Everyone wants to be the best at what they do. It’s called ambition and there’s really nothing wrong with it. But when you’re one of the world’s best rock bands, as Coldplay undoubtedly is, and word leaks out that you’re aiming to “topple” arguably THE greatest rock band of your generation (U2), more than a few eyebrows will surely be raised.
Undeniable Fame
That Coldplay (made up of Chris Martin - vocals/piano, Jon Buckland - guitar, Will Champion - drums, and Guy Berryman - bass ) is one of the few true super groups remaining is undeniable. Viva La Vida, the band's fifth album now holds the record for the biggest number of pre-sales on iTunes, the Internet’s number one online distribution channel and as of this November had sold more than 6 million units.
Since its inception 10 years ago across the water in London, Coldplay has sold more than 30 million albums, and has won five Grammy Awards. Coldplay rocked 2000 with the breakthrough single "Yellow," and the album Parachutes going multi-platinum and by winning a Grammy. Coldplay’s 2002 offering, A Rush of Blood to the Head, won the quartet Grammys for "Clocks" and "In My Place."
Another indication of their continuous climb was the month-long dedicated Coldplay Channel on XM Radio. The dedicated channel "30 Days of Coldplay" provided fans with “music from the Coldplay catalog, including import-only released tracks and other hard-to-find recordings and tracks from their new album, an uncut, exclusive concert broadcast from the Viva La Vida North American Tour, plus other live performances, interviews and more.”
The latest album’s commercial success has only stoked the fires of the Coldplay vs U2 comparisons.
It’s not entirely Coldplay’s fault that the media pounced on certain quotes from the band members regarding U2. "To me, they're like Mount Everest or the Taj Mahal or the Sears Tower," Martin reportedly said. "They're a great, great thing. And if you're going to do something, you may as well aim to do something great. I'm not saying we're better than them. I'm just saying if you're going to aim for anything, you might as well aim for the best."
What should have probably been have understood as ‘U2 is the best, we love them and we want to be like them or better,’ was communicated by some in the media to the public as ‘U2 is not the best, we’re the best and we’ll show the lot of you’ or something to that effect.
Coldplay insists that their comments were taken out of context. Jonny Buckland, the band’s guitarist said, "We don't want to be as big as U2, I like U2. It's a band that still makes good records. We'd like to make a couple more good records."
In the end, there’s really nothing wrong with Coldplay wanting to be like U2. But as it stands, though they’ve come closer to that goal, though not quite there yet. However, seeing how successful their latest album is, maybe being Coldplay isn’t all that bad.
You can find Cold Play on Sirius satellite radio channels 1 - SiriusHits1, 2 - the Blend, 12 - The Pulse, and channel 18 - The Spectrum.
