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The immensely popular Brit-rock act Coldplay have made a platinum reputation on swirling guitar riffs, pretty piano lines and singer Chris Martin's ethereal falsetto vocals. Martin sounds like he's singing from a high mountain top and the band keeps the music bright and hypnotic. They quickly silenced the British press, who were fast and loose with their Radiohead comparisons, by displaying an all together more romantic sensibility on their breakout modern rock single, "Yellow." Fans identified with Martin's melting, lovelorn lyrics and the gorgeous, swooning melody. However, the debut disc, Parachutes, was only a snack compared to their fan-favorite follow-up, A Rush Of Blood To the Head. The album's sweeping, heartbreaking single "Clocks" showed the true depth of the band's talent and their intelligent MTV-staple video showed Martin and company walking away from a car crash on rewind. The boys met at University College London in 1996, where they all shared a love of the Brit-pop sound and a desire to break into the music industry. The band's earliest recording sessions were stormy but, after weathering their difficulties, they came out with a united work ethic that's served them well since making it big. The final lineup - Chris Martin's vocals, Jonny Buckland on guitar, the multi-instrumentalist Will Champion on drums and Guy Berryman on synths and bass-garnered local hype playing the club circuit around England and recording small-edition EPs that currently fetch a small fortune on Ebay. Coldplay's third full-length LP X&Y sees them exploring more adventurous territory, reaching out to artists as diverse as German electronic pioneers Kraftwerk and American country rebel Johnny Cash.

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