Gwyneth Paltrow is reportedly set to join husband Chris Martin on tour next year with their baby daughter, Apple.

The Hollywood beauty, who gave birth to the couple's first child in May, is keen to accompany Chris on Coldplay's British tour next May, as she doesn't want to be apart from him. A source said: "She doesn't want to be at home without Chris for weeks. Now they have a baby she loves being a family unit."

Gwyneth, who married the singer in secret ceremony last December, recently slammed rumours she bosses her husband around. The Oscar-winning star blasted reports she wears the trousers in her marriage to Chris and insisted they were equals who compliments each other.

Coldplay has received an apology from former Creation Records boss Alan McGee, who once branded the band "music for bedwetters".

McGee, who has signed legends including Oasis and Primal Scream, admits he misjudged the popular mood when he voiced his comments.

He said, "It was an off-the-cuff, bizarre Northern (English) remark really. I don't get off on their music, but eight million people do, so good luck to them."

More on this story here

Chris Martin has defended the Band Aid 20 single, saying that people should buy it regardless of whether they like it or not.

’Do They Know It’s Christmas?’, which hit the number one spot in the UK singles chart for the second week last night (December 12), has attracted some criticism over it’s allegedly ‘patronising’ and ‘inaccurate’ lyrics.

Martin said: "What, of the words? I think this whole, because I’ve encountered a lot of cynicism about this Band Aid thing and I think it’s kind of nonsense because to me it’s not about the song or about the words, it is about the images you sometimes see in the videos. But to me it would be no different if a bunch of pop stars were just standing about banging pots and saying we’re interested in this thing that’s going on in Africa."

He added: "It doesn’t matter what you’re doing, we could all be doing a headstand together it’s just a fact that enough people from one culture are coming on TV basically and saying ‘What about this problem?"During an interview on The Jonathan Dimbleby Programme screened on ITV1 yesterday, Martin said; "I think, you, people say that song’s rubbish, or the words are rubbish... it’s like if you pass a busker and didn’t give him some money because you thought the song he was playing was terrible but you could see that he was a bit cold.

"You know what I mean. The music doesn’t really matter, not to put a slight on the song that is, it’s got some nice changes, but you know I don’t think anybody did it for musical reasons."

The singer, who is set to release the new Coldplay album in March, also expressed his fears over the potential "apocalypse" of global poverty. He said: "I’m like anybody else, you can either ignore it and just pretend it doesn’t exist or in my case you can feel like you’ve been given so much that... you have to take an interest in it."

"Also, I’ve got a baby and I think if the world keeps going the way it is, it’s going to be bad for everybody not just for poor people because it can’t keep going the way it is, you know trade the way it is, or Aids the way it is," Martin explained. "So I don’t want to see the apocalypse."

However, when asked whether he had hope for the future and whether he thought steps could be taken to defeat global poverty and disease, Martin stated that "it’s really achievable".

"It’s not a mystical thing - it literally takes like ten men to just sit round a table and say ‘Yeah, why don’t we change this law?', or 'Why don’t we lower the tariff barrier on imports from Ghana?' or 'Why don’t we, why don’t we stop sending so much surplus rice to Mexico?’ - this is in the case of America. It's very easy to do. That’s why I’m excited because I feel like if people like me make the right albums and sell enough records, can talk to the right people, you know - it’s exciting."

Source: NME

Coldplay frontman Chris Martin said defeating global poverty was an "achievable goal" and not some mystical dream.

The campaigning musician said it just needed the will to change and warned if action was not taken the world faced an apocalypse. Martin said: "It really is an achievable goal to at least lessen world poverty and to lessen the Aids problem and to make trade laws fairer.

"It's really achievable, it's not a mystical thing ... it literally takes like 10 men ... to just sit round a table and say 'Yeah why don't we change this law', or 'Why don't we lower the tariff barrier on imports from Ghana?' or 'Why don't we, why don't we stop sending so much surplus rice to Mexico?' It's very easy to do. That's why I'm excited because I feel like if people like me make the right albums and sell enough records ... can talk to the right people."

The singer was talking on ITV1's Jonathan Dimbleby Programme today as part of a pre-Christmas special on global poverty. Martin, who is married to Hollywood star Gwyneth Paltrow, told the programme: "I'm like anybody else, you can either ignore it and just pretend it doesn't exist or in my case you can feel like you've been given so much that .... you have to take an interest in it.

"I've got a baby and I think if the world keeps going the way it is, it's going to be bad for everybody, not just for poor people, because it can't keep going the way it is, you know, trade the way it is, or Aids the way it is. So I don't want to see the apocalypse."

The pop star said he believed Tony Blair and Mr Brown "genuinely want to do something positive" with their development agenda adding: "They know that they can do something special next year. "I mean they're hosting the G8 and they're in charge of the EU and Peter Mandelson's trade minister, and they're in a really influential position next year, and I'm excited because I think that they're as much as a politician can be."

Quadruple UK Olympic gold medalist Matthew Pinsent was interviewed recently... amongst finding a lost dog he has a few words on Coldplay:

What was the last CD you bought?

Ooh, good question. It's been a while, actually. Probably Coldplay. I'm very eclectic - I go from classical through to Norah Jones to Coldplay. Wait one second [after a short pause and a shout of "coming", Matthew returns]. Sorry about that, the neighbour's lost his dog. [Really? asks Small Talk] Yeah, but he's just turned up in my garden so it's all right.

Read the full interview here

Gwyneth Paltrow has slammed rumours she bosses her husband around.

The Oscar-winning star - who gave birth to the couple's first daughter, Apple, earlier this year - blasted reports she wears the trousers in her marriage to Coldplay frontman Chris Martin. She said: "I think that Chris and I are a good team. I have the strength in some ways and he has the strength in others - he's a very strong man, and I definitely don't boss him around."

Meanwhile, the blonde beauty says she's become less strict about her diet since her father died. The 'Shakespeare in Love' star says her priorities have shifted since she lost her father to cancer and became a parent herself.

She told Britain's You magazine: "Since my father died my perspective on life has changed. I used to be strictly macrobiotic in my diet, for example, but since I've realised that if I want to have some ice cream or parmesan cheese, then I'm going to. You can't deny yourself all the time."

Source: Eircom

Band Aid 20's 'Do They Know It's Christmas' has gone straight to the top of the UK singles chart, outselling all other top 40 singles COMBINED.

The song, which has even been purchased by Tony Blair is officially one of the biggest selling singles of the year, selling in the region of 300,000 copies within a week.

The track, which features a host of superstars including Paul McCartney, Chris Martin, Bono and Robbie Williams, is now tipped to remain at Number one until Christmas.Elsewhere in the singles chart it’s a good week for new entries, with hits from Ice Cube, Green Day, Natasha Bedingfield and Babyshambles.

Pete Doherty’s new band have their biggest ever hit with 'Killamangiro', which is a new entry at Number 8.

The top ten UK singles are:

1. Band Aid 20 - ‘Do They Know It’s Christmas’

2. Ice Cube featuring Mack 10 & Ms Toi - ‘You Can Do It’

3. Destiny’s Child - ‘Lose My Breath’

4. Girls Aloud - ‘I’ll Stand By You’

5. Green Day - ‘Boulevard Of Broken Dreams’

6. Natasha Bedingfield - ‘Unwritten’

7. Lemar - ‘If There’s Any Justice’

8. Babyshambles - ‘Killamangiro’

9. Nelly & Christina Aguilera - ‘Tilt Ya Head Back’

10. Snoop Dogg featuring Pharrell - ‘Drop It Like It’s Hot’

Virgin Radio is searching for the top 500 songs of all time, and we need your help in voting some Coldplay songs into the list.

Virgin will be playing out every song in the top 500, starting on Monday 27 December 2004. Tune in between 10.00am and 7.00pm Monday to Thursday, and then on Friday 31 December for the finale, between 1.00pm and 6.00pm.

Please vote for your three favourite Coldplay tracks here

The BBC are screening a behind the scenes special of the making of Band Aid 20 tomorrow (Monday) at 10.35pm on BBC1.

It will show a special with access to many of the stars, including Chris Martin. Talking about the logistical nightmare of getting all the stars together - in 1984 and now - are producer Nigel Godrich, plus Bob Geldof and Midge Ure.

Given their continued devotion to the cause, it's easy to see how they did it.

Debs Wild from the official Coldplay site has spoken of the latest offerings from Coldplay. This is what she had to say:

I went to the studio today to see the band, they are all in fine form and things are nearly done there.

Chris invited me to listen to some of the finished tracks which was very exciting. Many people had been asking me something since The Nappies, so here it is officially from first hand knowledge and I hope you'll all be glad to know, there's not a rap or hip hop beat in sight!

I will tell you that one song has used a Krafwerk hook, but it's not an electronica album.

I can't give away titles and stuff, but I can tell you it's sounding great!!

It's again a deparure from the last album, but still our Coldplay, so nothing too drastic.

They say hello to you all and hopefully Will is going to be the featured interviewee for the end of year Ezine/Newsletter.

A very happy Debs

Thanks for the update, Debs!

Coldplay have visited countries around the world but it seems they forgot latinamerican fans. They only had visited Mexico. All latin fans are waiting for a tour around the South America countries like Chile, Argentina, Colombia, Peru, Brazil etc.

All latin fans of Coldplay who want to see them live should sign the online petition letter. Maybe this could to be in their hands someday and they decide to visit South America. Please sign with your name and your country.

http://www.petitiononline.com/CP2004/petition.html

Thanks for your help.

MAFE

It has been reported in today’s Sun that the band are shunning large venues in favour of smaller university venues with capacities of only 1,000 people.

The band are planning to release their new album in March next year and are planning a glut of gigs of home turf to promote it including gigs in Liverpool, Scotland and London.

However, it seems that this rumour is without foundation. A spokesperson for the band has told NME that the story is "Rubbish" and that the band are likely to be in America at that time. As previously reported on Coldplaying.com it has however been confirmed that the band are to headline 'A Sounds Eclectic Evening', organised by LA radio station KCRW on March 12.

Coldplay are set to reach new heights in their career when they perform halfway up a mountain in the Himalayas.

The lads have confirmed they will headline the concert at Nepal's Kathmandu National Stadium for free, in order to raise money for a local children's charity.

"We're very excited by it. You don't get to play a place like this every day," said guitarist Jonny Buckland.

Source: MegaStar

Jonny has given an exclusive interview to Q magazine. It will appear in the February edition of the acclaimed music magazine, which will hit the shelves in January 2005.

You can discuss this story here

More than 72,000 copies of the new Band Aid single were sold on its first day of release, according to sales figures. A Band Aid spokesman said they were "very, very happy" with Monday's demand, which saw shops open early.

That makes it the fastest-selling single of the year so far, shifting more copies than the rest of the top 30 combined, according to HMV. Dido, Robbie Williams and Chris Martin are on the new single, which is raising money to fight hunger in Africa.

Estimates of how many copies the 2004 version of Do They Know It's Christmas? could sell by the end of the first week range from 250,000 to 600,000.

If it sold 500,000 copies, more than £1m would be raised for charity. The CD is being sold for £3.99, with HMV, Virgin and Woolworths donating their profits.

HMV spokesman Gennaro Castaldo said: "I think the single will continue to sell steadily in large quantities over the coming weeks to nudge it towards the million mark, which would be a fantastic achievement."

The original version, which featured stars including George Michael, Phil Collins and Duran Duran, sold 750,000 copies in its first week and 3.5 million in total.

That made it the UK's biggest-selling single and it has only been surpassed by Sir Elton John's tribute to Princess Diana, Candle in the Wind '97.

The new Band Aid also features Bono reprising his original lyric from the 1984 version, plus scores of modern stars including Will Young, Jamelia, Dizzee Rascal and Sugababes.

The current top-seller of 2004 so far is Eamon's I Don't Want You Back with more than 500,000.

The last million-selling singles in the UK were by Pop Idol stars Will Young and Gareth Gates in 2002.

Meanwhile, the new Band Aid single has jumped from 33 to three on the latest TV airplay chart. But it has slipped from 14 to 22 in the radio airplay chart after the initial rush to get it on air.

Money is also being raised through internet downloads and mobile phone ringtones.

Users of the world's most popular online music store, Apple's iTunes, can also now download the track. It was previously only available in Windows Media format.

According to new reports, Coldplay, Tears For Fears, Nine Inch Nails, REM and David Bowie are amongst the acts lined up to play the 2005 annual Coachella festival.

A new document leaked to Undercover music news has a full rundown for the 2005 event, essentially an American interpretation of Glastonbury and the biggest music festival and largest open air live event in the US music calendar.

Although unofficially confirmed (or indeed denied) by organisers the reported line-up will feature headline performances from David Bowie and R.E.M. while elsewhere the bill will also be Nine Inch Nails, Wilco, The Streets, PJ Harvey, The Polyphonic Spree and Franz Ferdinand.

Surprise additions to the list include newly reformed ’80 pop legends Tears for Fears (who’s career has no doubt been bolstered by Gary Jules' huge successful cover of their track ‘Mad World’) and, if the list is to be believed, Coldplay will also be playing on the eve of the release of their new album.

Coachella will be taking place at the Empire Polo Field in Indio California on April 30 and May 1.

You can discuss this story hereIn 2004, the headline acts were Radiohead and The Cure, with Pixies, The Flaming Lips, Air, Kraftwerk, The Thrills, Ash and The Rapture all included on the bill.

The full unconfirmed line up is:

April 30 2005

David Bowie

Nine Inch Nails

Coldplay

PJ Harvey

Interpol

The Faint

Franz Ferdinand

The Polyphonic Spree

Boards of Canada

TV On the Radio

Yeah Yeah Yeahs

Squarepusher

Clinic

French Kicks

Secret Machines

Phoenix

Beep Beep

Dogs Die In Hot Cars

Death From Above 1979

The Helio Sequence

May 1 2005

R.E.M.

Tears For Fears

Wilco

Bright Eyes

Jimmy Eat World

Mos Def

Badly Drawn Boy

The Streets

Spoon

Cake

The Postal Service

The Shins

Sleater-Kinney

Rilo Kiley

Radio 4

Doves

Iron and Wine

The Arcade Fire

Moving Units

Source: XFM

You only have 4 more days left to vote your favourite acts through to the grand final in December.

Coldplaying.com have set up a series of polls where you can vote for some of the top 50 artists in music history. To view ALL the polls, please navigate the following links:

1990's

1980's

1970's

1960's

1950's

You do not have to be registered to cast your votes in any or all of the 5 polls - its open to everyone. Simply click on the decade you want to vote for and make your choice.

The top 3 artists in each decade will go through to a final poll to find the top artists joining the founding members, U2, Madonna, Elvis Presley, The Beatles and Bob Marley. Voting for the first round ends on 1 December.

Chris Martin and many of the world's other biggest stars have been dumped on in support of Oxfam's campaign to make trade fair.

The images from this campaign illustrate a story - a story about how poor farmers are being 'dumped on' every day by rich countries and rich companies and about how you can change this by joining the Big Noise petition to make trade fair. If we all join together and make a big enough noise politicians and corporate bosses will have to listen.

Chris Martin took part in the rice campaign - the US government pays its farmers $1billion a year to over-produce rice and dump the surplus at rock-bottom prices in poor countries. In Haiti, one fifth of the population has been driven out of business and into poverty as a result.

You can see the pictures of Chris here

Capitol Records' release schedule will have a British flair in March, when the label will issue highly anticipated, as-yet-untitled new albums from Coldplay and Doves, Billboard.com has learned. Doves' set will arrive March 1; the Coldplay album does not have a definitive street date.

Produced by Ken Nelson, who was behind the boards for the band's two prior studio sets, the Coldplay album was recorded in London and New York. It's the follow-up to 2002's "A Rush of Blood to the Head," which peaked at No. 5 on The Billboard 200 and has sold 3.5 million copies in the United States, according to Nielsen SoundScan.

Frontman Chris Martin acknowledged in a summer radio interview that fatherhood had put a new spin on his songwriting. The artist had a baby girl, Apple, earlier this year with actress Gwyneth Paltrow. "Once you're going to have a baby, [writing about] that kicks in anyway," he said. "So it's been happening for 10 months, but I mean, I'm not singing about [diapers] or anything."

As previously reported, Coldplay is expected to make its return to the live stage, possibly armed with new material, as part of a March 12 benefit for California radio station KCRW in Los Angeles.As for Doves, the group is putting the finishing touches on the follow-up to its 2002 breakthrough, "The Last Broadcast," which has sold 109,000 copies in the United States, according to Nielsen SoundScan. It debuted at No. 1 on the U.K. album chart and was nominated for the prestigious Mercury Music Prize. The new album will be released in February in the region.

Doves have promised to unveil new songs at their first shows in more than a year, to be held Dec. 14 in Wolverhampton, England, Dec. 15 in London and Dec. 17 in Blackpool, England.

Source: Billboard

You may remember coldplaying.com reported that both Westlife and Ronan Keating were upset at being omitted from the Band Aid 20 recording session. Having been denied the chance to take part in recording Do They Know It's Christmas? by Bob Geldof, Westlife have now been invited to perform it live.

Along with fellow Irishman Ronan Keating, the group were none too pleased when they were not given the chance to participate in the Band Aid single to raise money for refugees in Sudan's Darfur region. After criticising Geldof for their exclusion from the star-studded affair, Femalefirst reports that Westlife have now been invited to perform the song live at Wembley Arena for a charity Popworld gig on December 2nd.

The single, on which they are not included, is available for download now and is in stores from Monday (29th November).

For those wishing to purchase ear plugs, you can buy them here

One million copies of the new Band Aid single Do They Know It's Christmas? will be sent to record shops in time for its UK release on Monday.

However, users of the world's most popular online music store, Apple's iTunes, cannot download the track. Other download services have agreed to raise their usual song prices and give proceeds to the Band Aid Trust charity, which is raising money for food aid in Darfur, Sudan. But Apple was unwilling to do the same, according to Band Aid organisers. Apple was not available for comment.

Some 10,000 people have downloaded the song - most as a two-track package with the original for £1.99. On its own, it costs £1.49. The new song was a new entry at number five in this week's download chart. It would have been higher but chart rules exclude multiple tracks sold as packages. Sales of the physical CD single are expected to easily make it Christmas number one and the year's biggest-selling single. The current top-seller of 2004 so far is Eamon's I Don't Want You Back with more than 500,000.

Some shops will open early on Monday, with the artists, record company and major music shops among those to give their shares of the proceeds to the charity. HMV has joined Virgin Megastores and Woolworths to donate their funds, while the government is to refund the VAT paid on the single and recently-released Live Aid DVD.

Source: BBC

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Play Coldplay Card Wars and find out!

Chris Martin has been voicing his initial doubts over the re-recording of Band Aid. He first thought that the single was a "tremendously bad idea".

Chris said that he only agreed to sing on the track after watching a report on the refugee situation on the Dafur region on Sudan. It was those pictures that led him to be involved. The involvement of friend and Travis front man Fran Healey also helped win him over.

He said: "My first reaction was that this was a tremendously bad idea, the cheesiest thing I'd ever heard. A couple of weeks went past and I was told Fran was doing it, which made it more interesting. Then I watched the news and saw a report on Darfur. I decided there and then that I was going to do this. I was genuinely moved."

Martin has gone from thinking it a bad idea to singing the opening line of the single.

Celebrities who take their charity work seriously are to be recognised at an awards ceremony on Monday.

Bob Geldof, Coldplay's Chris Martin (pictured) and comic Lenny Henry are among those who have been shortlisted by readers of Third Sector charity magazine. "Our readers have voted for celebrities who take their charity work seriously, not as a career-enhancing bolt-on," said editor Stephen Cook.

Geldof's long association with Band Aid and Live Aid has won him a nomination. Coldplay frontman Chris Martin has been shortlisted for representing Oxfam's Make Trade Fair campaign - he is regularly seen in public with the cause's slogan written on his hand.

Veteran TV host Ester Rantzen is also among the famous faces who have been nominated, for her campaigning work with Childline. Pop star Sir Elton John was also chosen in the poll of 500 leading charities for the HIV and Aids foundation which takes his name. The Prince of Wales and the Princess Royal have also been nominated for their charity work.

Source: BBC

Band Aid pioneer Sir Bob Geldof has hit out at internet bootleggers who are downloading the new version of Do They Know It's Christmas? without paying a penny to charity.

Thousands of people across Britain and the United States have already copied the new single ahead of its official release on November 29. The Mail on Sunday said it counted 583 people downloading the track in less than an hour from just one internet site. They said the track was available to download in mp3 format within minutes of its airing on the radio and by yesterday there were 29 separate mp3 files to copy. Each had been downloaded many hundreds of times.

A furious Geldof said: "They should stop. They are taking food out of somebody's mouth or taking the hyperdermic out of somebody's arm."

Do They Know It's Christmas? is being released to mark the 20th anniversary of the original recording, which raised more than £100m for starving people in Ethiopia. The new version, recorded by Sir Bob and Midge Ure in response to the current humanitarian crisis in Sudan, features 40 current popstars - Coldplay's Chris Martin, Robbie Williams, Sugarbabes, Dido, The Darkness, Will Young, Ms Dynamite, Joss Stone, Bono and Busted have all taken part in the recording.

Band Aid 20's record label, Universal Music, is trying to make up for some of the illegal downloading by offering the single and video on its own website bandaid20.com for just £1.99. Oxfam said people could download the track from its website bignoisemusic.com in exchange for an donation.

Source: Sky News