uk

December 5th, 2007

In 2004…Band Aid 20’s re-recording of “Do They Know It’s Christmas?” topped the U-K singles chart. The new Band Aid featured Paul McCartney, Coldplay’s Chris Martin, U2’s Bono and members of Radiohead, among others.

Source: MTV.ca

National leader John Key denies that the recall of a promotional DVD has damaged its ability to be an effective marketing tool for the party.

National was forced to recall almost 20,000 discs featuring a music track similar to a song by British band Coldplay because the EMI record company raised concerns. Mr Key says the production company may have been able to use the music legally, but that was not enough to meet his personal standards. He says the DVD is still getting out National's message.

Mr Key says the amended DVD is back on the party's website and National will continue its promotional roadshow later this week.

More on this story here

National Party Forced To Recall Promotional DVD

As Coldplaying reported ealier this week on the copyright blunder over the use of music similar to that of Coldplay's 'Clocks', it has now been reported that National Party leader John Key says his staff should never have signed off a DVD that appears to plagiarise a hit by the English rock band.

Key yesterday ordered a recall of 20,000 DVDs featuring him in a video called Ambitious for New Zealand after Coldplay's record company, EMI, warned National it was breaching copyright by using music similar to the smash hit Clocks. The DVD focuses on Key travelling New Zealand by car, visiting schools and factories and talking about his vision for the country.

Produced for National by Production Shed TV, the cost has not been disclosed but The Press understands the party spent $110,000 on it.

The DVD was meant to relaunch Key's image and introduce him to New Zealanders unfamiliar with the National leader, but the botch-up has embarrassed and angered the party.

Last week Key toured South Island centres, handing out thousands of the DVDs, and planned a similar North Island tour. National Party campaign manager Jo de Joux previously insisted the music had been commissioned from an Auckland artist and was original.

She said yesterday that the party was angry with the production company. "We paid these guys to make a DVD for us. We relied on their expertise and they have let us down."

Key said National should not have relied on Production Shed. "My people relied on the production company. In my opinion, they should have kicked it upstairs for me or one of the senior management team to sign off, and they didn't," he said.

Prime Minister Helen Clark called the DVD recall a "botch-up" and said she doubted National would be able to reclaim all those it had handed out. "I haven't seen it but I believe it to be vacuous in every respect," she said of the video. "Without the music, it will be even more vacuous."

John Key could be in copyright trouble over music used in the DVD to mark his year as National Party leader.

The party has been warned it is walking a fine line by using a newly created piece of music very similar to Coldplay's Clocks. The similarities are enough to have prompted the Australasian Performing Right Association, which manages copyright issues and licences for many international bands in New Zealand, to notify the copyright holder for Coldplay frontman Chris Martin.

The Weekend Herald asked a music lawyer and musicology analyst to compare the Coldplay song to music used in the opening segments of the Ambitious for New Zealand - Meet John Key DVD because of confusion from some readers about the song in its opening segments.

National Party campaign manager Jo de Joux said the music was composed by "an Auckland artist" and paid for by the production company which produced the DVD.

However, music lawyer Chris Hocquard said if it was similar enough that the public was confused into thinking it was Clocks, it could be in breach of copyright laws and the Fair Trading Act.

"The test is 'does it confuse?' Does the public listen to that and think 'that's Clocks?' There's a very fine line when you're doing this and you have to be careful not to cross it. And I'm not sure they haven't."

Dr Graeme Downes, the former Verlaines frontman who is now a musicology consultant at Otago University, said the music shared the same rumba beat, harmony and chords as Clocks.

It also had a similar drum introduction, and the key was the same, "which draws even greater attention to the harmonic similarity".

"If I were approached by a lawyer to furnish a report for a prosecution of copyright infringement against the music on the DVD I would happily do so. If approached by a lawyer to furnish a report in its defence, I would decline."

Martin is well-known for his alignment with left-wing causes, such as fair trade and Oxfam, and his opposition to the Iraq War and George Bush. In his acceptance speech after winning the best record Grammy for Clocks in 2004, he specifically endorsed presidential candidate Democrat John Kerry.

The NZ branch of Coldplay's record company, EMI, had no comment.

Source: http://www.nzherald.co.nz

Wikipedia.com featured earlier today four brand new song titles in the probable tracklist of Coldplay's forthcoming album - 'Forward In Time','The Let Out Cry', Double Sunset, Snow Covered Window and Sleeping On The Minefield. As these tracks have not been confirmed by Prospekt it is highly likely that they are hoaxes, fabricated by one of Wiki's many thousands of 'fixers'. More confirmed news here at Coldplaying as and when we have it.

Meanwhile, keep up to date with the current status of LP4 on the web's most comprehensive Coldplay Wiki, right here. Confirmed tracks include Lost!, Cemeteries Of London, Violet Hill, Poppy Fields, 42, Yes!, LeftRightLeftRightLeft, Rainy Day, Famous Old Painters and Glass Of Water.

And as someone on the Coldplaying messageboard put it:

Prospekt, CP or whomever it concerns....

When is the release date?

my patience is running thin.

[thanks Marisa, cephaus & madxy]

21st Century Leaders Foundation and its Whatever It Takes campaign are proud to announce a licensing partnership with the Wildcat Apparel Group Inc (Wildcat Apparel), the company responsible for the success of the Retro Sport brand, to benefit charitable organizations across the globe.

To date, the Whatever it Takes licensing campaign has raised over $1,000,000 to create and sustain charitable projects that tackle key global development issues including poverty alleviation, environmental conservation and the protection of children.

Wildcat Apparel will launch its collection by featuring the individually customized artworks of George Clooney, Nicole Kidman, Gwen Stefani, Donna Karan, Heidi Klum, Charlize Theron, Coldplay, Christopher & Dana Reeve, Foo Fighters, Franz Ferdinand, Ringo Starr, Yoko Ono, Joss Stone, Liam Neeson, Lucy Liu, Ozzy Osbourne, Billie Joe (Green Day), Ronnie Wood (Rolling Stones), Slash, Snoop Dogg, Suggs (Madness), Susan Sarandon, Minnie Driver, Samuel L Jackson, and Stella McCartney.

21st Century Leaders Foundation has gathered artworks from an extraordinary group of over 600 celebrated leaders, including each artists’ signed “message of hope” for the future. Wildcat Apparel will reproduce the celebrity artist’s original artwork, beginning with a men’s and women’s t-shirt collection available Holiday 2007 at better deparent stores, boutiques and specialty stores throughout the U.S. and Canada.

This will be the first time that such apparel will be available in the U.S. The Whatever it Takes sportswear collection features the latest techniques in garment dyeing and softening in order to create the most comfortable lifestyle collection. Wildcat Apparel’s Whatever It Takes branded products are manufactured under ethical working conditions in Los Angeles, California USA.

And as was previously reported, Coldplay plates that were available for pre-order are now on sale. The plates matches the charity mug previously sold. Proceeds go to 21st Century Leaders and WaterAid and Oxfam.

Each plate is 8" / 20.5cm in diameter and the price is £9.99 (approx. €14.77). You can order it here.

Read on for full details of the fight against poverty campaign behind these plates.

A new Celebrity-Designed Plate collection featuring designs from the likes of Coldplay, George Clooney and Giorgio Armani is being launched this month by Whateverittakes.org to raise money in the fight against poverty. Whatever It Takes is the charity founded by Charlotte di Vita MBE, one of Nelson Mandela’s Goodwill Ambassadors.

Due to her dedication to raising millions in the fight against poverty, Charlotte di Vita MBE was chosen by Nelson Mandela to be a Goodwill Ambassador for the Nelson Mandela Children’s Fund, along with 36 other influential international ambassadors. Nelson Mandela selected these people, including Will Smith, Samuel L Jackson and Oprah Winfrey, to continue the legacy of the Nelson Mandela Children’s Fund after his retirement.

Struck by such an overwhelming gesture, Charlotte came up with the project ‘Whatever It Takes’. This aimed to use the power of celebrity to generate funds for charity. Famous people around the world are asked to donate a small amount of their time to draw a symbol of hope, a simple self portrait of themselves as a stick person and write a message of hope. So far Whatever It Takes has collated drawings from over 600 celebrities, ranging from George Clooney to Nicole Kidman and Coldplay to Desmond Tutu.

These artworks are used to create ‘merchandise with a meaning’ which has included mugs, wristbands, clothing lines and a new plate collection which launched this month (August 07.)

These plates feature designs such as Sir Michael and Lady Shakira Caine’s sunflower, Giorgio Armani’s Chinese symbol of hope and George Clooney’s caricature self portrait, as well as designs from Coldplay, Minnie Driver and David Bowie. Plates designed by Nicole Kidman, Ewan McGregor, Claudia Schiffer, Sir Roger Moore, Donna Karan and Samuel L Jackson are also being launched soon.

Whether you choose a plate because you are an avid fan of the artist, you adore the artwork, or you support the celebrity’s charity, you are sure to find a plate you love.

Source: http://www.fibre2fashion.com

In anticipation of the much-awaited news of the release of Coldplay’s fourth album, there have been much speculation and hypotheses proposed by fans. Let us look more closely.

As has previously been announced in Coldplaying news, it is a special fourth album, and it is possible that Coldplay will call it ‘42’, and there are several reasons, considerable references, and apparently logical arguments that support this as a possible choice.

Firstly, it is known that one of the tracks will be called ‘42’, and that the album, as stated by Coldplay, will be 42 minutes long. What is less well known, is that this hypothetical title could actually be an acknowledgement to the previous album ‘X&Y’ and that the continuity between the third and fourth album is that these songs were previously tested and then excluded from the 2005 album, to be used in the not too distant future.

But, the most significant correlation between ‘Coldplay’ and number ‘42’ is an influence established by ‘The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy’, a series of science-fiction novels (later turned into film) from the 1980’s, written by Douglas Adams.

In the past, Coldplay has taken the cue from this book for the title of the song ‘Don’t Panic’, coupled with the image of the robot used in Talk, which was modelled on ‘Marvin, the Paranoid Android’. Using ‘42’ would create a real reference to the work of Adams.

The number ‘42’ is the answer to the fundamental question of life, the universe & everything, a concept freely taken from ‘The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy’ (in fact, the story describes a group of super-intelligent scientists who build ‘Deep Thought’, the second largest computer of all time, in order to get the response they were looking for. After seven and a half million years, the computer provides: 42.)

Finally, the number 42 has significant importance in the fields of mathematics, religion and the arts. At this point, Coldplay have neither confirmed nor denied any explanations that the hypothetical title may be ‘42’, but the number of hypotheses are at the very least surprising and fascinating.

EMI, which was the first major label to move away from DRM-protected music, has reported significant increases in digital sales of some of its most popular titles since the move.

Since EMI removed DRM-protection from its catalogue, it has witnessed a 115% increase in digital sales of Coldplay’s album, Rush of Blood to the Head, and a 272% increase in digital sales of Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon.

The writing is on the wall for major record labels unless they downsize and move into new revenue streams, such as artist representation, touring and merchandising. A recent analyst report on the Warner Music Group states that “an increasing majority of worldwide consumers simply view recorded music as ‘free’”.

British rock group Radiohead also left their major record label EMI recently, choosing to sell their record directly to their fans through their website. Radiohead’s recent album, In Rainbows, was sold directly to fans who were asked to pay what they wanted for the album.

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The Sun's 'Bizarre' Editor Vic was given a farewell present by Coldplay - a goodbye picture. Here's what she had to say about Coldplay:

I’m a huge fan of COLDPLAY and I have followed them since they first emerged as one of Britain’s best bands in 2000. I have interviewed CHRIS MARTIN a few times and bumped into him at different gigs during my time as Bizarre boss.

Chris, GUY, JONNY and WILL took time out at Coldplay HQ to draw the brilliant goodbye picture. Needless to say it will be framed and put in pride of place on a wall in my house.

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