Cold play, we report

‘A Rush of Blood To The Head’ has by now surpassed the 5 million sales of the Coldplay’s debut, ‘Parachutes’, and they are the prime group in the land, no betting about it. The band has grown in scope, confidence and status, as well as the issues singer Chris Martin has been vocal about: Fair Trading, Teenage Cancers, war… They’ve collected Brits, Grammys and other region’s Awards, there is a little love affair that drives tabloids mad…

Their material we all know but Coldplay live are a different proposition and often songs sound more vital than on the records. Martin once used to mumble between songs but now engages the audience and even bounces around, not very dexterously but certainly gaily. Privately, the singer appears to have calmed down somewhat but he still remains an infantile at heart and the whole music industry supports preservation of such outlook and ‘growing disgracefully’ ethic among its male stars that might cause a problem for a future partner/wife, in a long run.

All the admiration, success, mania and how does Martin react? He complains about the band being in our faces, too much?!

“We are over-exposed,” Martin says dryly, “and that’s why we don’t want to do too many interviews right now. We are trying to hide at the moment because I feel people have had us shoved down their throats whether they are interested or not. No, I’m not complaining about fame, it is only a few photographers and if you can’t take that, they you shouldn’t be doing the best job in the world. There is no downside to this and if anyone claims so, he’s talking utter s**t.”

It’s tricky

Martin is a compulsive worrier: about quality of their music, state of the world, about his hair receding further, this and that… Perhaps he hasn’t changed after all: in May 1998 Coldplay – Martin, Johnny Buckland, Guy Berryman and Will Champion are friends from University College London – issued their self-financed debut after a spell gigging round London before one-off deal with the influential indie Fierce Panda label.

By the following June, the buzz generated by Radio 1’s Steve Lamacq and the NME had helped them secure a major contract with EMI’s imprint Parlophone; at the same time the three of them (Berryman dropped out of studying engineering) were passing their exams with flying colours.

“We are just a bunch of students who got lucky,” Martin used to quip half-seriously, before expending his theory on songs by saying that they are like “errant children” that have escaped but they are still the best to their parent and he can’t but love them and still be on non-speaking terms with them.

But, the band’s growing popularity hasn’t prevented him from being criticised by his uncle who told him that his lyrics were “awful, like ‘Yellow’, it means nothing.”

“That really made me stop and take note. I really thought that that song had a universal tone to it. I know that our music is very personal but we always have feelings that others can relate to. But, it seems I was wrong and he really kicked me into shape on lyrics.”

The band has a particular way of song approval and each member has to agree on a song to be included in their repertoire.

“If I write something I’d straightaway want to show it to Johnny (guitarist) worrying whether he’d like it and if he does then we’d worry whether Guy (bassist) would like it and then all three would worry whether Will (drummer) would want to play on it. Each song goes through this massive selection, it’s like ‘Pop Idol’ for each song!”

One of the inspirations behind the album, and who’s become a fast friend in meantime, is the legendary Ian McCulloch, in more ways than one: “‘Daylight’ is a blatant knock-off of (Echo & The Bunnymen’s) ‘The Cutter’ and I probably shouldn’t have told you that.”

Martin’s returned the favour and guests on Mac’s (as the Bunnymen frontman is affectionately know) solo album ‘Slideling’ (due out 28 April 2003 on Cooking Vinyl): he provides backing vocals on ‘Sliding’ and vox and piano on ‘Arthur’.

Fide, amore et fiducia

The rumour is that Martin’s proposed to his Oscar-snivelling Gwyneth Paltrow and she wears his rock proudly. He’s been refusing to talk about his relationship because “Your private life is exactly that.” It fits into his lifestyle of flying kites, non-drinking and quietness of his own tour-bus rather than the noisy one favoured by the other three members.

“One of the album’s themes is girls and there is a political side to it… There is fear, a bit of a fear that someone might bomb the world and destroy all the girls! That’s just a little mention of that and it would be great if that didn’t happen!”

And, one surprising inspiration was – “Kylie’s video for ‘Can’t Get You Out Of My Head’ video, it was released about the time we started recording our album, and the moves were so great, I reckoned it would be great to have few songs that have a swing to it. And, if you look closely at our video ‘In My Place’, you’d see a move that we’ve nicked off Kylie… I wish I hadn’t told you that but it’s true.”

What’s the best place on the planet?

“Iceland is probably the best place on Earth to write music!”

What feeling mentioning fame evokes?

“You know, fame is an illusion…”

Yep, that’s the fact…

“U2 are our competition now…”

Sure, but they can’t get knighthoods!

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London dates:

16 & 17 April – Earls Court Arena
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Additional reporting by Inte Diskov (06 Sept. 2002)