Chris Martin
Template:About Template:Short description Template:Use dmy dates Template:Use British English Template:Infobox person
Christopher Anthony John Martin (born 2 March 1977) is an English singer, songwriter, musician and producer. He is best known as the vocalist, pianist and co-founder of the rock band Coldplay.
Born in Exeter, Martin went to University College London, where he formed Coldplay with Jonny Buckland, Guy Berryman and Will Champion. The band signed with Parlophone in 1999, finding global fame with Parachutes (2000) and subsequent albums. He has won seven Grammy Awards and nine Brit Awards as part of Coldplay. Having sold more than 160 million records worldwide,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> they are the most successful group of the 21st century.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The Independent and the Evening Standard have named Martin one of the most influential figures in the United Kingdom,<ref>Template:Cite web
- Template:Cite web</ref> while American Songwriter ranked him among the best male singers of the 21st century.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Early life
Christopher Anthony John Martin was born on 2 March 1977 in Exeter, Devon, England.<ref name="whoswho">Template:Who's Who</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> He is the eldest of five children.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> His father, Anthony John Martin, is a retired chartered accountant.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> His mother, Alison Martin, is from Zimbabwe and works as a music teacher.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name=":0" /> His family's caravan and motorhome sales business, Martin's of Exeter, was founded in 1929 by his grandfather John Besley Martin, CBE (a High Sheriff and Mayor of Exeter).<ref name="Burke's Peerage 1999">Burke's Peerage, 1999. vol. 2, p. 1689</ref><ref name="standard.co.uk">Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="observer">Template:Cite news</ref> His great-great-grandfather, William Willett, campaigned for and made British Summer Time a recognised practice.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite Hansard Template:Webarchive</ref>
Martin lived with his family in Zimbabwe when he was 10 years old,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> later attending the Hylton and Exeter Cathedral schools, where he found his passion for music.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> His secondary education was carried out at Sherborne School, where he met Coldplay manager Phil Harvey.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> At Sherborne, Martin was president of the Sting fan club, and played with Harvey in a blues band called the Rockin’ Honkies.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> Before college in England, he worked at Shed Studios, producing jingles for plays at St. George's College, Harare.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> He then enrolled at University College London (UCL), where he was awarded a first-class honours degree in Greek and Latin.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="observer" /> It was at UCL that Martin met Jonny Buckland, Guy Berryman and Will Champion.<ref name="University Challenge">Template:Cite news</ref>
Career
Coldplay
Martin co-founded the band along with Jonny Buckland after they met during UCL's orientation week in 1996.<ref name=":0">Template:Cite magazine</ref> The pair spent the rest of the year planning a band and began writing their first songs together in early 1997, rehearsing nightly.<ref name="LITBC">Template:Harv</ref> Guy Berryman joined the group in the following months and the group recorded numerous demos without a drummer.<ref name="BFN">Template:Harv</ref> By November, the trio was known as Big Fat Noises.<ref name="BFN" /> In 1998, they became Starfish "in a panic", after Will Champion scheduled their debut live performance at the Laurel Tree only a few days after joining the band.<ref name="TLTS">Template:Cite web</ref> Weeks later, the band settled on the name Coldplay,<ref name="TLTS" /> suggested by UCL friend Tim Crompton.<ref name="BFN" /> He had considered it for his own band after finding a copy of Philip Horky's Child's Reflections, Cold Play (1997), but ultimately discarded the idea.<ref name="BFN" />
Since the release of their debut album, Parachutes, in 2000, the band have achieved international recognition and commercial success. Their song "Yellow", from Parachutes, entered the charts at number four and became the group's breakthrough.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> To date, they have released ten studio albums: Parachutes, A Rush of Blood to the Head, X&Y, Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends, Mylo Xyloto, Ghost Stories, A Head Full of Dreams, Everyday Life, Music of the Spheres, and Moon Music.
Solo work
Martin has written songs for a variety of artists, including Embrace ("Gravity") and Jamelia ("See It in a Boy's Eyes", co-written with frequent Coldplay producer Rik Simpson). He has also collaborated with Ron Sexsmith, Faultline, the Streets, and Ian McCulloch. In 2004, he sang on the Band Aid 20 single "Do They Know It's Christmas?". In 2005, Martin worked with Nelly Furtado on "All Good Things (Come to an End)" for her album Loose (2006). The two were once rumoured to be a couple after performing together at Glastonbury Festival in 2002. Furtado joked about it, saying, "Yeah, he's my boyfriend—he just doesn't know it yet".<ref name="chartattack">Template:Cite magazineTemplate:Dead link</ref>
Martin's interest in hip hop led to a collaboration with rapper Jay-Z for on the song "Beach Chair" for the album Kingdom Come (2006).<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Martin supplied chords and Coldplay producer Rik Simpson created the drum pattern; Jay-Z then brought in Dr. Dre to mix the track. Martin and Jay-Z performed "Beach Chair" at Royal Albert Hall on 27 September 2006. He also recorded the chorus for Kanye West's "Homecoming" on Graduation (2007), following an impromptu jam session at Abbey Road Studios the same year.<ref name="NME">"Chris Martin to release solo collaboration" Template:Webarchive NME magazine. Retrieved 26 April 2006.</ref>
In 2015, Martin collaborated with Avicii during sessions for Avicii's album, Stories (2015). Their first joint composition, "Heaven", originated in that period, with Simon Aldred of Cherry Ghost providing early vocals. Martin also sang on "True Believer". In 2017, he performed "A Different Corner" at the Brit Awards in tribute to George Michael.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> Martin co-wrote "Homesick" for Dua Lipa's self-titled debut album, Dua Lipa (2017).<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In 2019, Martin was featured on Avicii's posthumous album, Tim (2019); the song "Heaven" features vocals by Martin and was written by Avicii and Martin prior to Avicii's death in 2018.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Citation</ref>
Philanthropy
In December 2012, Martin performed three songs for the 12/12/12: The Concert for Sandy Relief fundraiser, which aided Hurricane Sandy victims.<ref>"12 Unforgettable Photos from the Epic 12-12-12 Sandy Benefit Concert", entertainment.time.com; retrieved 15 December 2012.</ref> Two years later, he joined Band Aid 30 to record a new version of "Do They Know It's Christmas?" at Notting Hill's Sarm West Studios, helping raise money for the 2014 Ebola crisis in West Africa; this marked his second contribution to the franchise, after Band Aid 20.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In September 2015, he became the creative director of the Global Citizen Festival.<ref name="Martin">Template:Cite magazine</ref> InFocus, a charity dedicated to vision impairment and complex needs, launched and named Exeter's Martin House after him in 2025; the place works as a residential care facility for young people.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Other projects
Martin and Coldplay guitarist Jonny Buckland made cameo appearances in the film Shaun of the Dead as supporters of the fictional charity ZombAid.<ref name="IMtriv">Shaun of the Dead (2004) – Trivia, IMDb, 2008, webpage: IMDb-5748 Template:Webarchive: notes role as zombie, and singer in Ash music.</ref> In 2006, Martin had a cameo role in series two, episode four, of the Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant comedy Extras. He also appears singing in the closing credits of the 2009 Sacha Baron Cohen film Brüno, alongside Bono, Sting, Slash, Snoop Dogg, and Elton John.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In March 2015, Martin attended the televised launch of music streaming service Tidal via a video link, and, along with other artists, was introduced as a shareholder.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In June 2015, he performed "Til Kingdom Come" at the funeral Mass of Beau Biden, son of then United States Vice President Joe Biden, after learning that Beau Biden had been a fan.<ref>Chris Martin performs at Beau Biden funeral Template:Webarchive, rollingstone.com; accessed 21 June 2015.</ref> In August 2017, Martin performed a solo piano rendition of "Crawling" by Linkin Park as a tribute to the band's singer Chester Bennington, who had died the previous month.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>
Influences
A major influence on Martin and Coldplay was the Scottish rock band Travis, with Martin crediting the band for the creation of his own band.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> The Irish rock band U2 is another important influence on Martin both musically and politically.<ref name="rollingstone">Template:Cite web</ref> Martin wrote for Rolling Stone Magazine's "100 Greatest Artists of All Time" on the band,<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> saying: "I don't buy weekend tickets to Ireland and hang out in front of their gates, but U2 are the only band whose entire catalogue I know by heart. The first song on The Unforgettable Fire, "A Sort of Homecoming", I know backward and forward—it's so rousing, brilliant, and beautiful. It's one of the first songs I played to my unborn baby."<ref name="rollingstone" /> Martin has also been influenced by Radiohead.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> In 2024, Coldplay invited and performed alongside Michael J. Fox at the Glastonbury Festival.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Martin is very vocal about his love for Norwegian synth-pop band a-ha. In 2005, he stated in an interview: "I found myself in Amsterdam the other day and I put a-ha's first record on. I just remembered how much I loved it. It's incredible songwriting. Everyone asks what inspired us, what we've been trying to steal from and what we listened to as we were growing up—the first band I ever loved was a-ha."<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Martin has also performed live together with Magne Furuholmen of a-ha, introducing him as "the best keyboard player in the world".<ref>Template:Cite AV media</ref> In November 2011, he stated that "back when we didn't have any hits of our own we used to play a-ha songs."<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Martin is also a fan of the English rock bands Oasis and Muse;<ref name="autogenerated1">Template:Cite web</ref> Irish pop group Westlife;<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> English-Irish girl group Girls Aloud;<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> English pop group Take That;<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and Canadian indie rock band Arcade Fire. During an interview from 2011, Martin cited the Beatles, the Rolling Stones and Bob Marley among his favourite acts.<ref>Template:Cite AV media</ref>In 2014, he inducted Peter Gabriel into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame for his solo career.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Coldplay performed R.E.M.'s "Nightswimming" with Michael Stipe during their Austin City Limits performance in 2005, as a part of the Twisted Logic Tour. Martin went on to call "Nightswimming" "the greatest song ever written".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> He has called Richard Ashcroft, formerly of the Verve, "the best singer in the world".<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> He also admires the lyrics of Morrissey.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Martin was quoted as calling Coldplay's song "Shiver" a rip-off Jeff Buckley influenced by Buckley's song "Grace". In 2008, Coldplay released an alternate music video for "Viva la Vida", directed by Anton Corbijn as a tribute to the music video for Depeche Mode's "Enjoy the Silence". It shows Martin dressed as a king, as Dave Gahan was in the original video. The band stated: "This is our attempt at a video cover version, made out of love for Depeche Mode and the genius of Anton Corbijn".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Personal life
According to The Times in May 2023, Martin had an estimated net worth of £160 million.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In a 2012 interview with the Daily Mirror, Martin revealed that he had been suffering from tinnitus since his early adult years, although he said that he had noticed the symptoms even as a teenager "while listening to loud music".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> As a result, Martin wears specially filtered earplugs or customised in-ear monitors while performing and has encouraged his bandmates to do the same as a preventive measure.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Similarly, he has encouraged his children to wear hearing protection at concerts.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Martin has also become an advocate for hearing loss awareness, having partnered with the Royal National Institute for Deaf People.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> PETA named Martin the World's Sexiest Vegetarian in 2005.<ref>"Chris Martin Named World's Sexiest Vegetarian Template:Webarchive", Agence France-Presse, 23 July 2005.</ref> However, he began eating meat again after his separation from his then-wife, American actress Gwyneth Paltrow.<ref>Chris Martin no longer a vegetarian post split with Paltrow Template:Webarchive, usmagazine.com; accessed 21 June 2015.</ref>
Martin is a supporter of Exeter City.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> He is also ambidextrous.<ref>Template:Cite tweet</ref> In February 2020, a cassette tape was discovered by a former fellow pupil of Martin's. It contained a three-minute instrumental piece titled "Electric Thunder", which was composed by Martin, aged 12, at Exeter Cathedral School. Martin played keyboards on the track accompanying other pupils performing in a group called Grandisson Ensemble. The cassette was expected to sell for £600 at auction; it ultimately fetched £840.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Relationships
According to one source, Martin previously had a relationship with live events producer Lily Sobhani around the Parachutes album release.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> He and Gwyneth Paltrow married on 5 December 2003.<ref name=whoswho/><ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> Their daughter Apple was born in May 2004 in London.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Martin and the band released a song titled "I am your baby's daddy" under the name "the Nappies" in anticipation of her birth.<ref>Template:Cite AV media</ref> Coldplay's "Speed of Sound" was also inspired by Martin's experience and awe at becoming a father, being the lead single for the band's X&Y album. Actor Simon Pegg and Martin's bandmate Jonny Buckland are his daughter's godfathers, and Martin is godfather to Pegg's daughter.<ref name="Gdad">Template:Cite web</ref> His second child, Moses, was born in April 2006 in New York City.<ref name="BabyBoy">Template:Cite magazine</ref> The name was inspired by a song of the same name. In March 2014, Martin and Paltrow announced their separation as a "conscious uncoupling" after ten years of marriage.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Paltrow filed for divorce in April 2015 and it was finalised on 14 July 2016.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> From August 2015 to August 2017, he was in an on-and-off relationship with actress Annabelle Wallis.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Martin began dating American actress Dakota Johnson afterwards.<ref name="SPEAKMAN">Template:Cite web</ref> They resided in Malibu, California.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In 2024, it was revealed the couple had been engaged for several years.<ref name="SPEAKMAN" /> In June 2025, People reported that they split up after eight years of dating.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Political views
Martin has been particularly outspoken on issues of fair trade and has campaigned for Oxfam's Make Trade Fair campaign. He travelled to Ghana and Haiti to meet farmers and view the effects of unfair trade practices.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> When performing he usually has variations of "Make Trade Fair", "MTF" or an equal sign written on the back of his left hand and the letters "MTF" can be seen emblazoned on his piano.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Martin was a vocal critic of U.S. President George W. Bush and the war in Iraq. During the Teenage Cancer Trust show at London's Royal Albert Hall on 24 March 2003, he encouraged the sell-out crowd to "sing against war".<ref>"Liam Gallagher slams Chris Martin's anti-war stance" Template:Webarchive. NME. Retrieved 27 July 2015</ref> He was a strong supporter of Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry, most notably during his acceptance speech for the 2004 Grammy Awards Record of the Year, accepting for "Clocks". He supported Barack Obama for president in 2008, giving a shout-out at the end of a performance of "Yellow" on 25 October 2008 episode of Saturday Night Live.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
On 1 April 2006, The Guardian reported that Martin was backing the British Conservative Party leader David Cameron, and had written a new theme song for the party titled "Talk to David".<ref name="Guardian">Olaf Priol (2006). "Their wives met at yoga. Now Chris Martin plans to rock the vote for Cameron's Tories", The Guardian; retrieved 25 April 2006.</ref><ref name="GuardianU">"Talk to David" The Guardian; retrieved 26 April 2006.</ref> This was later revealed to be an April Fool's joke. While touring Australia in March 2009, Martin and the rest of Coldplay were the opening act at the Sound Relief benefit concert at the Sydney Cricket Ground in Sydney, for the victims of bushfires and floods in Victoria and Queensland.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Martin appeared in a video for the "Robin Hood Tax" campaign, which proposes a tax on stock trades in the United States.<ref>Template:Cite AV media</ref> This tax is aimed at levelling the field between the 1% and 99%. In June 2016, Martin supported Vote Remain in the United Kingdom European Union membership referendum.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In November 2023, Martin expressed support for Palestine during the Gaza war.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Discography
With Coldplay
- Parachutes (2000)
- A Rush of Blood to the Head (2002)
- X&Y (2005)
- Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends (2008)
- Mylo Xyloto (2011)
- Ghost Stories (2014)
- A Head Full of Dreams (2015)
- Everyday Life (2019)
- Music of the Spheres (2021)
- Moon Music (2024)
Solo credits
Filmography
Television
| Year | Title | Details |
|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Extras | Season 2, Episode 4: "Chris Martin" guest appearance |
| 2014 | Saturday Night Live | Season 39, Episode 19: "Spider-Man Kiss" sketch |
| 2016 | Barely Famous | Season 2, Episode 3: "No Scrubs" guest appearance |
| 2017 | Modern Family | Season 9, Episode 8: "Brushes with Celebrity" guest appearance |
| 2020 | Curb Your Enthusiasm | Season 10, Episode 6: "The Surprise Party" guest appearance |
| Template:Sort | Depeche Mode guest appearance | |
| Template:Sort | Season 8, Episode 54: "Fallonlore: The 30 Rock Sessions" sketch |
Films
| Year | Title | Role | Details |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | Mayor of the Sunset Strip | Himself | Documentary |
| 2004 | Shaun of the Dead | Cameo appearance | |
| Band Aid 20: Justice, Not Charity | Documentary | ||
| 2006 | "God's Gonna Cut You Down" (Johnny Cash version) | Cameo appearance | |
| 2009 | Brüno | ||
| Shadow Play: The Making of Anton Corbijn | Documentary | ||
| 2017 | Avicii: True Stories | ||
| 2018 | Template:Sort | ||
| 2024 | Camden | ||
| Music by John Williams | |||
| Avicii – I'm Tim |
See also
- List of people associated with University College London
- List of British Grammy winners and nominees
- List of best-selling music artists
- List of highest-grossing live music artists
- List of artists who reached number one on the UK Singles Chart
Notes
References
Further reading
External links
Template:Chris Martin Template:Coldplay Template:Gwyneth Paltrow Template:Grammy Award for Song of the Year Template:Portal bar Template:Authority control
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- 1977 births
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