Coldplay never intended to become England's favorite rock & roll sons when their signature rock melodies ruled the charts throughout 2000. The Brit-rock quartet -- composed of Chris Martin (vocals/piano), Jon Buckland (guitar), Will Champion (drums), and Guy Berryman (bass) -- yearned to mess around a bit, plucking their own acoustics for fun while attending the University College of London. All had been playing instruments since their early teens and had been influenced by the likes of Bob Dylan, the Stone Roses, Neil Young, and My Bloody Valentine.
The CD/DVD package Live 2003 was issued in fall of that year. This concert album captured the band's show at the Horden Pavilion in Sydney, Australia, and highlighted Coldplay's monumental success worldwide with A Rush of Blood to the Head. They were bonafide pop stars. Martin, specifically, earned a higher notch on the celebrity scale by marrying actress Gwyneth Paltrow in December 2003. Paltrow gave birth to the couple's first daughter, Apple Blythe Alison Martin, the following April. Fatherhood didn't stop Martin from working, for Coldplay began recording material for a third album within weeks. Previously recorded material with long-time producer Ken Nelson was scrapped early on while Danton Supple (Morrissey, the Cure) joined Coldplay to complete the recording of X&Y. "Speed of Sound" marked the band's first single from their long-awaited third effort in spring 2005; the album followed in June. ~ MacKenzie Wilson, All Music Guide