Coldplay

Coldplay are a British band that were formed in in 1996. Vocalist and pianist Chris Martin, guitarist Johnny Buckland, bassist Guy Berryman, and drummer Will Chapman met at University College London and began playing music together from 1996 to 1998, first calling themselves Pectoralz and then Starfish before finally changing their name to Coldplay. The band's creative director and former manager Phil Harvey is often referred to as the fifth member by the band.

After changing their name to Coldplay, the band recorded and released two EPs: Safety in 1998 and The Blue Room in 1999. The latter was their first release on a major record label, after signing to Parlephone. They achieved worldwide fame with the release of the song "Yellow" in 2000, followed in the same year by their debut album Parachutes, which was nominated for the Mercury Prize. The band's second album, A Rush Of Blood To The Head, was released to critical acclaim in 2002. Their next release, X &Y, was the best selling album of 2005 worldwide. Their Brian Eno-produced fourth studio album, Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends was released in 2008 and was also the best-selling album worldwide of 2008, earning the band three Grammy Awards. In October 2011, Coldplay released their fifth studio album, Mylo Xyloto, which topped the charts in over 34 countries and was the UK's best-selling rock album of 2011. The band have since released Ghost Stories in 2014, A Head Full of Dreams in 2015 and Everyday Life in 2019.

They have sold more than 100 million records worldwide, making them one of the worlds best selling music artists.