Coldplay's Hot Politics

USA Weekend, May 5, 2003

The members of Coldplay, who begin the second leg of their U.S. tour later this month in George, Wash., continually repeat three phrases that could sum up their personality. The first is "ya know," which is their 20-something way of connecting with others. It sounds, ya know, similar to "Yellow", the British band's power ballad from 2000 that rocketed their debut album, "Parachutes", to the top of the charts.

The second, always said with sincerity, is "We've got the best job in the world." That is to say success hasn't spoiled them, although it could have. Their 2002 album, "A Rush of Blood to the Head", sold more than 5 million copies and won two Grammys this year, for Best Alternative Music Album and Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group.

Their third phrase is "Make trade fair." The words are silk-screened across singer-pianist Chris Martin's T-shirts, published in the band's CD liner notes and used as a link on Coldplay's official Web site. The slogan is taken from a movement started in 2002 by the international aid agency Oxfam that aims to reform the standards of international commerce. (According to Maketradefair.com, when developing countries export to rich ones, they face tariffs four times higher than those imposed on rich countries. That costs the developing nations $100 billion a year, twice as much as they receive in aid.) Coldplay will never be mistaken for one of those acts that's all about branding themselves -- not that there's anything wrong with that.

"Everyone has the right to do what they want, you know, as long as it doesn't harm anyone," Martin says when pressed about the social responsibility of musicians. He's sitting in a small, dimly lit room decorated with Indian tapestries backstage at the Target Center in downtown Minneapolis, where in a few hours the band will play the last concert in the first leg of their U.S. tour. Martin, who has big, mesmerizing blue eyes and the energy of a live wire, leans in close and speaks. "Our primary goal is music. But if we want to do something on the tails of that, that's our business. Some people do clothing lines, some do drugs, some set up foundations."

What's surprising about the respected guitar band's recent burst of activism is that they sing mostly about relationships and vulnerability. Their music is full of emotion and suffering, but it's profoundly personal; you won't hear strident calls to fight injustice. Even "Politik", the band's Sept. 11-inspired track, ends with the lyric "give me love over this."

But don't think they are just rock stars caught up in their tiny little world. What other band would plant 10,000 mango trees to offset the CO2 emitted from the production of their new album, as Coldplay did for the environmental group Future Forests? (OK, maybe a band like U2. But "they're on a different level entirely," laughs Coldplay's guitarist, Jonny Buckland. "Bono's friends with the pope!")

"A lot of people in the music industry -- the more they get, the more they want," bassist Guy Berryman says. Money, it seems, has had the opposite effect on Coldplay: In the last two years, the band has turned down tens of millions of dollars in movie soundtrack deals and endorsements, from companies such as the Gap and Coca-Cola. "It would degrade our music," Berryman says. "People would associate one of our songs with a car or something, and that'd be awful." He adds, "It's a lot of money, but we have more than we need." Last winter, Coldplay set up an account into which they deposit 10% of their profits for a to-be-determined charity.

Unlike legendary punks the Clash and the Sex Pistols -- two obvious influences -- Coldplay's music isn't about the plight of the underprivileged. Growing up middle-class, their biggest challenge was probably, like any boy's, getting girls. Nothing remarkable seems to have happened to them before 1996, when the four met at London's University College and started playing together. "When we did our first album, we were young and kind of naive," Berryman says. "Spending a lot more time in America, we're becoming more aware of how things work, and the more we learn, the more we're appalled."

The blokes have been working on new material during the tour. They describe most of the music as serious but not overtly political. "It's hard to write about issues," Buckland says. "Very hard."

But putting their politics to music is hardly Coldplay's biggest challenge. Paparazzi camp out at their doors overnight, and several unauthorized biographies are said to be in the works. The heat has only gotten worse now that Martin is dating actress Gwyneth Paltrow. (A week before our interview, rumors circulated that the couple was engaged and Steven Spielberg would give the bride away.) So what's their biggest issue right now? Simple, they say: "Our fame."

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