“You can try to be catchy without being slick, poppy without being pop, and you can be uplifting without being pompous. Because we're sometimes playing quieter stuff, it's hard to sound like we're trying to change things, but we wanted to be a reaction against soulless rubbish.”

English musician and Coldplay co-founder

Christopher Anthony John Martin is an English musician and the vocalist, pianist, and co-founder of Coldplay. He became widely known through the band, which he formed with Jonny Buckland, Guy Berryman, and Will Champion at University College London. Coldplay reached global stardom with Parachutes in 2000 and the albums that followed. Martin is known chiefly for his work with the band and his role at its center as singer and pianist.