Name	Chris Martin
Height	6' 1
Naionality	UK
Date of Birth	2 March 1977
Place of Birth	Exeter, Devon, England, UK
Famous for

Chris Anthony John Martin, lead singer, rhythm guitarist, and pianist of the post-Britpop/alternative band Coldplay, was born on March 2nd, 1977, in Devon, England. Mother Alison was a teacher, whereas father Anthony was an accountant. Chris has four younger siblings.

Chris formed his first band, The Rocking Honkies, at the tender age of 11, with his schoolfriend James. Their music was a mix of both soul and R&B. At the age of 12, Chris met future manager, Paul Harvey. Chris' childhood was spent listening to acts A-ha, The Beatles, Johnny Cash, Bob Dylan, The Flaming Lips, Pink Floyd, R.E.M., Tom Waits, and Neil Young. Chris is a devout follower of Echo and the Bunnymen, Jeff Buckley, Michael Jackson, and U2.

As a boy, a young Chris attended Sherborne public school, before going to the University College London (UCL) to study Ancient World Studies. Prior to forming Coldplay, Chris found work as a sign painter. During frosh week of 1996, Chris met fellow Coldplay band member Jon Buckland. At the time, Chris considered forming a boy-band similiar to NSYNC, called Pectoral. By January of 1998, Guy Berryman and Will Champion had joined the band, which at the time was named Starfish. Chris and Jon started writing songs immediately, giving Guy a chance to play bass guitar, and Will the opportunity to learn drums. Together, Chris and his friends practiced as often as possible.

Chris, mainly the lead vocals of the band, also made use of his great talent in piano and rhythm guitar. Chris' singing voice is a high-pitched tenor, but often uses his falsetto skills to create vocals that are pitched even higher.

In 1998, Chris recruited childhood friend and fellow student Phil Harvey to become the band's manager. The band were given the opportunity to play at the Manchester festival 'In The City'. With Phil's help, the band raised enough money to record their first demo, the single 'Ode to Deodarant'. By December, the band had signed to indie label Fierce Panda, for the recording of a 3-song EP titled "Brothers and Sisters". Coldplay's popularity was rising in the spring of 1999, and signed with label Parlophone for a five-album contract, right after finishing writing their University exams. Upon completion, Chris Martin recieved a first in both languages of Greek and Latin. Coldplay's first album, "Parachutes", was released in June of 2000. The song 'Yellow' was applauded by the masses in Europe, who were clammering for an alternative to angry rap-metal.

Chris Martin married actress girlfriend Gwyneth Paltrow on December 5th, 2003. Together, they have produced two children, daughter Apple, born 2004, and son Moses, born 2006.

Chris and bandmates refuse to let their fame disturb their artistic integrity. Every element of the music, its production, the album artwork, and the videos are strictly supervised by Chris and the band. Chris has made certain that the music of Coldplay is never used in both advertisements or in film.

Apart from Coldplay, Chris has involved himself with the music of other artists, a cameo appearance in film, several different charities, and is very outspoken over fair trade. In 2004, Chris voiced his support of Democratic candidate John Kerry, and also has voiced critisism of George W. Bush and the current Iraq war.

Chris Martin has recieved negative backlash, for both expressing his views on Fair Trade during performance, and also for his obvious disdain of alcohol.

Chris Martin's band Coldplay has recieved several awards over their 10-year run, including a Grammy in 2004 of 'Record of the Year' for 'Clocks'. As of 2006, Coldplay has 15 released singles, 3 albums, and 1 live-album.

Coldplay has already released three of their five Parlophone albums, 2000's "Parachutes", 2002's "A Rush of Blood to the Head", and 2005's "X&Y". Currently, Chris Martin and co. are working on their fourth album.