Coldplay put pressure aside on new album

Pressure on its new album did not affect Coldplay while recording "X&Y."

The British quartet's last album, 2002's Grammy-winning "A Rush of Blood to the Head," sold more than 11 million copies worldwide and launched the hit "Clocks." But frontman Chris Martin says the band approached "X&Y" just like its two predecessors.

"Our mission always is just to write songs that we want to whistle and then present them in as interesting a way as possible," says Martin, who became a media darling between albums thanks to his marriage to actress Gwyneth Paltrow and the birth of their daughter, Apple. "Nothing's really changed in terms of that."

"We have to impress each other first and foremost, and then we worry about everyone else after that."

Coldplay begins a European tour June 15 in Hamburg, Germany, and is slated to play the Live 8 concert July 2 in London's Hyde Park. Its North American tour kicks off Aug. 2 in Toronto.

© Copyright 2005 by United Press International