Coldplay, the famous British rock band has been at the top of the music charts for more than a decade now and everybody is going gaga about the series of upcoming Coldplay concerts at different parts of the world in 2016 and 2017.
The four-member band was formed in 1996 and has enjoyed huge popularity worldwide. Impressive melodies and fantastic stage production are the key qualities of Coldplay. The band is known for a number of hit songs including Yellow, Clocks, The Scientist, Speed of Sound, Fix You, Viva La Vida and others.
Be it about the band or its individual members, fans claim to know all about these guys. But are you absolutely sure about it? Well, with so much excitement surrounding Coldplay and its musicians, we thought of digging up some lesser-known facts about the band.
1. They weren't originally called Coldplay
The band was formed by Chris Martin and lead guitarist Jonny Buckland in 1996 under the name of Pectoralz. But, when bassist Guy Berryman joined the group, they swapped that name for Starfish. Fortunately, they settled on Coldplay after the group was joined by Phil Harvey and drummer/vocalist Will Champion. The name was taken from from another fellow UCL student, Tim Crompton, who discarded it for his own band as he found it too depressing.
2. Chris Martin can sing backwards
Chris Martin, the front man of Coldplay, had to learn how to sing the song The Scientist, backwards for a music video that was shot with director Jamie Thraves. According to MTV, Martin learnt the phonetic movements to help create the impression that he was accurately singing the lyrics.
3. Coldplay's hit song Shiver was recorded in only one take
Ken Nelson, the co-producer of Parachutes said that Martin recorded the entire song, Shiver in only one take. If fans listen to the song closely, they can hear Martin breathing and his voice cracking at times. It's really inspiring!
4. Colplay gives to charities on a regular basis
Coldplay donates 15 percent of all band profits to charity. It is said that once, Martin dropped $400k large on a Bansky art piece in the name of charity at an event thrown by Sean Penn.
5. Coldplay's first ever song was about toiletry
Yes, you read it right... the first song Coldplay ever wrote and performed was about a toiletry. The song, titled Ode to Deodorant was actually intended as a joke. And with lyrics like "Here's an ode, ah, to deodorant/It's my thing, ah/It's my favorite hygiene/It keeps me through the day," the song became a hit.
6. They don't eat meat on Mondays
Coldplay was one of the first and most prominent supporters of Meat Free Monday food campaign, which was started in 2009 by fellow musician Paul McCartney. The campaign encourages people to have meat-free meal at least one day in a week. Martin himself is a well-known vegetarian and he was named the World's Sexiest Vegetarian in 2005 by PETA, the animal rights group.
7. The story behind the song Yellow
The title of the song, Yellow came from the ordinary and unglamorous source: The Yellow Pages. Martin said that when he was writing the song from their debut album, Parachutes, he saw the phone book. And, he finally landed up with the title, inspired from the object nearest to him.
8. Drummer Will Champion had never played the drums before joining the band
In an interview, Champion had said that he never played the drums before he joined Coldplay. He told Drum magazine:"Coldplay and drumming arrived simultaneously for me."
9. Coldplay don't do endorsements
Over the years, the British band have reportedly turned down numerous offers from big brands, including Coca-Cola, Gatorade and Gap. Reports say a brand once offered them a huge amount to use the song Yellow in one of their commercials. Martin once said: "We wouldn't be able to live with ourselves if we sold the songs' meanings like that".
10. Awards and recognitions
We all know that the band has recieved a number of awards throughout their journey of music, but do we know the exact number? Here it is. Coldplay has won a total of 65 awards including 7 Grammy Awards, 9 Brit Awards and 4 Billboard Music Awards.
