Success of Britain's Coldplay spans Atlantic
By Mary Pat Hyland
Gannett News Service
With 500 copies of their self-produced, four-track album "Safety," Coldplay (Chris Martin, Will Champion, Guy Berryman and Jonny Buckland) set out to launch a career in May 1998 based on alternative music that was "catchy without being slick, poppy without being pop and ... uplifting without being pompous."
The band members met while students at University College, London, studying ancient history, math, astronomy, engineering and anthropology. After the single "Brothers and Sisters" was released from the album, the group was signed to the EMI label.
Their first full album, "Parachutes," won a Grammy for best alternative album.
Coldplay's latest album, "A Rush of Blood to the Head," won a Grammy Award for best alternative album, and the band's single "In My Place" won for best rock performance by a group or duo at this year's ceremony. Awards were announced Sunday.
Fast facts
Ages: Chris Martin, 25; Will Champion, 24; Guy Berryman, 24; and Jonny Buckland, 26.
Name dropper: The band took its name from a roommate's band. He dropped it because he thought it was too depressing.
Sites to see
Best bet: Coldplay (requires Shockwave for radio)
The band's official site includes a Coldplayer radio, latest news and tour dates, nice gallery, great audio/video room with tunes, interviews and promo videos, fan concert reviews, downloadable e-zine, discography, link to their official gear shop and a place to post questions that the band will answer.
This huge site includes a Coldplay news ticker, bio of each member, history, lyrics, audio/video and print interviews, a unique discography, group and individual photo galleries, concert pix wallpapers and a very busy message board.
Clean design and lots of information. Includes fantastic wallpapers, band history, lyrics, pop-up discography, news and concert reviews.
Innovative fan site where concert stories and images are shared.
Hyland writes for the Binghamton (N.Y.) Press & Sun-Bulletin. E-mail her at pressaxces@aol.com.
