There's a definite thaw in Coldplay
IF there’s one thing Coldplay aren’t keen to do with reporters, it’s reminisce.
Their frontman Chris Martin has, in fact, cultivated something of an indignant attitude towards interviewers who dare to probe beyond the current business affairs of the band. He’s even been known to storm out of interviews while he’s live on air, in proper diva style…
And so, CityLife is surprised to find our nominated Coldplay member such at ease with our 20 questions.
In his off-stage threads of slouchy T-shirt and jeans, and nestled into a leather sofa with his feet on the coffee table, bassist Guy Berryman smiles cooperatively and even bubbles with excitement when we confess to having a few schoolyard stories in common with guitarist Jonny Buckland (although, as it turns out, we don’t have time to share them).
But our little connection has a relaxing effect on the mood. And perhaps our location can take some of the credit, because Manchester is a place that holds a fair number of fond memories for Chris, Jonny, Guy and drummer Will Champion.
The band were signed here a decade ago and the boys have industriously slogged their way up through the venues ever since – from the tiny Cuban café where life as a signed band began to the lofty M.E.N. Arena last year.
And the good times, says Guy, keep on coming; on Saturday, they’ll clock up another important chapter with a spectacular at Lancashire County Cricket Club with very special guest Jay-Z plus new princes of gothic rock, White Lies.
It’s in this gushing moment of anticipation that we tentatively ask Guy to cast his mind back…
“I wouldn’t really want to meet us back then – we were really quite ambitious little ****ers,” he confesses, as CityLife spits its virtual tea all over its real notepad.
“We were quite self-centred in our belief in ourselves that we were going to do this. It was just a game plan, going to In The City was just one of the many things that we put ourselves up for in order to get noticed and start making a move into the music industry, getting a record deal.”
The band’s good friend, Debs Wilde, tipped off a scout at Sony BMG who gave them their dotted line. “I remember there were about four people in the bar and I remember being pretty nervous,” Guy laughs.
“I don’t remember thinking, ‘This is the moment we make it!’. Actually, we felt that all the main bands that people were interested in were playing in all the cool bars down the road, while we were in a little Mexican-themed bar playing in the window.
“But anyone in a band will tell you that those days are the ones you look back on with the most fondness because it was so exciting. You’re just desperate to write and make as good music as you can – and desperate to prove yourself to people.
“You end up in cars, buses, trains, with backpacks and equipment. It’s just an amazing period in any band’s life. That seems like a different life – we’ve been to so many countries and place since, I can’t even relate to the person I was back then.
“Not that I’m saying I’ve crawled up my a***,” he laughs. “But it’s been an amazing experience, and it’s left us with a very fond attachment to Manchester.”
Perhaps, then, you shouldn’t judge a member of Coldplay by the colours on his costume. Speaking of which… “They’re our clothes,” Guy interrupts, setting CityLife straight. “A lot of people call them costumes, but they’re our clothes.
Strong identity
“It’s all to do with having a strong visual identity that relates to the music and the artwork. What you’re buying into is a package deal – I don’t think it would as good if we just rocked up on stage in jeans and trainers.
“When you look back and see pictures of us in these clothes, you’ll immediately know what period they’re from. We concentrate so much on making the record and mixing it and all those details, and then on the album artwork and the videos, so why would we not bother doing clothes?”
One quirk down, so while we’re on a roll, what about Chris? “People have tagged him with being a humanitarian and a macrobiotic eater,” sighs Guy. “You get tagged with these things and it’s not necessarily true.
“We’re involved as a group in helping other causes and when musicians try to help in that way people’s personalities get exaggerated.
“I think I’m very lucky because I certainly don’t have paparazzi sitting outside my house (Guy even managed to get through a sticky split from his wife and childhood sweetheart with minimal media fuss), which I would like to keep that way because I don’t think it would be very nice. You know, we’re private people.
“Everyone has a slightly different character within the group but everyone’s character fulfils a specific role, which keeps everything balanced in the middle. We’re all in an amazing place now where we know each other so well that I think, if we wanted to, we could do this forever.
“They’re my best friends, and I feel very lucky and proud that we’ve got this far. I think one of the biggest achievements in any band is to stay mates. It’s not always been easy and there’s been tantrums at times, but we’ve all matured very well.”
Being the biggest band in Britain, it seems, brings with it certain pressures; the bigger the gigs, the finer the attention to detail has to get.
Case in point? Their sensational shows at the M.E.N. Arena last year (a point on which Coldplay lovers and doubters all agreed), which proved that big bands don’t have to settle for simply playing at the end of a very big hall.
For those stuck in the cheap seats, a mini stage brought an acoustic version of the band that little bit closer. And, even better, anyone lucky enough to find themselves on the end of a row will have seen Coldplay sprint right past their chair.
With a little imagination, says Guy, it’s easy to restore that personal touch
“We’re just trying to make everyone feel involved in the show,” says Guy, “ so the people at the front, we have eye contact with, and then going to the back is a nice surprise for people.
Danger
“We want to make the arenas feel as small as possible and I think the danger with being right at the back is you spend your time looking at the big monitor screens and not looking at the band – so, what is the point of the band actually being there?
“We decided that we should make the mood as intimate as possible. We thought running from the front to the back might be dangerous, but in actual fact people were so surprised that it became one of the highlights of the show.
“We realised that the show is about the audience, it’s not just about us standing there and playing our songs over and over again – that would be boring for us.
"So what’s exciting for us is interacting with everyone and, if the audience isn’t being as responsive as they should be, giving them a hard time and making them start singing.
“We’re learning a lot about that, and with these bigger shows we’re really trying to maximise our skill level and make people enjoy the show as much as possible. This is definitely our best interactive show.
“We just want people to be leaving the show thinking, ‘My God, I haven’t seen anything like that before’, and we want them to call up their mates and say, ‘You have to catch one of these!’, to create that buzz.”
Famously, The Beatles stopped performing live in 1966, spending their remaining four years together in a studio pumping out five of their finest records.
But live music has become a musician’s daily bread, and even bands like Coldplay are feeling the pressure of illegal downloading.
To counteract it, they’re trying to show that official support will be richly rewarded. Earlier this year, they gave away a free live record (at their shows and then online), LeftRightLeftRightLeft, as ‘a recession-busting mark of gratitude to everyone who’s supported them’ – “a thank you to our fans, the people who give us a reason to do it and make it happen”.
But Guy says the live show has become every band’s financial safety net. “In this day and age, you can’t rely on records to keep you in bread and milk, so to speak,” he smiles.
“But it was always important to us from day one – to make records as great as we could make them and focus on being as best musicians and performers as we could be.
“There’s a lot of people out there and a lot of competition to deal with. Coming up with new ideas gets harder and harder.
"You’ve got your U2s – who notoriously put on great stadium shows – to compete with, but then you’ve got people like The Flaming Lips who do the most incredible shows that are like these amazing birthday parties.
“It’s not about ripping people off, you need to bring in your own ideas. But it’s about leaving people exhausted by all the sensations they’ve been through!”
In the spirit of Coldplay’s futuristic outlook, CityLife decides on one last line of enquiry – a new record. Guy says work started on LP5 in January and 2009 will be a mix of recording, performing and breaks.
“We started writing in 2008 and experience tells me that doesn’t mean very much as this stage in the game, but there’s definitely some ideas around.”
They plan to work with same creative team (including the much-sought after Brian Eno) they collaborated with on Viva la Vida, so should we be expecting another giant leap in sound?
Guy ruminates the answer, then opts for a very Coldplay response: “Who knows?” he shrugs, suggestively. “I’ve no idea where we’ll go next. But that’s the fun of it, though, that’s what’s exciting about starting records – you have no idea where it’s going to end.”
Published: Tue, 01 September, 2009
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