'We were determined to do it, from the start,' says Coldplay guitarist Jonny. 'And from the moment I met Chris, I really did think that we could go all the way. Do something.' In the summer of 2000 the British music buying public was ready for something new, ready for Coldplay's heart warming self proclaimed style of 'very heavy soft rock.' Their debut album 'Parachutes' went straight in at number one in the UK album charts and went on to go platinum 18 times in 6 different countries selling upwards of 8 million copies worldwide. Not bad for a band that actually lost a demo tape competition on XFM in London.

Success opened the doors to new influences for Coldplay and their second album 'A Rush Of Blood To The Head' was re-recorded several times to incorporate the ideas suggested by their new friend Ian McCulloch of Echo And The Bunnymen. The result was another truckload of awards, millions of sales and the band feeling like they'd 'grown up a bit.' It was during this period that Chris Martin began his involvement with the Fair Trade Campaign, using their influence album sleeves and even symbols drawn on their hands to promote the cause. And plenty of people would read about Fair Trade as Coldplay's third album 'X & Y' went platinum a staggering 41 times and was number one all over the world.

Following up such huge success can put an enormous amount of pressure on a band and Coldplay reacted by going back to basics for their fourth album 'Viva La Vida Or Death And All His Friends.' They hid themselves away in a simple recording studio on a side street in London and tried out new electronic and world music directions. Of course it was another massive hit, setting new records for sheer numbers of download sales and confirming Coldplay as one of the biggest bands of this decade.