Coldplay Tickets
Article by Macie Brown
Being one of the most commercially successful bands of the new millennium, selling over 30 million albums, Coldplay are a British alternative rock band formed in London in 1997. The group comprises of Chris Martin, Jonny Buckland, Guy Berryman, and Will Champion. The band is also known for its hit singles, “Yellow”, “Speed of Sound”, the Grammy Award-winning “Clocks” and their latest single “Viva La Vida”.
Coldplay achieved worldwide fame with the release of their single “Yellow”, followed by the success of their debut album, Parachutes (2000), which was nominated for the Mercury Prize. Coldplay returned to the studio in October 2001 to begin work on their second album with Ken Nelson producing. Coldplay released A Rush of Blood to the Head in August 2002. The album spawned several popular singles, notably “In My Place”, “Clocks” and the ballad “The Scientist”.
Both Parachutes and its follow-up, A Rush of Blood to the Head (2002), were released to commercial success; the latter was named NME’s Album of the Year. Since the release of Parachutes, Coldplay have drawn influence from other sources, including Echo and the Bunnymen and George Harrison on A Rush of Blood to the Head and Johnny Cash and Kraftwerk for X&Y. X&Y (2005) received a generally positive reception; and since December 2006, the band have been working with producer Brian Eno on their fourth studio album, Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends, which will be released in 2008.
Coldplay have been an active supporter of various social and political causes, such as Oxfam’s Make Trade Fair campaign and Amnesty International. The group has also performed at various charity projects such as Band Aid 20, Live 8, and the Teenage Cancer Trust.
The members of the band met at the University College London (UCL) in September 1996. Chris Martin and Jonny Buckland were the first members of the band, having met one another during their orientation week. They spent the rest of the college year planning a band, with their efforts culminating in a band called Pectoralz. Later, Guy Berryman joined the band. By 1997, Coldplay performed gigs at small clubs. By that time, the band had renamed themselves Starfish.
The band’s lineup was complete when Will Champion joined the band to take up percussion duties. Champion had grown up playing piano, guitar, bass, and tin whistle; he quickly learned the drums, despite having no previous experience. Eventually Tim Rice-Oxley, a mutual friend, permitted the band to use the name “Coldplay”, which he had used for his band but then thought the name was “too depressing”. Rice-Oxley was also offered the position as Coldplay’s keyboard player, but he refused.
In 1998, the band released 500 copies of the Safety EP. Most of the discs were given to record companies and friends; only 50 copies remained for sale to the public. In December, Coldplay signed to the independent label Fierce Panda. Their first release was the three track Brothers and Sisters EP which they had quickly recorded over four days in February 1999.
In 1999, Coldplay signed to Parlophone for a five-album contract. After making their first appearance at Glastonbury, the band recorded a third EP titled The Blue Room. 5,000 copies were made available to the public in October and the single “Bigger Stronger”, was a ravishing effort and pleasantly instrumental in establishing Coldplay. However, the recording sessions for The Blue Room were tumultuous. Therefore, the band declared an all-for-one approach: Coldplay was a democracy, and profits were to be shared equally, second, the band would fire anyone who used hard drugs. Thus they demarcated their own limits which gave them a set of procedures to work in a group with decency and grace.
In March 1999, Coldplay focused efforts on their debut albumand worked in collaboration with “Rockfield Studios” and producer Ken Nelson. Coldplay scored their first Top 40 single, “Shiver”. Released in March 2000, the single placed at a modest #35 on the UK Singles Chart. June 2000 was a pivotal moment in Coldplay’s history. More notably, the band released the breakthrough single, “Yellow”. The song shot to #4 on the UK Singles Chart and placed the band in public consciousness.
With the dawn of new century, Coldplay also gained a praiseworthy momentum and thus earned immense success and applause. Coldplay released their first full-length album, Parachutes, in July 2000, which debuted at #1 on the UK Albums Chart. Parlophone was originally predicted for sales of 400,000 units, but appreciably 1.6 million copies had been sold in the United Kingdom alone. For this Parachutes was nominated for the Mercury Music Prize in September 2000.
After winning laurels in Europe, the band set their sights on North America. Parachutes was released in North America, in November 2000. The band embarked on a US club tour in early 2001 with appearances on Saturday Night Live, Late Night with Conan O’Brien, and The Late Show with David Letterman which played a significant role in making a well-acclaimed public appearance. Whilst Parachutes was a slow-burning success in U.S., it eventually reached double-platinum status. For more information about Coldplay Tickets Visit:http://www.ticketluck.com/concert-tickets/Coldplay/index.php
Macie is a staff writer for Ticket Nest( http://www.ticketnest.com )and enjoys writing about her travel, theater and concert experiences. She can be reached at macie@ticketnest.com
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