Coldplay Remains a Head Full of Dreams Two Decades Later

Since the British rock act Coldplay was established in London in 1996, it has remained one of the most recognizable bands. With hits like "Yellow," "The Scientist," and "Viva La Vida," college friends Chris Martin, Jonny Buckland, Guy Berryman, and Will Champion have fought and succeeded together.

A Series of Changing Names and "Yellow"

The college friends started playing music together, starting with the name "Pectoralz." They later changed it to "Starfish" before settling with "Coldplay." The renamed band started releasing two EPs in 1998 and 1999.

Coldplay first achieved breakthrough recognition with the release of their song "Yellow," later followed by their debut album "Parachutes." "Yellow" topped the Iceland singles chart, peaked at No. 2 on the US Adult Alternative Songs chart and No. 4 at the Scottish and UK singles charts.

"A Rush of Blood to the Head" and "X & Y"

Now considered a mainstream act, Coldplay followed their debut with "A Rush of Blood to the Head." Their second album immediately topped the UK Albums chart and has since been certified as 9x Multi-Platinum. It spawned the cult hits "The Scientist," "In My Place," and "Clocks."

"A Rush" has also earned three Grammy Awards - Best Alternative Album, Best Rock Performance for "In My Place," and Record of the Year for "Clocks."

Their third album, "X&Y," was also commercially and critically successful. NME hailed it as the Album of the Year, although some critics felt it was inferior to the band's previous releases. It spawned the hits "Fix You," "Talk," and "The Hardest Part."

Viva La Vida

The band began working on their fourth album by October 2006. Their work was temporarily put on hold by their Latin American tour in 2007, which will inspire and influence the band's later works. Chris Martin once referred to their first three albums as a trilogy, with "Viva La Vida" spelling a new direction.

Coldplay first released "Violet Hill," which featured guitar distorts and bluesy undertones. It was later revealed to be the first single in their upcoming album, with a considerably successful chart performance. They finally released "Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends" in June 2008, spawning the successful title track. "Viva La Vida," though initially released as an iTunes exclusive, became the first Coldplay single to land on the top spot of the Hot 100. The album topped most album charts and the world and was the best-selling album globally for 2008.

Coldplay in the Last Decade

Their success was followed by two more albums: "Mylo Xyloto" in 2011 and "Ghost Stories" in 2014. Later in 2014, Martin announced in an interview with Zane Lowe that they were working on their next album and hinted that it might be their last.

In 2015, the band released "A Head Full of Dreams," which was another result of the band's experimentation with various genres. The album featured songs made with the help of other artists such as Beyonce, Oasis' Noel Gallagher, Tove Lo, and more. A promotional tour supported the band's album release.

Though Coldplay first hinted that "A Head" might be their last album, the band returned to working for their next release. Their eighth album, "Everyday Life," was a double album released in 2019. It was creatively divided into two halves: "Sunrise" and "Sunset."

Tags

Coldplay, Pop, Featuring