Considering they've been around for just 11 years, it's a measure of how they've grown, and an indication of the amount of pressure they possibly experience with the creation of new music.

For the youth of our time, this is clearly an extremely popular band. How else could they have sold 30 million albums in the era of file-sharing and illegal downloads?

So, what is it about Chris Martin (vocalist), Jonny Buckland (lead guitarist), Guy Berryman (bassist) and Will Champion (drummer) that makes the music industry sit up and listen? How did these four young men from University College London create a sound so big, it now has a significant impact on the bottom-line of their record label?

Coldplay first hit airwaves with Yellow, the first single off their 2000 album Parachutes. The video -- starring a cold, wet Chris Martin on an empty beach in the hours before dawn -- hit a nerve somewhere, making the band instantly recognisable to all who tuned into music channels worldwide. That the album did as well as the single helped prove this was no flash in the pan.

From that quiet beginning came a body of music that would make the foursome a global success story.

Text: Preetee Brahmbhatt

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