Christopher Anthony John Martin – full name of Chris Martin of Coldplay – was born on 2 March 1977 in Whitestone, Devon, England. He is the last of Anthony and Alison’s five children. After attending the Hylton School, he enrolled in the Exter Cathedral School, where he discovered and developed a passion for music. He then moves on to the Sherbome School in Dorset, where he meets Coldplay manager Phil Harvey.
He then continued his studies at University College London, graduating in Greek and Latin. It was at the university that Chris Martin met Guy Berryman, Will Champion and Jonny Buckland, the future Coldplay. It was with Buckland that Martin initially decided to form a band. Chris is on vocals and Jonny is first guitarist. So the two enlist Berryman as bassist and Champion as drummer.
Since the release of its first album in 2000, entitled “Parachutes”, the band has gained a considerable international reputation. After achieving success in Europe, Chris Martin and partners began a tour in America in early 2001. They took part in many TV shows in the USA, including the “David Letterman Show”, “Late Night with Conan O’ Brien” and “Saturday Night Live”.
The following October the band returned to the studio to work on their second album, “A rush of blood to the head”, which was released in August 2002. In the same summer the band started a tour that lasted more than a year, until September 2003.
In December Coldplay cover “2000 miles”, a song by The Pretenders. In December, Chris Martin marries actress Gwyneth Paltrow and her family in a ceremony with no friends or relatives. The following year, on 14 May, the couple’s first daughter, Apple Blythe Alison, was born.
To celebrate her, Coldplay released the song “I am your baby’s daddy”. After winning the 2004 Grammy Awards for “Clocks” as a Record of the year, the band stayed pretty far from the spotlight until June 6, 2005, when the third record was released, titled “X&-Y” and anticipated by the single “Speed of sound”. The album debuts at the top of the charts in almost thirty countries.
In 2006 Chris Martin became a father again: on 8 April Moses Bruce Anthony was born. In the meantime, he starts working again for Coldplay’s fourth album, which will be released only two years later. It is “Viva la vida or death and all his friends”, which is released on 13 June 2008.
There are ten tracks on the album, from which the singles “Viva la vida”, “Violet Hill”, “Lovers in Japan”, “Lost!” and “Strawberry swing” are extracted, while the song “Life in technicolor II” is included in the film “A night at the museum 2 – The escape”,for this record Coldplay uses Brian Eno and Timbaland, two of the most important producers in the world.
On May 15, 2009 the group publishes “Leftrightleftrightleft”, a live recorded album, online for free. In the same year at the Grammy Awards it won three awards, for the best rock album, the song of the year (“Viva la vida”) and the best pop performance of the band.
In 2011, Coldplay’s fifth studio album “Mylo Xyloto” was released, produced with the help of Rihanna and Brian Eno. The album is preceded by the single “Paradise”, and also contains “Charlie Brown” and “Princess of China”.
On 9 September 2012 Chris Martin and companions take part in the closing ceremony of the Paralympics in London. They are the protagonists of a show that lasts over two hours and sees them on stage alongside Jay-Z and Rihanna. A few months later “Live 2012”, a documentary about the band’s experience on the Mylo Xyloto Tour, is released.
On 12 December 2012 Chris Martin is one of the artists performing on stage at the 12 12 12 Concert, organised to raise funds for the people affected by Hurricane Sandy. For the occasion he sings “Viva la vida”, “Us against the world” and, together with former Rem leader Michael Stipe, “Losing my religion”.
Other world stars such as Bon Jovi, Roger Waters, Bruce Springsteen, the Rolling Stones, Eric Clapton, The Who (with Pete Townshend), Alicia Keys, Paul McCartney, Billy Joel and Kanye West take part in the show.
At the same time the single “Hurts like heaven” was released. A limited edition of this track is released in April 2013, in Picture disc format, at Record Store Day.
In September of the same year Coldplay release “Atlas”, an unreleased track chosen to be part of the soundtrack of the movie “Hunger Games: The Girl on Fire”.
In 2014 Chris Martin and Gwyneth Paltrow announce their separation after ten years of marriage. They sign the divorce papers in April 2015, which becomes final on 15 July of the following year.
On the musical front, Coldplay release the video clip of the song “Midnight” before the sixth studio album, entitled “Ghost stories”, which comes out on 19 May. The debut single is called “Magic”, while among the other tracks featured are “Always in my head” and “A sky full of stars”.
Afterwards Coldplay leave for a short tour that develops between New York, Tokyo, Paris and London: the best performances are collected in the dvd “Ghost stories Live 2014”. In the meantime, Coldplay have released their seventh studio album, “A head full of dreams”, while Chris Martin has become creative director of the newborn Global Citizen Festival: according to the agreements made, he will maintain this role for a period of fifteen years.
The aim of the festival is to create a sort of to-do list, things to do, to fight poverty within the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
Discography
2000 – Parachutes
2002 – A Rush of Blood to the Head
2005 – X&Y
2008 – Viva la vida or Death and All His Friends
2011 – Mylo Xyloto
2014 – Ghost Stories
2015 – A Head Full of Dreams
2019 – Everyday Life
