Chris Martin

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This article is about a musician. For other people named Chris Martin, see Chris Martin (disambiguation).
Chris Martin

Background information
Born March 2, 1977
England Devon, England
Genre(s) Alternative rock
Occupation(s) Vocalist, Producer, Musician
Instrument(s) Vocals, Guitar, Piano
Label(s) Parlophone, Capitol
Associated
acts		 Coldplay

'Christopher Anthony John Martin ' (born in Devon, England on March 2, 1977) is the lead singer, rhythm guitarist and pianist of the popular rock band Coldplay. He has a baritenor voice and is known for his frequent use of falsetto. He was educated at Sherborne School, a famous boys' independent school in Sherborne, Dorset, in England, and later at University College London where he took a first-class degree in Ancient World Studies.

Contents

[edit] Career

As a solo artist, Martin has written songs for a variety of acts including Embrace ("Gravity") and Jamelia ("See It In a Boy's Eyes"). Martin has also collaborated with Ron Sexsmith, Faultline, The Streets, and Ian McCulloch. He also sang a part of the vocals for the Band Aid 20 single, "Do They Know It's Christmas?" at the end of 2004. In 2005, Martin collaborated with Nelly Furtado on the track "All Good Things (Come to an End)", for her 2006 album, Loose. The track was later removed, since the label thought his voice sounded too raw. The two were once rumoured to be a couple, after they both performed at Glastonbury in 2001. Furtado joked about the situation, saying that "Yeah, he's my boyfriend — he just doesn't know it yet".[1] Martin is also expected to work on a solo collaboration with Kanye West, with whom he shared an impromptu jam session during a 2006 concert at Abbey Road Studios.[2] Martin's fascination with Hip Hop was further extended in the Summer of 2006 when he collaborated with rapper Jay-Z for the rapper's comeback album "Kingdom Come". The two artists met earlier in the year, and subsequently kept in touch, when Jay-Z told Martin he'd like to work together. Martin put some chords together for a song known as "Beach Chair" and sent them to Jay-Z who enlisted the help of Hip Hop producer Dr. Dre to add the drum line to complete the track. The song was performed on September 27th, 2006 by the two during Jay-Z's European tour at Royal Albert Hall. "Beach Chair" is featured on the album Kingdom Come and is rumored to be the third single off the album.

[edit] Personal life

Martin married actress Gwyneth Paltrow on December 5, 2003. Their daughter, Apple Blythe Alison Martin, was born on May 14, 2004 in London. The couple's second child, Moses Bruce Anthony Martin, was born in New York City on April 8, 2006.

Chris is an active member of the Make Trade Fair foundation.

[edit] Other endeavours

Martin and Coldplay guitarist Jon Buckland made cameo appearances in the film Shaun of the Dead as supporters of the fictional charity ZombAid. In 2006 Martin had a cameo role in the second series episode four of the Ricky Gervais- and Stephen Merchant-created comedy Extras.

Martin has been particularly outspoken on issues of fair trade. He has done a great deal of campaigning for the charity Oxfam's Make Trade Fair campaign. He personally traveled to Ghana and Haiti to study the effects of unfair trade practices. When performing, he usually has variations of "Make Trade Fair", "MTF" or an equal sign written on his left hand.

Martin has been somewhat active in politics. He was a vocal critic of President George W. Bush and the war in Iraq. Martin 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".

On April 1, 2006, The Guardian reported[3] the unlikely news that Martin was backing the British Conservative Party leader David Cameron and had written a new theme song for the party entitled "Talk to David".[4] This was later revealed to be an April Fool's joke.

Martin is featured in the new Jay-Z album, Kingdom Come, as he produced and featured in the song "Beach Chair".

[edit] Selected events

Martin was voted as one of PETA's two 2005 "World's Sexiest Vegetarians".[5]

[edit] Equipment list

Standard
  • Two Telecaster Deluxe guitars
  • Two Hot Rod DeVille 210 combo amps
  • Yamaha GT20 Digital Piano
On the A Rush of Blood to the Head Tour
  • Two Fender 'Hotrod' DeVille 210 combo amps[6]
  • Kawai MP9000 Pro Stage Piano[6]

[edit] Solo Releases

[edit] Facts and Figures

  • Although left-handed, he plays guitar in the right-handed style[citation needed].
  • He often refers to himself as "Crono" emulating his hero Bono.

[edit] References

  1. ^ ChartAttack.com staff (2001). "Compilation Brings Nelly Furtado and Chris Martin Together Forever" ChartAttack.com (accessed April 25, 2006)
  2. ^ NME staff author (2006). "Chris Martin to release solo collaboration" NME magazine (accessed April 26, 2006)
  3. ^ Olaf Priol (2006). "Their wives met at yoga. Now Chris Martin plans to rock the vote for Cameron's Tories" The Guardian (accessed April 25, 2006)
  4. ^ Guardian staff (2006). "Talk to David" The Guardian (accessed April 26, 2006)
  5. ^ (2005). "Chris Martin's Coldplay Voted World's Sexiest Vegetarian" PETA (accessed April 25, 2006)
  6. ^ a b Debs Wild (2003). "Equipment List" official Coldplay Ezine (accessed April 25, 2006)
  7. ^ Cross, Alan (2006). "The Ongoing History of New Music - Coldplay: Part 1". Retrieved 2006-07-04.

[edit] External links

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to:
Coldplay
Chris Martin | Jonny Buckland | Guy Berryman | Will Champion
Ken Nelson
Discography
Studio Albums: Parachutes | A Rush of Blood to the Head | X&Y
Lives and EPS: Safety EP | Brothers & Sisters EP | The Blue Room EP | Trouble Live EP | Live 2003
Singles: "Ode to Deodorant" | "Brothers & Sisters" | "Shiver" | "Yellow" | "Trouble" | "Don't Panic" | "In My Place" | "The Scientist" | "Clocks" | "God Put a Smile upon Your Face" | "Speed of Sound" | "Fix You" | "Talk" | "The Hardest Part | "What If" | "White Shadows"
Tours
A Rush of Blood to the Head Tour | Twisted Logic Tour
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