Coldplay News

The Band Aid 20 video of the song Do They Know It's Christmas? featuring Chris Martin is now available online. You can download or stream the Band Aid video filmed at Air Studios during the recording or Band Aid 2004.   There are two versions - the video download which is very high quality (800kbps) and you can keep forever or the streamed version (300kbps). Alternatively, you may only want the audio version of 'Do they know it's Christmas?'   An ideal chance for you to take part in helping the

EMI has seen download music sales rise by almost 600% in the six months to the end of September, and says they are becoming a major part of its business. Analysts said by 2009 digital music and publishing should account for about a quarter of total turnover at the home to Kylie Minogue and Norah Jones.   CDs, however, still account for most of EMI's turnover, and overall sales fell at EMI by 11.4% during the half year. It said half-year profits were £36.9m ($68.2m), down from £39.8m.   Overall

Twenty million Brits tuned in for the first showing of Band Aid 20's video.   The nation fell silent for Do They Know It's Christmas? in the UK's biggest simultaneous broadcast ever. The single - expected to raise £20 million for famine-stricken Sudan - will hit the shops on November 29, and is tipped to be the seasonal Number One.   A third of the population was glued to screens to see a star-studded line-up belt out the single last night. Madonna introduced the broadcast by saying: "Bob Gel

Irish pop stars Westlife and Ronan Keating have hit out at Band Aid 20 organiser Sir Bob Geldof, for snubbing them from the recent charity single.   Geldof and Midge Ure brought together a group of current pop and rock stars to record a cover version of 1984 hit Do They Know It's Christmas? to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the single and to raise money for refugees in the Darfur region of Sudan.   Westlife and Keating were omitted from the list - and they are convinced it's because they aren

Ladbrokes is reporting that a "senior record industry figure" has tried to place a bet of £1 Million by telephone today on Band Aid 20 reaching Christmas Number One.   As previously reported many bookmakers are no longer taking bets on which single will hit the prestigious Number 1 slot as it’s considered that the Band Aid 20 single is such a dead cert. However this hasn’t stopped one music industry insider trying his/her best to get a piece of the action.   "The customer tried to stake £1 milli

The re-recording of Band Aid's classic hit by a Who's Who of contemporary stars was broadcast for the first time today.   The likes of Coldplay's Chris Martin, Dido and Robbie Williams are heard on the track, whose original featured George Michael, U2 and Duran Duran. Radio Five Live's Nicky Campbell, who played the Band Aid 20 record this morning, said it had "a more melancholic, soulful feel than the original".   The new version of Do They Know It's Christmas? does not have jingle bells ringin

The BBC News website's entertainment reporter Ian Youngs is inside the studio where the new Band Aid single is being recorded on Sunday. Sir Paul McCartney, Coldplay's Chris Martin and The Darkness' Justin Hawkins are among those taking part.   Updates on the stars and the session will appear throughout the day. Click more for full details...   AIR STUDIOS, LONDON :: 0845 GMT   The great Band Aid bandwagon is already in full motion, with Sir George Martin's recording studio in Hampstead, north

Some of the leading names in the music industry are coming together today (Sunday) to record a new version of the Band Aid single Do They Know it's Christmas? The new version of the 1984 hit will raise money for famine relief in the Darfur region of Sudan. Sir Paul McCartney, Coldplay's Chris Martin, Busted and Keane will also be at Sir George Martin's Air Studios. It is to be released on 29 November. Robbie Williams and Dido have already recorded their parts. Joss Stone (pictured) and Dizzee R

Coldplay's Chris Martin is getting tough on tabloid photographers following the birth of his daughter, Apple.   Chris hasn't exactly been friendly with photographers in the past - last year he was charged with assaulting a celebrity snapper on an Australian beach - but now he has taken the step of reporting them to the police.   A source told Female First, "Chris went to Belgravia CID at the end of last week to complain about this black cab driver who has been selling photos to the tabloids over

The London Photographic Awards have now closed the Don't Panic photoart competition, and are currently judging the entries. For more information, and to view the pictures that were submitted, please click here

Back To Reality star Rik Waller wanted to join the Band Aid line-up, but organisers have refused to let him get involved. Rik, a knocked out contestant of a recent Pop Idol competition in the UK, hoped to restart his ailing pop career by starring in the Band Aid III single.   Meanwhile, former S Club 7 star Rachel Stevens is the latest star to be added to the Band Aid line-up. She will sing alongside Coldplay's Chris Martin, Dido, Busted and Bono reports the Daily Star.   The recording of Band A

Coldplay have announced their first gig of 2005 - they will headline A Sounds Eclectic Evening, organised by LA radio station KCRW to take place on March 12.   The original concert which was set to feature Coldplay members Chris Martin and guitarist Johnny Buckland was postponed by the station last month for undisclosed reasons. The concert will take place at the city's Universal Ampitheatre reports NME.com.   The show is currently sold out and tickets for the original date of November 20, will

Schoolgirl Sarah Sainsbury asked pop stars Coldplay for their autographs to sell for charity - and got a triple platinum disc worth £4,000.   Sarah, 17, wrote to the rockers requesting help with her school’s appeal to aid Breast Cancer Care. She was astonished when the band sent her the signed disc of their album A Rush Of Blood To The Head. Sarah, of Farnham, Surrey, sent the gift to a London fashion event, where it was auctioned for £4,000.   She said: “I was amazed and delighted when I heard

The British government will make the surprising step of refunding the VAT paid on the new Band Aid 20 charity single and the newly released Live Aid DVD meaning an approximate £8 million extra will go to the charity.   The surprise announcement was made by Sir Bob Geldof yesterday (November 7) at the official launch of the official DVD of the Live Aid concert that took place at the Odeon Kensigton, West London. A statement from Geldof reads:   “In a remarkable gesture and one that is wholly in

Sexy singers Beyonce Knowles and Jennifer Lopez reportedly demanded to be sealed off from Coldplay at a recent studio recording session.   The duo were recording a £15 million Pepsi advert at London's Townhouse Studios and ordered a makeshift partition for the nearby suite where Chris Martin and his band were working, reports the Daily Star newspaper.   A source says, "They were making a huge fuss about making sure no one could hear them and insisted on having a huge partition put up between the

Manchester is the place to be next summer, as Coldplay, U2 and Oasis are all set to rock the Stadium.   According to reports, Coldplay are busy putting the finishing touches to their hotly-anticipated third album and are scheduled to play in June. But we're sure they'll still belt out Yellow, don't worry.   You can discuss this story here   Source: MegaStar.co.uk

Paul Hanafin, who has wrote more than 140 songs has been selected to promote his music via coldplaying.com. Six original songs have been uploaded to the multimedia section - you can view the listings here.   Please add your comments and spread the word on this music!

Paul McCartney is to take part in the forthcoming Band Aid III single. The former-Beatle will play bass on the re-recording of ‘Do They Know It’s Christmas?’, according to reports in today’s (November 3) Sun newspaper.   "It's great Macca is involved. He is a real statesman and will give this record even more clout," a source said. He’s the most famous bass player in the world and was keen to support the project. It will hopefully raise a huge amount of money for victims of famine in Africa. It’

Rumours of a Band Aid III 'Do They Know It's Christmas' were confirmed today. The collective ensemble will go under the name of Band Aid 20, as it's 20 years since the original was released, which was written by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure.   It will be available from Monday 29th November on Mercury records, with all proceeds from the single helping victims of the famine in the Darfur region of Sudan via The Band Aid Trust.   The track will be recorded at Air Studios in London on Sunday 14 Novemb

Chris Martin is reportedly in trouble with wife Gwyneth Paltrow for spending 18 hours a day in the studio working on the new Coldplay album.   The band's frontman is nervous over how their third studio album will be received and wants it to live up to expectations reports The Sun. So he has been returning to the family home in North London only to grab a much-needed kip. As a result he has been getting rollickings from actress Gwyneth for not spending enough time at home.   Chris has also been c

The Band Aid release of Do They Know It's Christmas? is now confirmed for November 29.   Bosses at Universal have decided to rush the single out to the shops as soon as it is finished reports The Sun. It will be recorded at Air Studios on November 14. The latest stars to sign up are Snow Patrol, Keane and the Sugababes.   A star-studded line-up including Coldplay Travis and The Darkness, has already been confirmed. Geoffrey Wonfor, who filmed The Beatles' Anthology, is being lined up to shoot th

COLDPLAY’s only US concert date of the year has been postponed.   Chris Martin and guitarist Johnny Buckland were due to perform as part of Los Angeles radio station KCRW’s ‘A Sounds Eclectic Evening’ alongside Rilo Kiley and several other artists.   Yesterday though, the station announced due to "scheduling and logistical conflicts" the event, originally due to take place on November 20 at the Universal Ampitheatre, will now take place next year. Tickets have already sold out for the event and

Madonna has been banned from the Band Aid III supergroup by Sir Bob Geldof - because she's American.   It's a huge snub for the Queen of Pop, who calls herself an "Anglophile" and lives in London. She had hoped to join Robbie Williams, Oasis star Noel Gallagher, Coldplay and The Darkness to re-record the hit Do They Know It's Christmas?   Madonna, 46, who is married to British film director Guy Ritchie, also missed out on the original 1984 Band Aid appeal to raise cash for starving kids in Afric

Chris Martin, Bono and Michael Stipe are set to appear covered in chocolate, rice and blood for an advertising campaign for Oxfam.   The trio of rockers will also be joined by Radiohead singer Thom Yorke and British R'n'B sensation Jamelia for a series of Make Trade Fair posters to be unveiled next month.   A source revealed: "Bono, Chris and Michael are all staunch supporters of the campaign and have done wonders in raising its profile." Oxfam's Make Trade Fair campaign was created to make go

Embrace frontman Danny McNamara has hailed Chris Martin, the man who helped save the band’s career, as a genius.   Speaking to nme.com, McNamara said if it wasn't for the success brought by the Martin penned 'Gravity', his band would have been dumped by their label and split up.   "I think Chris Martin is a genius, but it's not easy for him," he said. "I speak to him every week, pretty much, and he sets impossibly high standards for himself and then somehow he manages to reach them. The thing of