Imagine heading off to University, thinking of the four years that lie before you and pondering over the experiences that will come. Now imagine you are in your orientation week at a large University in London, and you meet fellow students who share your love for music. Over the next two years, you and your close friend form a band originally called, “Starfish” and begin performing at local clubs and bars. In 1998, after two years of playing the bar and club scene, the band which is now called “Coldplay” releases 500 copies of their first album, Safety EP. Flash forward ten years, and you are now a member of one of the most famous bands worldwide; how does it feel to be a superstar? Welcome to the life of a member of the band, "Coldplay"!
The band, which gained fame throughout the late 90’s and early 2000’s, played their first headlining tour in 2000 which marked the beginning of their clime to global fame. Later that same year in November, the band released their album, Parachutes, which earned the band a Best Alternative Music Album at the 2002 Grammy Awards.
Currently, the band is working on their fifth in studio album which is set to be released in the middle of 2010. Up to this date, the band has won multiple awards, ranging from American Music Awards, Grammys, and MTV Music Awards, to awards such as the Mercury Award, which recognized British artists who are not only producing fantastic music but who also promote positive change in society.
Coldplay has kept their fame to a subtle level, as they do not allow their band or music to use for any advertisement endorsements. As well as boycotting any endorsements from advertisements ranging from Gatorade to Coke, Coldplay is also politically and socially active and has been throughout the bands career. Known for supporting Amnesty International and advocating for fair trade with organizations such as Oxfam, Coldplay continually becomes involved with charitable events worldwide.
Since the beginning of the formation of the band, Coldplay has given and continues to give 10 percent of their profit to charity. The band also gives all gifts donated to them directly to charity and bassist Guy Berryman has been quoted saying,
“You can make people aware of issues. It isn’t very much effort for us at all, but if it can help people, then we want to do it.”
-Guy Berryman
As well as being with charities and organizations worldwide, Coldplay often supports local initiatives. Recently, Coldplay sponsored a local English cricket team and were quoted saying, “we would be delighted to help.” (http://espn.go.com/espn/page2/index?id=5153944) Artist and lead singer of Coldplay, Chris Martin was involved in the sport cricket while growing up and continues to support local teams in needing of funding.
In my mind, Coldplay is the perfect example of a band or artist that has made it big and famous and yet keeps their status on the down low and low key. Coldplay members are rarely in the tabloids, and when they are, it almost always seems like they are doing something to benefit society. As well as playing fantastic music, Coldplay does a great job at showing that it is possible to be famous and down to earth at the same time!
To find out more about Coldplay and how they're keeping it real, check out these websites:
ESPN
Wikipedia - Coldplay
Coldplay.com
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