Creative covers: Hard-Fi's stark image wins place in album art top 10

A black CCTV camera silhouetted against a bright yellow background has been named one of the best album covers of 2005. Hard-Fi's debut Stars of CCTV is joined by Franz Ferdinand's You Could Have It So Much Better and the Gorillaz' Demon Days in the top ten of album artwork from the past year.

Madonna, Robbie Williams, Coldplay and the Kaiser Chiefs have also been celebrated for their album designs.With CDs dominating the marketplace and music downloads on the rise, record sleeve artwork may seem to be in decline. But Art Vinyl, a company specialising in creating display cases for album covers which compiled the list, believes the different media can sit side by side, with fans downloading music to MP3 players at the same time as buying an LP to hang on their walls or play at parties.

One noticeable trend in 2005 was a shift away from using photographs of bands to sell music. Andrew Heeps, the managing director of Art Vinyl, said: "A lot of what we've chosen are really striking images, which aren't of bands. Pictures of bands date records to a certain time. Also, because CDs are the most popular format currently, when you reduce an image down the band members look really small."

He added: "The Hard-Fi album is an image that you see every day. It's a piece of marketing genius."

Kanye West, Coldplay and Franz Ferdinand have also eschewed putting their own pictures on the front of their records. Franz Ferdinand's first album cover simply displayed the band's name against a black background, but for their follow-up, the Glaswegian rockers have used a nostalgic picture of a woman in a 1920s head-dress.

Coldplay's third album X&Y is inspired by the artwork of earlier records. "It has had considerable influence from New Order's 'Blue Monday' and Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon," said Mr Heeps.

Madonna and Robbie Williams have both stuck to tradition, using their own images to showcase their latest releases. "They are both famous for reinventing themselves each time round," Mr Heeps explained.

One band that has chosen to use its own image on its latest album is Gorillaz - the animated band created by Blur's Damon Albarn.

"It reminds us of one of the Beatles' album covers, Let It Be," said Mr Heeps. "It's going back to old imagery, but to have cartoon characters instead is great."

Seven-inch singles could be the next boom area for record sleeve artwork, with recent figures showing an increase in sales of more than 80 per cent in the second quarter of 2005.

"They are a great way for bands to use imagery and very affordable art to buy," said Mr Heeps.

The best covers of 2005:

1. Hard-Fi Stars of CCTV

2. Franz Ferdinand You Could Have it So Much Better

3. Gorillaz Demon Days

4. Robbie Williams Intensive Care

5. Madonna Confessions on a Dancefloor

6. Coldplay X&Y

7. Mylo Destroy Rock & Roll

8. Goldfrapp Supernature

9. Kaiser Chiefs Employment

10. Kanye West Late Registration

Shayne Ward, the winner of last week's talent show ratings juggernaut "The X Factor," achieved the coveted Christmas No. 1 single in with "That's My Goal."

Eminem's "Curtain Call" compilation was the Christmas No. 1 album, beginning its fourth week at the top. He also got a new hit single for Christmas, as "When I'm Gone" entered at No. 5.

Ward's instant success prevented underdogs Nizlopi from maintaining the top spot with their novelty ballad "JCB Song," which fell to No. 2 in its second week.

Newish at No. 3 was a reissue of holiday favourite, "Fairytale of New York" by the Pogues featuring the late Kirsty MacColl. The track was a No. 2 hit in 1987, held back only by the Pet Shop Boys' "Always on My Mind." It also reached No. 36 on a previous reissue in 1991.

Also new in the festive top 10 were Girls Aloud, whose cover of Dee C. Lee's 1985 ballad "See the Day" opened at No. 9, and Coldplay, whose "Talk" [pictured] came in at No. 10. There was a No. 11 entry for James Blunt's "Goodbye My Lover"; his debut album, "Back to Bedlam," rebounded two places to No. 2 in its 27th week on the album chart.

The album survey showed little other movement, with Coldplay's "X&Y" up three places to No. 11 and former Blue member Simon Webbe's "Sanctuary" debut rising four places to No. 18.

Around Europe, Robbie Williams' "Intensive Care" moved up one place to reclaim the crown on the European Top 100 Albums chart, while Madonna scored a sixth week atop the Eurochart Top 100 Singles survey with "Hung Up."

Source: Reuters/Billboard

Gwyneth Paltrow has competition... Pussycat Dolls singer Nicole Scherzinger [pictured] is in love with her husband Chris Martin.

The sexy singer has a major crush on the singer because she thinks he is a genius. The American star gushed to Star magazine: "You know who I have a crush on? Chris Martin is just hotty patotty! Oh my gosh! His music is genius! We love talented boys."

When asked if she thought Chris was a geek, she added: "I love that though! A man with a brain. I'm down with that!"

Source: femalefirst.co.uk

The hard numbers on bestselling albums hadn't come in by press time, but it looks like the slump continues here, too. On the other hand, IPods and such are all the rage, so we'll have to get the bean-counters working out this one. There's some fat at the top in the record business, too. The top sellers include Mariah Carey, Faith Hill, Nickelback, 50 Cent, Usher, Gwen Stefani, Kelly Clarkson, Black-Eyed Peas and Tim McGraw - none of which made the top 10...

4. X&Y, Coldplay - Comes out on top of the sensitive light rock brigade. Here's hoping for a stop in Edmonton in 2006.

Read that full article here

4. Coldplay, “X&Y” (Capitol): So much potential to be album of the year but too much manicured pondering to make it that far. Chris Martin and Co. became so preoccupied with outdoing U2 — silly boys — that they lost sight of their own strengths. “Fix You” is easily the band’s most majestic song ever and “Square One” skips along an irresistible groove, but much of “X&Y” is like a vapid blonde...

Read that full article here

Coldplay - X&Y (EMI) Perhaps Coldplay’s third album would have been better titled with a gigantic question mark. For Chris Martin’s plaintive voice so frequently soars in search of answers – pole-axed by the big conundrums of life, niggled by the smaller ones. Anyone who ever doubted their place in the world could find something here to chime with their own emotions. Love ’em or loathe ’em (and this was the year in which we all assumed one of those two positions) the quality of the work was not to be denied.

Read the full article here

Most journalists like ending the year on a down note with "factual" retrospectives. As far as I'm concerned, those journalists are whores. Jonathan David Morris is the only one with the guts to compile the year's best stories with a reckless disregard for accuracy.

3. Live 8 gives AIDS to Africans. Oops, I'm sorry. Gives aid to Africans. Aid. Not AIDS.

In an unprecedented effort to wipe the scourge of AIDS off the continent of Africa, famous recording artists perform free concerts around the world in July. The event is dubbed Live 8, and its goal is to "raise awareness" of the African AIDS situation. Later that evening, Coldplay's Chris Martin sets off a fire alarm by rubbing his temples and concentrating.

Read the full list here

A new book has the Welsh celebrity-sodden culture frothing with pleasure. Called The Dictionary of National Celebrity, by William Donaldson and Hermione Eyre, it takes a wry look at the famous folk of today. Inspired by this, in a three-part series, Claire Hill has come up with her own A to Z of who's who and what's what in Welsh public life today.

Buckland, Johnny - (September 11, 1977)

You may not have realised this, but Coldplay have Welsh credentials. Well, at least the sexy guitarist Johnny Buckland does. He can boast that he was brought up in Mold.

Read the full listing here

Coldplay performed seven tracks over two sessions at Maida Vale this Christmas, the first on Radio 1 on 22nd December, the second on Radio 2 on 27th December.

You can download them here:

Radio 1 - 22nd December

Radio 2 - 27th December

An 'interesting' review has popped up from an REM site. Worth a read, just for its comedy value.

Went to see Coldplay last Monday at the M.E.N. - worst gig i've ever been to, I was gutted . I couldn't get standing tickets, so I ended up sitting in the nosebleed section as far away from the stage as was possible, so I could barely even see the stage. The atmosphere was rubbish, hardly anyone was singing (cept me, lol), and NO-ONE stood up. The band were only on about an hour and 20 minutes. I saw them in Bolton over the summer, they were amazing (and on longer too) - i'm not even that big a Coldplay fan, I only went on Monday cos they were so good the first time. The setlist was dead unimaginitive too, just basically singles and a few random track from X&Y, hardly anything at all off Parachutes. At least the support act, Richard Ashcroft was good, he did a few songs from Urban Hymns, like Bittersweet Symphony and The Drugs Don't Work, so I enjoyed seeing him. Going to see KT Tunstall in January, so I'm looking forward to that - I saw her support Travis at the Cavern Club last year, before she anyone had heard of her, she was dead good then.

Anyone who thinks KT Tunstall is "dead good" wants banning from every concert venue, "LOL".

Source: murmurs.com

The public may have fallen for James Blunt, the ex-army captain with a penchant for touching love songs, but it was Arcade Fire from Montreal who set the critics alight this year.

While the critics entirely dismissed popular acts including James Blunt, Robbie Williams, Westlife and Katie Melua, other acts beloved by real record-buyers do feature in the top 50. Coldplay, whose album X&Y was one of the best-sellers of the year, makes number 30 in the critics' poll while Kaiser Chiefs are at number nine.

Read the full article here

Coldplay were guests today on Ken Bruce's radio show on Radio 2 [uK], where they played a live set of Talk, What If and Don't Panic.

They also mentioned more on next year's tour, including shows in South America late next year.

More on the show and to download the audio, click here

[Thanks Alex & stevemah]

One of Liverpool’s cultural landmarks is under threat from the city’s selection as European City of Culture.

Parr Street Studio, a converted 19th-century warehouse that helped to create the Britpop movement and where Coldplay, Pulp, the Stereophonics and the Charlatans recorded, may be converted into flats.

The threat comes from an earlier generation of rock stars, Phil Collins, Mike Rutherford and Tony Banks of Genesis, who have applied for a conversion to 41 luxury flats worth millions to profit from the property boom generated by Liverpool’s status as the 2008 City of Culture.

Ken Nelson [pictured], a music producer who has won three Grammy awards during his time at Parr Street after working on Coldplay’s hit albums Parachutes and A Rush of Blood to the Head, said: “To lose the studios would be a great shame.”For the past 12 years the three-studio complex, the largest in the city and the biggest outside London, has been used by Diana Ross, Feeder, the Beautiful South, Teenage Fanclub and Embrace. Other artists and groups to have recorded there include Barry Manilow, Sleeper, Björk, Simply Red and Take That.

He added that if the studios closed, musicians would have no reason to come to Liverpool to record. The city’s rock heritage has helped to increase visitor numbers, and many music tours, which centre on the Cavern Club, where the Beatles played, include Parr Street.

Thomas Laing, a singer and producer who made the video that helped Liverpool to become City of Culture, said that he wanted to meet Collins to try to persuade him to abandon the plans to scrap the studio.

“We don’t have the power to stop them selling the building to a developer,” he said. “There is a huge gulf between us and him and his group, he may not even know what is being proposed for the studio.”

Warren Bradley, Liverpool City Council’s executive member for culture, said: “The loss of Parr Street would be desperately sad. In my opinion the city centre does not need any more developments of flats. I want these creative people to continue to come to Liverpool and if the worst comes to the worst we must do our best to help to relocate people.”

The value of Parr Street has risen with two redevelopments in the area, a £750 million project by the Duke of Westminster and another called Ropewalks. Speculators have been buying old warehouses near the docks.

The planning application has been postponed until councillors have visited the site, which could be worth £1.5 million.

A spokesman for Collins’s property company, Hit and Run, said it was in disrepair and much of it was not used.

It might not mean another British pop invasion, but England is swinging these days more than it has in years with world-beating acts including Coldplay, Gorillaz, Kaiser Chiefs, Girls Aloud, balladeer James Blunt and the hot new band Arctic Monkeys.

Rock elders Paul McCartney, the Rolling Stones and Oasis still record and tour with enormous success but the vibrant pop scene is embracing a wide range of new acts, even those from across the Atlantic such as Scissor Sisters, the Killers and Arcade Fire.

Read the full article here

Oscar winning actress Gwyneth Paltrow has revealed that she married Coldplay frontman Chris Martin because he reminded her of her late father Bruce.

The actress realized that she was having difficulty in choosing a partner as she compared all men to her father, until close pal Madonna reminded her of a chat they once had about love and loss. "She (Madonna) said to me that I once told her that I wasn't ready to pick the right person because I wasn't ready to replace my father as the main man in my life," she was quoted by Contactmusic, as saying.

"It's true. I feel like I was never really with anybody who was a real contender. He's got the same blue eyes and curly hair and the long, long muscles" she added.

But Paltrow knew she'd found her future husband when she met Martin, because he was so similar to her late father.

In a related story, the Daily Mail reports that Macrobiotic diets, yoga and alternative therapies offer the path to beauty, according to Gwyneth Paltrow. But the 33-year-old actress is ready to make a big departure from her strictly holistic lifestyle - for plastic surgery on her breasts.

Miss Paltrow, who has a 19-month-old daughter and is pregnant again, blames breastfeeding for changing her shape for the worse. She now regards having surgery as a necessity rather than indulgence. "I think women who have breastfed understand what I'm saying - that if you get a boob job it's more reconstructive surgery, actually, than cosmetic surgery,' she told the U.S.magazine Allure.

"Everybody should do what makes them feel good and happy as long as they are not starving themselves to death. But if you can eat in a healthy way and keep exercising and get a little something done here and there, why not? I'm sure when the time comes, I'll be in there doing something."

Miss Paltrow, who is four months pregnant, told the magazine she is still devastated by the death of her father from throat cancer three years ago. She said her husband, Coldplay singer Chris Martin, reminded her of him. She explained: "He's got the same blue eyes and curly hair."

The new kings of British rock were Coldplay, whose X&Y went to number one in 32 countries (including America), taking them into the realms of stadium superstardom. Mind you, they still suffered the indignity of having their comeback single, Speed of Sound, kept off the top of the charts by Crazy Frog, a jumped-up ringtone. Maybe the brave new digital world isn't going to be so different after all.

There was something for everyone in 2005, from the groundbreaking Arctic Monkeys to the old Harrovian who topped the charts.

There have been great years for popular music: 1957, 1964, 1967, 1977, 1983, 1995. This year could be right up there, the first classic of a new century. There was a sense of a generational shift, as the internet began to really work in music's favour: fostering quirky talent from the margins, creating movements and fan bases, spreading the word in an organic fashion, enabling music lovers to hear about something and download it in the first rush of enthusiasm.

Read the full article here

Top of The Pops Christmas Special (Music)

Starting: 14:00 on Sunday 25th December. Duration: 1 hour

Showing on BBC 1.

Coldplay (Music)

Starting: 15:00 on Sunday 25th December. Duration: 1 hour

Showing on VH2.

Coldplay (Music)

Starting: 11:00 on Monday 26th December. Duration: 1 hour

Showing on VH2.

Top Tunes of 2005 (Entertainment)

Starting: 23:00 on Monday 26th December. Duration: 1 hour

Showing on The Music Factory.

Coldplay Live (Music)

Starting: 00:00 on Tuesday 27th December. Duration: 1 hour

Showing on VH2.

Coldplay (Music)

Starting: 14:30 on Tuesday 27th December. Duration: 50 minutes

Showing on TG4.

Live 8 (Music)

A look back at the best of the worldwide Live 8 concerts which took place in support of Make Poverty History in July this year. With music from Paul McCartney, U2, Madonna, Robbie Williams, The Who, Pink Floyd, Coldplay, Elton John and many many more. Jonathan Ross, Fearne Cotton and Jo Whiley were there for the BBC on the day and the programme will feature their unique behind the scenes perspective on the event.

Starting: 10:00 on Wednesday 28th December. Duration: 2 hours

Showing on BBC 1.

TMF’s Bands of 2005 (Music)

Check out selection of the best bands of 2005, featuring the likes of Coldplay, Green Day, U2 and more.

Starting: 14:00 on Wednesday 28th December. Duration: 1 hour

Showing on The Music Factory.

MTV Europe Music Awards 2005 (Music)

Starting: 17:00 on Wednesday 28th December. Duration: 3 hours

Showing on MTV UK.

Coldplay (Music)

Starting: 11:00 on Thursday 29th December. Duration: 1 hour

Showing on VH2.

Source: mycoldplay.com

Since it's Christmas, Radio 1 decided to invite Coldplay to the Maida Vale studios to perform in front of a specially invited audience.

Jo Whiley also had some festive chat with Chris and the boys, swapped presents, and were treated to a special festive song at the end.

You can watch a video of this very special event here, and you can also see it by pressing the red button on your digital TV.

You can view all the pictures from the day here

Chris Martin [pictured] has revealed his admiration for Arctic Monkeys especially Alex Turner.

Martin says that he loved their debut single ‘I Bet You Look Good On The Dance Floor’ and added that he is amazed at the quality of Turner’s lyrics.

Martin said according to contactmusic: “Anyone who can write a line like, 'You're not from New York/You're from Rotherham,' is a genius in my book. That guy (Turner) is immensely talented."

Source: http://www.gigwise.com

Embrace frontman Danny McNamara [pictured] has revealed that he persuaded Coldplay to spend more time on recording ‘X & Y’.

McNamara thought his close friends were rushing things and did the honourable thing and lent a hand.

He told the Coldplay website: “I told him to postpone the mastering and take time off over Christmas to live with what they had. I felt they needed a couple more songs and that the mixes could have been better. They’d just re-recorded the whole album in a month and were mixing it in a hurry."

What a novel chap!

Source: http://www.gigwise.com

Chris Martin thanked the Belfast crowd for not forgetting Coldplay since their last gig 'over here' three years ago.

However, from opener Square One - the first track on the four piece's bucketload-selling third album X&Y, it was clear that absence had only made the heart grow fonder. And in this time, the group has meantime acquired the sort of mainstream fame that means one of their albums could well be somebody's sole musical purchase in one year. Put it this way, you don't have to be a music fan to be a Coldplay fan these days.

This is just part of one review, you can read all the full reviews for this particular date here

Paolo Maugeri, of MTV Italy, has written a blog about his recent access all areas accompaniment with Coldplay. You can read the blog here

The article is in Italian - if anyone out there can translate the article into English I'd be very grateful!

The December edition of the Coldplay E-Zine is now available online. This month's edition includes an exclusive interview with Embrace’s Danny MacNamara and insight into one of the band’s busiest years yet.

Download the E-Zine here

Coldplay popped in to Jo Whiley's Radio 1 Live Lounge segment (Thursday 22nd December). They perfomed Speed Of Sound, God Put A Smile Upon Your Face, Talk and White Christmas.

You can listen to the show online and hear the boys chat in between songs with Jo - click here

Watch this space for information on a special Christmas video, taken from the Radio 1 Live Lounge session with Jo Whiley. The show was filmed and it will be broadcast on Christmas Eve on Sky ( press the red button to access it). The time of the broadcast will be 2pm.

Coldplay are now taking a well deserved break and will be back next year.

Having watched Oasis return to form with a power packed display on Sunday night, I was intrigued to see how Coldplay would match up. They did not disappoint.

Taking to the stage with a huge roar after Richard Ashcroft had royally entertained the crowd, the foursome launched into a vibrant Square One as Chris Martin bopped about the stage like an excited teenager.

The lead singer's infectious enthusiasm shone out for Politik as he banged the keys to his piano, his entire frame reverberating with the music.

Read the full reviews here

It was another year in the iPod driven world of the 'single' and thus another year of slumping album sales. So it came to be that 2005 was The Year of Playing it Safe. Artists weren't as daring as in years past and with pressure from anticipated followups and waning sales, few limbs were ventured onto. And that's OK, at least for my picks for the best albums of 2005. While the majority of artists took their eyes off the prize of innovation, they also ignored the trend of one killer track supported by 10 or 11 mindless ones, making these eight truly great albums of the year.

1. Coldplay, "X & Y"

If anyone can play it safe and still be amazing, it's Coldplay. There were worries: overproduction due to the bands' agonizing, escaping the shadow cast by their previous album which was a monster success, highly publicized additions to families. But in the end, the impossibility of disconnecting Chris Martin's oft-dreamy and universal lyrics of love and wonder from the specifics of his celebrity wife and baby, were replace with the impossibility of picking a favorite song from the lush sonic landscapes the band delivered.

Standout tracks: "Fix You," "Swallowed in the Sea"2. David Gray, "Life In Slow Motion"

Another lad from across the pond who knows the pressure of a follow-up, who has wrestled with the limitations of his own sound and his desire to do more is David Gray. But "Life In Slow Motion" sees him shedding these hang-ups, and sometimes arguing with them, and results in a powerful album from start to finish.

Standout tracks: "Hospital Food," "The One I Love"

3. Missy Higgins, "Sound of White"

And if David Gray was a woman from Australia, he's be Missy Higgins - a smart singer-songwriter with distinct vocals and a pleasing way of delivering them. It's a simple but solid debut, with sweet melodies and Higgins' solid pipes and charming lyrics holding steady throughout.

Standout tracks: "Scar," "Night Minds," "The Special Two"

4. Athlete, "Tourist"

In the event that Coldplay's new album fell short, Athlete was waiting in the wings with their own brand of pretty melancholy. Fortunately for us, both Brit bands delivered the goods and we got two terrific albums.

Standout tracks: "Half Light," "Yesterday Threw Everything At Me"

5. Franz Ferdinand, "You Could Have It So Much Better"

Sophomore slump? Franz Ferdinand doesn't know the meaning of the phrase. Their first single "Do You Want To" has a smarmy little lick that is the best piece of music created this year - and that was just Track 2. The Scots are back a little wiser and with a lot more swagger. Their upfront, animated style that served them so well on their debut album is as prevalent as ever if not better crafted, but now their success spans to include songs that are more dainty yet no less effective. They are becoming a powerhouse.

Standout tracks: "Walk Away," "Eleanor Put Your Boots On," "Evil and A Heathen"

6. Shout Out Louds, "Howl Howl Gaff Gaff"

This power-pop group from Sweden presented the best feel-good album of the year. Peppy and saccharine with plenty of energy and tambourine to spare, the Shout Out Louds were a breath of fresh air in a mundane year for music.

Standout tracks: "100 Degrees," "Very Loud," "Oh Sweetheart"

7. The Magic Numbers, "The Magic Numbers"

Another new group offering a distinct blip on the otherwise flatlined music scene is The Magic Numbers. With an alt-country twang and pop music tendencies, The Magic Numbers gave us a hip-shaking, hand-clapping debut album that included pop songs, sad songs and even a waltz.

Standout tracks: "Long Legs," "I See You, You See Me"

8. Kanye West, "Late Registration"

Probably the most anticipated follow-up album this year, the Grammy-winning Louis Vuitton Don is not one to falter under pressure. While uneven, the album is the exception to my criteria because the half of throwaway tracks are vastly outweighed by the other, mind-blowing half. While critics balk at his use of samples and guest spots, citing lack of creativity, West is making something all his own. Something classy, catchy and unmistakably great.

Standout tracks: "Gold Digger," "Hey Mama," "Touch The Sky"

Source: http://www.billingsgazette.com

Actress Gwyneth Paltrow will think twice about renting a romantic getaway home for her and husband Chris Martin after a recent dream break turned into a nightmare.

The 33-year-old star decided to treat Chris Martin [pictured with Paltrow, left] to a two-week break in East Hampton, New York, after he completed Coldplay’s North American summer (2005) tour and rented a palatial ocean-side property without checking it out first.

She recalls, “The place was filthy when we got here. I went to use the cheese grater and there was still cheese on it.”

Source: ContactMusic