Chris Martin reveals milestone that will mark the end of Coldplay: ‘We’re trying to improve’
Band’s frontman said it was ‘important’ for them to have a limit
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Chris Martin has said that he’s serious about his commitment to retiring Coldplay after they reach a certain milestone.
The pop-rock band, who headlined Glastonbury Festival in June, are preparing to release their 10th album, Moon Music, which is scheduled for release on 4 October.
In an Apple Music interview with Zane Lowe, Martin explained that many of his and his bandmates’ heroes had released a limited number of albums during their careers.
“We are only going to do 12 proper albums and that’s real,” the frontman said.
“That’s real, real?” Lowe asked.
“Yeah,” Martin responded. “Promise, promise.”
As Lowe protested that he wanted “50 albums”, Martin said: “No you don’t. You don’t, because less is more. And for some of our critics, even less would be even more. I’m joking. And I’ll tell you why: it’s really important that we have that limit.
“First of all, there are only 12, well, there are only eight Harry Potters or seven Harry Potters. There are only 12 and a half Beatles albums. There’s about the same Bob Marley, so all of our heroes.”
Martin, 47, said having this limit would ensure the same quality control as Coldplay’s previous albums, which include 2000’s Parachutes, 2008’s Viva la Vida, or Death and All His Friends, 2015’s A Head Full of Dreams, and 2021’s Music of the Spheres.
“Where we could be kind of coasting, we’re trying to improve,” he explained.
He revealed that he has felt this way about the band for the past four or five years: “Like, ‘You have to finish like this,’ and I trust that just like I trust the songs.
“So if we do something together after that, creatively, beyond touring, then it’ll be something different, or it’ll be a side thing, or it’ll be a compilation of things we hadn’t finished.”
Coldplay, comprising Martin, guitarist Jonny Buckland, bassist Guy Berryman and drummer Will Champion, formed at university in London in 1997.
They have won nine Brit Awards and seven Grammys, including Best Rock Album for Viva La Vida and Song of the Year for the title track. They have also been shortlisted for the Mercury Prize three times, the most recent being 2005’s X&Y.
Last week, the band announced that they will perform eight stadium shows in London and Hull next year, signalling their only UK and European performances for 2025.
In a major statement to the wider music industry, Coldplay also announced that 10 per cent of the band’s proceeds from ticket sales would be donated to the Music Venue Trust, a charitable organisation that supports UK grassroots music venues and emerging artists.
Donations to the Music Venue Trust will also be made by concert promoters SJM Concerts, Metropolis Music and Live Nation; the band’s booking agent WME; the venues Wembley Stadium and Hull Craven Park; and the official ticket agents, Ticketmaster, See Tickets and AXS.
In another world first for a stadium show, Coldplay have pledged to power the production for their Wembley shows with 100 per cent solar, wind and kinetic energy, collected at the venue and elsewhere in the UK and delivered by a specially designed electric battery system.
In June, Coldplay revealed that their Music of the Spheres show had, at that point, produced 59 per cent less CO2e emissions than their previous stadium tour between 2016 to 2017.
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