| "Charlie Brown" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single by Coldplay | ||||
| from the album Mylo Xyloto | ||||
| Released | 10 January 2012 | |||
| Format | Digital download, CD | |||
| Genre | Alternative rock, post-Britpop | |||
| Length | 4:45 (Album version) 3:46 (Radio edit) |
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| Label | Parlophone | |||
| Writer(s) | Guy Berryman, Jonny Buckland, Will Champion, Chris Martin, Brian Eno | |||
| Producer | Markus Dravs, Daniel Green, Rik Simpson | |||
| Coldplay singles chronology | ||||
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"Charlie Brown" is a song by British alternative rock band Coldplay. It was written by all members of the band for their fifth studio album, Mylo Xyloto.
It is set to be released on 10 January 2012, as the third single from Mylo Xyloto,[1] having already been released as a promotional single in Worldwide on 14 November 2011[2] and in Europe on 21 November 2011.[3] The single was Q's track of the day on 2 December 2011.[4]
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According to the band, "Charlie Brown" was the first song recorded, with the intention of being included on Mylo Xyloto (which under an unofficial, working title, was simply known as LP5 at the time). The song takes its name from the fact that it originally included lyrics inspired by the cartoon program Peanuts, whose protagonist was a young boy by the name of Charlie Brown. During the writing and recording sessions of Mylo Xyloto, the song took on other names, such as "Cartoon Heart" and "Cartoon Head". However, these song titles were eventually replaced by the song's official, track name, "Charlie Brown".
During an online interview with the Sunday Herald Sun (Australia)[5], Coldplay described the centrepiece of Charlie Brown in the plan for Coldplay's fifth record and lead singer Chris Martin said:
"We have a song called Charlie Brown, which was the centrepiece of this other record we started first... We were playing the riff on an accordion and Guy came in one morning and said 'I'm afraid I have to put my foot down. I don't want to speak out of turn, but I will not allow this song to be played on an accordion - that has to go in with the Mylo bunch'. So then we thought - let's just make one album."
Coldplay first performed Charlie Brown at a friends and family gig at The Forum, Kentish Town, London on 31 May 2011. They then continued to play it at the Summer festival dates of 2011, beginning at Rock im Park festival, Nürnberg, Germany on 3 June 2011 and again at Rock am Ring festival the following day, which was the first live broadcast officially authorised by the band and management.
In an article published by Q (magazine) on 10 October 2011 entitled "First Impressions of... Coldplay's Mylo Xyloto"[6] they wrote:
The standout from their headline summer slots sounds even more monumental on record; Charlie Brown is one of the best things Coldplay have done. Jonny Buckland's hypnotic guitar lines lead the way, the band channeling The Joshua Tree-era, the heady holler-alongs of Arcade Fire and a teeny bit of Sigur Rós stargazing as the song launches into its adrenaline-veined climax. Whilst the music is wonderfully overblown, Chris Martin keeps the vocals cool and calculated, singing of "taking the car downtown to where the lost boys meet", which might be about nipping to Spar on Hampstead High St, but probably isn't.
| Promotional Single (airplay)[7] | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Length | |||||||
| 1. | "Charlie Brown" (Radio edit) | 3:46 | |||||||
| 2. | "Charlie Brown" (LP version) | 4:45 | |||||||
| 3. | "Charlie Brown" (Instrumental) | 4:45 | |||||||
| Chart (2011) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Belgium (Ultratip Flanders)[8] | 8 |
| Belgium (Ultratip Wallonia)[9] | 14 |
| Ireland (IRMA)[10] | 29 |
| Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[11] | 25 |
| Country | Release date | Format |
|---|---|---|
| Worldwide | 14 November 2011 | Promo - Mainstream radio airplay |
| Europe | 21 November 2011 | Promo - Mainstream radio airplay |
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