When singer, pianist and guitarist Chris Martin formed a band with a few other students at University College London in 1997, the quartet chose the ill-fitting name Big Fat Noises. Soon, bassist Guy ...

Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. Hugh McIntyre covers music, with a focus on the global charts. Coldplay’s A Rush of Blood to the Head climbs to a new peak of No.

The bulk of the collection centers on Coldplay's "Blue Room" sessions at London's Orinoco Studios.

In interviews surrounding the record, Martin’s on defense, eloquent (if still naive) about embracing “uncoolness.” “If you were allowed to be yourself, would the world be as aggressive as it is?” he ...