On May 18, 1998, Coldplay released the three-song 'Safety' EP, which was self-financed by the band. Only 500 copies of 'Safety' exist; most were given away to record companies, family and friends.

Chris Martin, Johnny Buckland, Guy Berryman and Will Champion all met in 1996 while studying at University College London.

Coldplay were originally called Pectoralz, and then Starfish before renaming themselves as Coldplay in 1998.

Coldplay claim to have fifth member, fellow UCL friend Phil Harvey. Nicknamed 'The elusive 5th member', Harvey is never seen - even in photographs of him, another member of the band is always covering his face.

By 1997, Martin met Classics student Tim Rice-Oxley. Martin asked him to be Coldplay's keyboard player but Rice-Oxley refused as his own band, Keane, was already underway.

Despite their worldwide popularity, the band has remained protective of how their music is used in the media, refusing its use for product endorsements. In the past, Coldplay turned down multimillion dollar contracts from Gatorade, Diet Coke, and Gap, who wanted to use the songs in adverts.

During the early years, Coldplay became widely known in the media for giving 10 percent of the band's profits to charity, which they continue to do so today.

In 2001 Coldplay released a Christmas single entitled 'Mince Spies'. Only 1000 copies were ever produced and were given away to members of the Coldplay fan club prior to the release of 'Parachutes'.

In July 2005, the band appeared at Live 8 in Hyde Park, where they played a rendition of The Verve's 'Bitter Sweet Symphony' with founding Verve member Richard Ashcroft on vocals.

In 2006 the band covered The Pretenders' 1983 song '2000 Miles' which was made available for download on their official website. '2000 Miles' became the top selling UK download that year, with proceeds from the sales donated to Future Forests and Stop Handgun Violence campaigns.

Inspired by bands like U2 and R.E.M., Coldplay decided that they would operate as a democracy and that profits would be shared equally.

Single 'Viva la Vida', was released exclusively on iTunes. It became the band's first number one on the Billboard Hot 100 and their first UK number one, based on download sales alone.

On 4 December 2008, guitarist Joe Satriani filed a copyright infringement suit against Coldplay, claiming that 'Viva La Vida' used a large part of his 2004 song 'If I Could Fly'. The band denied the allegation and an unspecified settlement was ultimately reached between the two acts.

Coldplay released a small side album, 'LeftRightLeftRightLeft' as part of a promotion to their, "Viva La Vida" tour. The live compilation featured recordings of songs from the tour. It was put up free for download from Coldplay.com and a hard copy was also given away free at concerts for most of the tour.

The group have performed at various charity projects such as Band Aid 20, Live 8, Sound Relief, Hope for Haiti Now: A Global Benefit for Earthquake Relief, and the Teenage Cancer Trust.

The title of Coldplay's fourth studio album, 'Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends', was adapted from a painting by Mexican artist Frida Kahlo.

Coldplay achieved worldwide fame with the release of the single 'Yellow' in 2000, followed by their debut album released in the same year, 'Parachutes', which was nominated for the Mercury Prize.

Coldplay’s ‘Parachutes’ won Best Alternative Music Album at the 2002 Grammy Awards and ‘A Rush of Blood to the Head’ won Best Alternative Album at the 2003 Grammy Awards.

Chris Martin may be married to Gwyneth Paltrow and sold millions of albums, but he has still said in the past: 'The hardest things I've had to do is follow up Radiohead and Brad Pitt.'

For their 'Viva La Vida' tour, Coldplay's bass guitarist Guy Berryman made all the clothing.