Check out the 1999 section of Coldplay.com for a new star.

1 July 1999 Manchester Roadhouse

This is where we signed our first autographs!

Nowadays, albums which haven't been signed by us are worth more than the ones that have...

GB

You can discuss this star here onwards.

Check out the 1998 section of Coldplay.com for a new star.

This was our first band plan. We wrote it in 1998. You will notice we never won Gary Crowley’s demo clash on XFM. We were always beaten by the Llama Farmers [where are they now?]. Papereyes was their song and we all secretly liked it very much.

CM

You can discuss this star here onwards.

Liquid Air Lab in Germany have launched their new Web and Mobile portal called Spodtronic Live!, which contains lots of concerts from BBC archives, and also Coldplay’s Glastonbury Festival in 2000 gig, which you can listen to here.

Spodtronic Live! is available in the following countries who can enjoy this previously unreleased material on their PCs and a compatible mobile phones.

* Germany

* Austria

* Switzerland

* Finland

* Sweden

* Norway

* Belgium

* Italy

* Slovenia

* Greece

* Ireland

* France

The following countries will be added in the next weeks

* Denmark

* The Netherlands

* Spain

* Portugal

* Malta

* Cyprus

* Luxembourg

* Iceland

All the recordings of Spodtronic Live! are licensed by BBC Radio International (the British Broadcasting Corporation) and presented thanks to the partnership with the British recorded music industry body, the BPI.

Stay tuned to receive news about joining countries!

As previously reported, Coldplay have revealed the first details of their new album including a number of songs up for consideration for the final track listing.

Writing on their official blog the band announced that they had just returned to the studio after a month off. They wrote: “The plan has always been to make a short record. No more than 42 minutes. 9 songs (give or take).”

The songs which might make it to the final cut include ‘Lost!’, ‘Cemeteries Of London’, ‘Violet Hill’. ‘Poppy Fields’, ‘42’, ‘Yes!’, Leftrightleftrightleft’ and ‘Rainy Day’. The blog also stated that fans can expect two songs that won’t feature on the album to be released “independently” as well.

Which new track title is your favourite? Vote here. The latest poll results are:

Wednesday 5th September 2007

All back in the same room after a month off. I’ve missed the buzz. We’re still a few months from finishing, but already the arguments about tracklisting have begun. The plan has always been to make a short record. No more than 42 minutes, 9 songs (give or take) selected from the following:

Lost!

Cemetries of London

Violet Hill

Poppy Fields

42

Yes!

Leftrightleftrightleft

Rainy Day

To use a tired analogy, it’s like picking a football team. It’s not simply about individual talent, but overall cohesion and combined effectiveness.The bigger picture. An album that you can listen to from start to finish. The danger of this is that great songs may get left off the album because they don’t “fit”.

I have to confess that, as a confirmed non-musician, this approach slightly worries me. My feeling is that the album should be made up of the nine best recordings. If that means eight thrash metal tracks and one ballad then so be it. However that’s not the way the band see it and I have to respect their integrity.

Expect a short, concise record, with no fat and at least two top-division songs released independently.

-Prospekt-

Dutch Guitarist Peter Van Houten (alias Peter Van Wood) has accused Coldplay of plagiarism, in respect of the song 'Clocks', Coldplaying.com can reveal.

The guitarist, who has lived in Italy for several years, is looking for a million Euros from the British band due to plagiarism. According to 83 year old Van Wood, Coldplay’s 2002 single ‘Clocks’ is identical to his song ‘Caviar & Champagne’ which he wrote in 1982. Meanwhile Van Wood has called in a lawyer and seems to have the support of most of the callers to Italian Broadcaster RAI in his claim against Chris, Will, Jonny and Guy.

RAI played both songs and invited viewers to judge by SMS & internet. More than 56% agreed with the Dutchman. 43% did not feel that Coldplay copied Van Wood’s song. Van Wood is known in Italy as a guitarist with Neapolitan trio Carosone. He is also renound for his astrology. Speaking about his allegation, Van Wood argued, "For me is not a case of theft, I believe in their good faith. But I want to be recognized rights and the owner of the musical arrangement. I am consulting my legal representatives to formally request compensation of one million Euros."

Coldplay have not yet commented on this allegation, Coldplaying will bring you the latest as we get it.

You can discuss this story here [thanks coldpatrix]

Check out the 1998 section of Coldplay.com for a new star.

Jonny left his pedals in Devon. So we were in Manchester without our sound. But a nice truckdriver friend of my mum’s got them as far as Doncaster and Phil got them from there. We were 51st on the bill and Muse headlined.

We were jealous, but then, we always are…

CM

You can discuss this star here onwards.

Check out the 1998 section of Coldplay.com for a new star.

First Coldplay Rehearsal - January 1998

In my bedroom in the flat Chris and I shared in Camden, the two of us and Guy waited for Will to turn up. The dust was just settling after strippers upstairs practising their routines had sent out ceiling crashing down. We were worried, Will hadn’t played the drums much for years. He strolled in nonchalantly and played with incredible confidence and grace. We were now complete.

JMB

You can discuss this star here onwards [thanks alio & Loretín]

Prince freed himself from record labels years ago. Paul McCartney, Radiohead and Nine Inch Nails have followed. Now the Material Girl is kissing her big-name record company goodbye for a cool $120 million.

Could U2 be next? Justin Timberlake? Coldplay? Do superstars even need traditional multiyear album contracts when CD sales are plummeting and fans are swiping tons of music for free online, or tuning in to their favorite bands via YouTube, MySpace and other Internet portals?

“There’s a prevailing wisdom that many established acts don’t need a record label anymore,” says Bruce Flohr, an executive at Red Light Management, which represents artists such as Dave Matthews Band and Alanis Morrissette, and ATO Records, home to David Grey, Gomez and Crowded House, among others.

Executives at the four major record labels would not comment on the record for this story. But several noted privately that their companies are still the best at artist development, promotion and physical distribution of their product

The four majors are Warner Music Group Corp., Vivendi’s Universal Music Group, EMI Group PLC, and Sony BMG Music Entertainment, a joint venture of Sony Corp. and Bertelsmann AG. They accounted for more than 88 percent of all U.S. music album sales this year.

Still, some headliners are convinced they have the clout to change the rules.

Yesterday, Madonna and concert promoter Live Nation Inc. announced a deal that will give Live Nation a stake in her albums, tours, merchandising, films and other music-related projects. Financial terms were not disclosed in the joint statement released by Madonna and Live Nation, but a person familiar with the agreement previously told Associated Press it was worth about $120 million over 10 years.

Source: http://washingtontimes.com/

Check out the 1999 section of Coldplay.com for a new star.

Bull & Gate Gig - 1st April 1999

This was probably the gig that got us signed. It was a one-off show for Fierce Panda which coincided with the release of the Brothers & Sisters EP. There were mainly 'industry' types. Simon Williams who ran Fierce Panda consistently stuck his neck out for us and for that we are eternally grateful.

WC

You can discuss this star here onwards [thanks fixed]

For the German national holiday the radio station WDR 2 wanted listeners to vote for the 200 best albums of all time.

On the 3rd October WDR 2 announced the list and played one song of each album. Coldplay's A Rush Of Blood To The Head made it up to no.89. The winner..."Wish you were here" by Pink Floyd (a collage of that album, made up of the other 199 albums is below.)

The radio station chose to play "Clocks". The whole list and more information in German here. Discuss this list here [thanks Fraetes]

Can you spot Coldplay's album cover? (Yes it is there!)

Coldplay are working with King Creosote's producer Jon Hopkins on their new album, it has emerged.

Kenny Anderson, who is behind Creosote, said his producer was in the US playing keyboards for the record. Coldplay have also been working with Brian Eno and, from Anderson's account, it appears the album is nearly finished.

Anderson said: "It was just him and Chris Martin. There he was with the main man sitting having breakfast together and what have you. He had done a mix of a song for them, I think they're really happy with that. I don't know if he's gotten yet to do a collaboration or not, but I think it's going really well for him, I think he's been over in LA for a week."

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

Chris Martin, talking about Coldplay's 4th album has praised the producers working on the record. The Rolling Stone magazine reports:

Coldplay's website reports that the band has been recording its new album in Barcelona, incorporating "sounds and flavours of Latin America and Spain." So far though, frontman Chris Martin has said squat about the opus, until he broke his silence to update the Smoking Section (of Rolling Stone). "I don't want to say too much," Martin tells us. "But I'll say that the producers we're working with" - that would be Brian Eno and Marcus Dravs - "are fucking amazing."

Martin loves technology as much as Kip Dynamite - he and the band have spent hours on their computers referencing their favourite works, for their own sordid purposes. "We can be working on something and go, 'we should steal this from My Bloody Valentine and this from Rammstein and this from Jay-Z's first album, and then listen to this classical piece by Holst,'" he says. "It's a plagiarist's paradise. We used to just be able to steal off Radiohead. Now we can steal off everybody."

More on this article here [thanks Awhisper21]

Coldplay's fourth album is at mixing stage, say NME

Coldplay have reached the mixing stage of their fourth album, it has been revealed. Kenny Anderson (aka King Creosote) revealed that his producer Jon Hopkins has been working on the production of Coldplay's new album. He told BBC 6Music (available via the Coldplaying toolbar) that Hopkins recently mixed a song with Coldplay's Chris Martin.

"He's [Hopkins] done a mix of a song for them [Coldplay], I think they're really happy with that," said Anderson, before going on to explain that Hopkins had been playing keyboard on the new album.

"He's sitting in as their sort of guest keyboard player," he said. "They've been rehearsing for the new album, and he's sitting in doing keyboard parts, so I think they're trying stuff out. I don't know whether he'll get to go and play live with the band or not."

More on this exclusive story here [thanks dannybananie]

Check out the 2003 section of Coldplay.com for a new star.

24 March 2003 - Clocks Released

This performance-based video was directed by Dominic Lenng. Will always throws water about the place.

GB

You can discuss this star here onwards [thanks WCfan and the.hardest.part]

Rolling Stone’s 2008 Hot Issue spotlights acts like Band of Horses and Vampire Weekend (more on that here). For the next week, we’ll be taking a look at Hot Issue hits and misses from the past twenty-one years (because nobody’s cultural thermometer is accurate all the time).

Hit: In 2002, just before the release of A Rush of Blood to the Head, Rolling Stone caught up with Coldplay as they toured small clubs for perhaps the last time, and named the group Hot Band. It was a pretty accurate assessment. Rush went platinum four times; its follow-up, X&Y, sold more than two million copies. Perhaps fueled by his Hot List status, Chris Martin went on to wed Oscar-winning actress Gwyneth Paltrow, Rolling Stone’s Hot Actress of 1994, in 2003.

Miss: It was the year of Nirvana’s Nevermind. Pearl Jam’s Ten. Primal Scream’s Screamadelica. So many bands to choose from, yet we chose Chicago rockers Enuff Z’Nuff as “The Hot Band” of 1991. Maybe it was their faux-GN’R spirit that blinded us. In the end, the music of Pearl Jam and Nirvana resonated throughout the Nineties, while the only evidence of Enuff Z’Nuff’s existence, outside of that Hot Issue, is their cover of “Happy Holiday” that appears on the Monster Ballads X-Mas promo we just got in the mail.

Check out the 1999 section of Coldplay.com for a new star.

Trinity Ball - June '99

We played Trinity College Ball in Oxford as a warm up to Glastonbury. We came on after Jools Holland at 2.40am. The curfew was 3.00am! We managed a few songs before they pulled the plug!

GB

You can discuss this star here onwards [thanks Loretín]

Coldplay star Chris Martin has made an emotional journey to Scotland for the funeral of his beloved uncle.

He travelled alone to bid farewell to Angus Fleming on Arran. Ferry passengers spotted the rocker on his way to St Molio's Church in Shiskine, Blackwaterfoot, on Friday.

And his band's hit song Fix You was played during the ceremony. Chris, 30, went home after the funeral tea and was so exhausted he slept on the deck of the ferry between Brodick and Ardrossan. Chris said: "I'm very upset. My uncle has just died and I've been to his funeral. It's very difficult."

Read the full story here

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

Headlining Shepherd's Bush Empire - 22nd October 2000

This was our biggest headline show so far and the first time we encountered 'famous' people - Kylie, Natalie Imbruglia and Liam came along! This freaked us out a lot.

GB

You can discuss this star here [thanks fixed]

Infamous music tour photographer John Sault opens the first-ever exhibition of his work this week, at The Nicholas Gallery in Southwark. LIVE will include pieces from nearly two years of on the road with bands including Coldplay, The Killers and The White Stripes…

Source: London Lite Newspaper

Over six months on from Coldplay's Latin America tour, where are we up to with the 4th album? Here is Coldplaying.com's round-up of what's happened since early 2007...

On January 26, 2007, during an interview on BBC Radio 4's ''Front Row'', musician and producer Brian Eno revealed that he would be the producer for Coldplay's fourth album. The band confirmed this through a Question and Answer section on their official website.

In March 2007, famed producer Timbaland told GQ Magazine that he would be collaborating with the band on their next album.

On May 1, 2007, Coldplay.com was temporarily shut down. When the site was accessed, a note appeared atop an image of the previous site, reading: ''We are building a new site. It will be here VERY soon. Love, Coldplay.'' On June 18, 2007, the site was relaunched with a new design that resembled a journal timeline with hand written excerpts, pictures, and videos. As of August 16, 2007, the website did not contain any new official information on the new album such as release date and album title, but content found on the band's new site hinted that the new album title may be ''Prospekt''. The site also included notes on sessions with Eno and Markus Draagainevs, stating that the lyrics were "much more abstract, much more visual than before," and that the music is "less straight-forward, more oblique."

In July 2007 Coldplay revealed that the album seemed to be shaping up with Hispanic influences after having recorded in churches and other areas in Latin America and Spain, such as Barcelona. On their website, the band also described taking acoustic guitars and basic recording equipment to churches and experimenting with particular sounds. However, in the same note, it was stressed that the influence was not in any specific sound but a general feel to the songs taken as a whole.

On September 5, 2007, Coldplay revealed the track names of the new record on their website. It would be a short record (around 42 minutes) with approximately 9 songs, which will be chosen out of the following:

"Lost!"

"Cemeteries of London"

"Violet Hill"

"Poppy Fields"

"42"

"Yes!"

"Leftrightleftrightleft"

"Rainy Day"

Four other songs were written at various places throughout the list, but they were entirely blacked out, either indicating that they had been taken out of consideration, or the titles were not meant to be known.

On Friday, 21 September, Coldplay posted another London studio diary entry from Prospekt, who outlined the confidence the Coldplay members had in themselves and each other, and how each of the four bandmembers had matured musically. Here is how their latest diary entry read:

This is the album I always dreamed they would make. It's the sound of a band realizing their own strength. The sound of four men with total confidence in themselves and one another.

It's the sound of a songwriter at the peak of his ability. Lyrically and melodically, Chris seems to have broken through past constraints. There's a new confidence to venture beyond the limit of the known and comfortable. An urge to explore and discover. His energy is electrifying - sometimes intimidating. A manic bundle of love, passion, and rage. A veracious appetite for life, eagerly devouring every minute of every day. He knows that time is short.

Jonny, too, has explored a whole new universe of sounds magicking up a new world for each song. His guitars are all over this album. Will has manipulated, mashed and spliced beats and time signature to produce rhythms that lead rather than follow the song. Guy - always the tastemaker and musical authority of the band - has guided and shaped the whole process always pushing but unafraid to rein things in when necessary.

The four of them together make up a formidable unit, and this is the album people will remember them by.

NowPlayit.com - the website created by Outside Line, who also created Coldplay.com have won at this year’s BT Digital Music Awards!

Best Digital Service in association with BT Total Broadband

Winner: Now Play It - www.nowplayit.com

You may remember recently we posted information on the services they provide. Meanwhile both coldplay.com and coldplayzone.it were both runners up in the official and unofficial site categories respectively. Congratulations to all!

The next awards we'll be announcing are the Coldplaying Messageboard Awards 2007, which are taking place in December. Click here to see what's already happening!

Check out the 2005 section of Coldplay.com for a new star.

When Kylie got sick and couldn’t be at Glastonbury, everybody was gutted and so we decided to learn ‘Can’t Get You Out…’ and play it for her. First of all it’s fun to pretend to be Kylie in a song and second of all it goes down better live than all our other songs put together.

So, we owe her one! As we also do for Lou Reed at the Isle of Wight, who let us play ‘Perfect Day’.

CM

You can discuss this star here [thanks alio]

Outside Line, a London-based media & PR company are still working with Coldplay, Coldplaying.com can exclusively reveal. You may remember their recent work on the official Coldplay site. One of the companies in Outside Line's group, 'Now Play It', have recently worked with Coldplay on their downloadable music tuition site, www.nowplayit.com. You can check it out here [thanks Chris]

Now Play It' is a new and exciting way to learn and play your favorite songs. This unique video service features real music and real artists all backed by real learning techniques. It has been developed to help offer a more instant and direct way of learning, for every range of musician. 'Now Play It' aims to get people as close to the artist and songs they love as simply as possible.

God Put A Smile Upon Your Face: This quintessentially spacey Coldplay song features an interesting chord sequence which is enjoyable to play no matter how long you've been playing the guitar. It not only serves as a fun song to play, but also provides a good demonstration of some intriguing aspects of guitar playing, with the unconventional tuning system and the simple yet effective chord shapes

Talk: This song works really well played either electrically or acoustically. Perfect for the beginner who’s mastered some of the basic chord shapes and wants to explore bar chords. 6 chord positions will get you through the entire song, covering some of the better known major & minor bar chord variations.

Yellow: Learn to play the smash hit from the album Parachutes. Great for the intermediate acoustic players, this track gives a nice introduction and explanation to using alternative string tuning, it’s also a great track for working on your use of dynamics as the song changes between loud, powerful strumming to more delicate, quiet sections.

Shiver: Coldplay’s breakthrough single is here for you to learn. Uses dropped D tuning and some unconventional chord shapes. There’s info in the lesson on how to tune your guitar to dropped D if you’ve never done this before.

Speed Of Sound: With this tutorial, there is a beginner’s insight into playing chords that incorporate a simple riff. A song that would work equally well strummed on a single acoustic or played electric with a full band backing you up.

The Scientist: Learn to play this classic Coldplay track. Ideally suited to acoustic guitar. Can be played using a mixture of strummed and picked rhythm parts.

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

First Headline Tour - 2.10.07

We started this tour in Cambridge. Playing in what felt like massive venues, on our own was an amazing feeling. Some of the places, we’d played on the NME tour, some of the venues were the ‘bigger brother’ of ones we’d played in the past [Wolverhampton: Little Civic / Wulfun Hall.] Amazing!

WC

You can discuss this star here [thanks alio]

Check out the 2002 section of Coldplay.com for a new star.

In My Place Video 05/08/2002

This video was shot in the recently de-comissioned Saatchi Gallery. This song was the first single from Rush of Blood To The Head. Sophie Muller shot it and the two characters in the background are Faith Holmes [Video commissioner] and our make-up artist!

GB

More on this here [thanks sylvia]