Getting to Know Coldplay

This article was written by Phin Upham

The British rock band Colplay formed in 1996. Lead Singer Chris Martin met with the lead guitarist Jonny Buckland at University College in London. The two first formed a band called “The Pectorals,” but this was before they met their bassist Guy Berryman. By the time they had their fourth member, they’d changed their name to Coldplay.

Their first taste of stardom came with the song Yellow, which graced the airwaves in the year 2000. The laid back track was a prelude to their debut album, which was nominated for a Mercury Prize on its release. Their second album was released to critical acclaim, and it won NME’s Album of the Year award. The album was so popular that BBC 2 named it one of the greatest albums of all time.

They were supposed to record their first album in the span of two weeks, but plans got pushed back when they found themselves touring for a vast portion of that time. The actual recording time was close to one year. Production began in Liverpool at Parr Street Studios, with mixing happening in New York.

Coldplay released Parachutes on their own label, Parlophone, and it almost instantly became number one on the UKs top charts. Parachutes would come to North America shortly after, released by the label Nettwork. The band is also known for limited releases, like their imprint of “Trouble,” which was only pressed 1,000 times. If you’re so inclined, copies were distributed to known fans and journalists so you may still be able to find one online.

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About the Author: Phin Upham is an investor at a family office/hedgefund, where he focuses on special situation illiquid investing. Before this position, Phin Upham was working at Morgan Stanley in the Media & Technology group. You may contact Phin on his Phin Upham website