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[q]Coldplay's Champion Clears Up Band Rumors
Coldplay blow into Australia as the biggest new British band of 2003 in America. Formed just six years ago after meeting at a London college and with a reputation for being down to earth good guys, they're playing to larger crowds than their nearest rivals, Radiohead. The U.S. media is acclaiming them as the new U2. The "Los Angeles Times" chuckled that Coldplay leader Chris Martin was to be "fitted for a halo" as the heir to "St. Bono's crown".
All which is perturbing to drummer Will Champion. "I honestly don't know how to answer that," he mumbles. "Coldplay aren't into competing with other bands, all we're interested in is to get better as a band." Last month Coldplay played some massive shows in the U.S. These included the legendary Hollywood Bowl to a total of 34,000 fans where they met Brian Wilson backstage, the Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Denver where U2's Stateside fortunes changed forever, and Madison Square Gardens in New York. $46 tickets were exchanging hands for $800 outside the venues. (The Hollywood Bowl show, with a brilliant lighting show, was to have been recorded for a DVD. But Champion says that they might shoot their DVD during their Australian trip).
These shows still might not touch Glastonbury 2002 as Coldplay's most special gig ("It was the first time we played songs off the new album, there were 80,000 to 90,000 there, and that memory will last with me forever") but "Clocks" is exploding all over radio, and "A Rush Of Blood To The Head" is back in the U.S. Top 20 after six months in the stores. Martin accompanied his girlfriend Gwyneth Paltrow to the A-list bar mitzvah of Steven Spielberg's daughter; remains a rock star who doesn't smoke, drink or swear; and he's shaved his head. In September, Martin travels to the World Trade Organisation meeting in Cancun, Mexico, to meet with UN Secretary Kofi Annan and politicians to show that people are genuinely concerned about issues as unfair employment conditions.
They've been introducing new songs like "Poor Me" and "Moses" about Paltrow ("Like Moses had power over the sea/ So you've got power over me") into the set. The latest is "The World Turns Upside Down" which Martin finished writing on the afternoon of the second Hollywood Bowl show and which they played that night. "There are about three or four more songs in the works," reports Champion. "We tend to write songs on the road and work them out at soundchecks. We're going into the studios in November."
Coldplay might ask their audiences, "Do you still like us?" but their stardom is nothing they're reluctant about. "Even before we started work on the second album we sensed Coldplay was going to go into another league. The songs were designed for larger venues. We're a band that likes playing these larger places. We don't necessary tend to use the whole space, but we roam a bit. People are a long way off in the audience, so you have to work to include them."
But as they continue their rise, Coldplay also are working to maintain who they are. They've grown from "one song wonders" (read: "Yellow") to a set with a number of highs, including "Clocks", "The Scientist" and "In My Place". They distance the band from the Paltrow/Martin tabloid circus, and try to keep on the thin line between making interesting videos and turning into glam-horses.
"I don't watch music video shows, only a handful that I think are good. 98% of music videos are terrible. We struggle with videos. We're not good at coming up with ideas. We leave it to the directors. I liked the one for 'The Scientist'. That's the one where everything is going backwards, from a horrifying car accident back to happy times. We shot some bits in a forest outside London which was also used as the battleground in the movie 'Gladiator'. The clip for 'Clocks' was good too, weird, in places but still emphasising we're a live band."
What does he remember most about the sessions for "Clocks"? "We'd ended the album but we just needed another kind of song. The piano riff had been in Chris' head for a month. It came together quickly in the studio, quite exciting."
What's his attitude to stage props? "We had a lit up globe (of the world) which was on Chris' piano, it was on the cover of the first album. We used to say it was our symbol of our ambition to conquer the world. The truth was, it was all we could afford in those early days. I don't go for stage props in a big way. A good light show and a good sound engineer is all we need. We have a big light show, there were 300 moving lights at the Hollywood Bowl show."
What's the best rumour he's heard about Coldplay? "Last year there were all these stories that Coldplay were splitting up. I heard a recent one that we don't drink, which I can tell you categorically is not true. There's also one that backstage, Chris and Gwyneth demand a private place where no other band member can go into, which is also utter nonsense." Are Coldplay really that po faced? "We're not interesting in interviews, so it's not surprising we come across like that. When we're in our element, or onstage, we're relaxed and different, I guess. When we're out for the night, we have fun."
Among their backstage riders, Coldplay ask for postcards with stamps. It's one way to keep in touch with their loved ones in Britain. Champion gets very homesick. He rings home every day, and Coldplay fly family members to various shows around the world. There are no diva-type affectations. When Coldplay have four days off in August, all Champion wants to do is to chill out with his girlfriend in their London flat. They rehearse for some major UK festivals, do South America in September and then work on the next album.
What does he do on tour to entertain himself? "I've started to compile my own travel guide for each city. So when I come back, I know the best restaurants, the best bars and the best record stores. I used to keep a journal in the early days of Coldplay, but it took too long, and to be honest, there weren't that interesting things happening to justify it! I guess it's more interesting looking into the bubble than you are looking out."[/q]