Coldplay never intended to become England's favorite rock & roll sons when their signature rock melodies ruled the charts throughout 2000. The Brit-rock quartet — composed of Chris Martin (vocals/piano), Jon Buckland (guitar), Will Champion (drums), and Guy Berryman (bass) — yearned to mess around a bit, plucking their own acoustics for fun while attending the University College of London.

    All had been playing instruments since their early teens and had been influenced by the likes of Bob Dylan, the Stone Roses, Neil Young, and My Bloody Valentine. They never imagined taking reign of the U.K.'s ever-changing rock scene. Martin, the eldest of five, began playing the piano as a young child. He started playing in bands around age 15. Buckland, on the other hand, was into the heavy guitar work of Eric Clapton and Jimi Hendrix and was playing guitar by age 11. Scotland native Berryman was into funk instead of indie rock, therefore leaving him to play bass. The multi-instrumentalist, Champion, didn't plan to be a drummer until he joined Coldplay. He favored playing guitar, bass, and the tin whistle, but caught on to playing percussion when the band became official.

Coldplay was heart-rending like Travis, passionate like Jeff Buckley, and as fresh as Oasis when they first burst onto the scene, so it was ideal for the press and public to praise them. They played their first gig at a festival for unsigned bands in Manchester, and The Safety EP was issued shortly thereafter. The Brothers and Sisters EP was issued by Fierce Panda and released a year later. Both releases saw only 500 pressings. Their sweet melodies and swooning lyrics landed Coldplay a U.K. deal with Parlophone in April 1999, and the limited-edition five-track, The Blue Room EP, followed that fall. With endearing nods from the media, the dream pop foursome were hailed as the next Travis thanks to their simplistic acoustics and charming personas. Two more EPs, Shiver and Yellow, arrived in spring 2000.