BIOGRAPHY
Coldplay was formed in 1996 by lead vocalist and pianist Chris Martin and lead guitarist Jonny Buckland at University College London. They named himselves "Pectoralz". The band renamed themselves "Coldplay" in 1998, before recording and releasing three EPs: "Safety" in 1998, "Brothers & Sisters" as a single in 1999, and The Blue Room in the same year. "The Blue Room" was their first release on a major label
They achieved worldwide fame with the release of the single "Yellow" in 2000. This was followed by their debut album "Parachutes" released the same year, which was nominated for the Mercury Prize. The band's second album, "A Rush of Blood to the Head" (2002), was released to critical acclaim and won multiple awards, including NME's Album of the Year. Their next release, "X&Y", the best-selling album worldwide in 2005, was met with mostly positive reviews upon its release, though some critics felt that it was inferior to its predecessor. The band's fourth studio album, "Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends" (2008), was produced by Brian Eno and released again to largely positive reviews, earning several Grammy Award nominations and wins at the 51st Grammy Awards. On 24 October 2011, they released their fifth studio album, "Mylo Xyloto", which received mixed to positive reviews, topped the charts in over 34 countries, and was the UK's best-selling rock album of 2011. On 16 May 2014, they released their sixth album, titled "Ghost Stories", which also received mixed to positive reviews and topped the iTunes Store albums charts in over 100 countries. On 4 December 2015, the band released their seventh album, "A Head Full of Dreams", which reached the top two in most major markets, but received generally mixed reviews.
The band has won 62 awards from 209 nominations throughout their career, including nine Brit Awards—winning Best British Group four times—five MTV Video Music Awards and seven Grammy Awards from 31 nominations. Coldplay have sold more than 80 million records worldwide, making them one of the world's best-selling music artists. In December 2009, Rolling Stone readers voted the group the fourth-best artist of the 2000s. Coldplay have been an active supporter of various social and political causes, such as Oxfam's Make Trade Fair campaign and Amnesty International.
