Grace under pressure

Coldplay shouldn’t have been so worried after all. In the run-up to the release of their fourth album, Viva La Vida Or Death And All His Friends, the group seemed to be acutely anxious about how the record would be received. In particular, the ever fretful Chris Martin appeared to be worn down by the weight of expectation, pointedly telling one journalist, “We’re about to be fed to the lions again! For the fourth time!”

Just in case the reporter didn’t get the message, the singer at one stage walked out of the interview, only to subsequently return. There was a widely reported repeat performance when Martin sat down to talk to Radio 4 a few weeks later.

As has become tradition with Coldplay albums, the singer’s concerns about the record’s fate proved to be spectacularly misplaced. By drafting in Brian Eno to produce the album, the group have successfully experimented with their sound, whilst also retaining their massive commercial clout – Viva La Vida debuted at No.1 in 36 countries (it’s the second fastest selling album of all time in the UK), and has already sold 3.5 million copies worldwide.

Interestingly, despite the uptight disposition of Martin around the time of the album’s release, Coldplay’s bassist, Guy Berryman, maintains that the band were relatively relaxed during the recording of Viva La Vida.

“I actually think we felt a bit more pressure on the last album,” opines Guy. “Having enjoyed such success with A Rush Of Blood To The Head, we were expected to really follow through with a big record. I think we accomplished that, and this time around the focus was more on giving ourselves a bit of room to breathe, and allowing ourselves to develop musically.”
One of the ways in which the band accomplished that, of course, was by inviting Eno onboard. Chris Martin has referred to Viva La Vida as “our Unforgettable Fire”, and indeed that was the first record on which Eno collaborated with U2. Were Coldplay following U2’s example by tapping into Eno’s production expertise as a means of broadening their musical horizons?

“I think we were to a certain extent,” admits Guy. “An interesting aspect of the way Brian works is that he’s not really a technical, details guy. His approach is more about getting musicians to think outside their normal parameters and opening themselves up to new ideas. When you look at the records he’s produced for Talking Heads, Devo, David Bowie and U2, the results speak for themselves. It was fantastic to have someone with such incredible experience offer his opinions, and his input really gave our music a new dimension.”

On the recommendation of Arcade Fire, the band also enlisted producer Markus Dravs, who is currently working with the Canadian ensemble on the soundtrack of The Box, the new thriller from Donnie Darko director Richard Kelly.

“Well, we’re all huge Arcade Fire fans, so when they give you advice, you’ve got to listen,” says Guy. “Markus had done some work on Neon Bible and Win was very enthusiastic about him. Also, Markus had worked with Brian before, on a James record I think, so it was a perfect fit. Actually, it’s great that we’ve been able to strike up a friendship with Arcade Fire, because they’re such a brilliant band and such fantastic people. Win visited us during the recording of the album to give us a bit of encouragement. It’s always wonderful to see him.”

Intriguingly, during the initial stages of recording, it was rumoured that Coldplay were going to be working with Timbaland on the album.

“Timbaland has certainly produced some great records,” proffers Guy. “When you’re in the planning stages of an album, lots of different ideas get floated. In the end, we just felt that Timbaland probably wouldn’t be that inclusive of the band. He has a rare talent for coming up with great grooves, but you wonder about how that would work in a group scenario, which has its own kind of dynamic. But we are always open to the idea of working with different people and getting a different perspective.”

Chris Martin has said that the starting point for Viva La Vida was “listening to an amazing old Blur song called ‘Sing’ while we were on the road with X & Y. I remember listening to it and thinking, ‘Okay, we need to get better as a band.’”

Funnily enough, Guy actually made an appearance in Bit Of A Blur, the autobiography of Blur’s Alex James, which was published last year. James stated that during his encounter with Guy, the Coldplay bassist spoke about market penetration and audience demographics in the US, and overall appeared to be quite a serious young man. Did Guy know of his inclusion in the book?
“Yeah, I was aware of it,” he responds. “It was a bit odd, because Alex had me talking like I was some kind of record company executive-type. There were certain phrases that I don’t even know the meaning of, let alone would use! I actually don’t live too far from Alex, so maybe I’ll take it up with him if I see him (laughs).”

As well as Blur, Coldplay have cited a remarkably diverse array of artists as having an influence on Viva La Vida, ranging from Jay-Z to My Bloody Valentine. Indeed, speaking of Irish acts, Martin recently acknowledged Newbridge, County Kildare’s under-appreciated influence on popular culture, when he told one journalist, “I love Christy Moore”.

“We do have very eclectic tastes,” Guy concurs. “Certain bands seem to be quite narrow in their listening, but we’re always looking for inspiration from new sources. With regard to the acts you mentioned, Chris, of course, has collaborated with Jay-Z, and we’re all into My Bloody Valentine. I know they’ve got back together and they’re going to do some shows this year, and I think that will be really interesting.”

Guy has definitely been keen to expand his musical range outside of Coldplay, and a few years back even found time to contribute to Past Perfect Future Tense, the debut solo album by A-Ha’s Magne Furuholmen.

“I’ve always been into A-Ha,” says Guy. “They might be dismissed in certain quarters, but they made some brilliant records. I think I remember reading Adam Clayton making some very positive remarks about them. And I don’t know if you’re aware of this, but if you read up on A-Ha, this story always crops up about Leonard Cohen being into them! Any artist would be proud of that! But yeah, we are fans; Hunting High And Low was one of Chris’ favourites when he was growing up.

“We had got to know them, so when the opportunity cropped up to play on Magne’s record, myself and Will were happy to contribute. Andy from Travis played on it too. Magne has actually become a dear friend of mine.”

During an appearance on Zane Lowe’s BBC radio show earlier this year, Michael Stipe mentioned that he values being able to consult other artists such as U2 and Coldplay whilst working on REM albums. It must be gratifying to have such an influential band sing your praises.
“REM are definitely a group that we look up to,” Guy reveals. “Again, when you’ve got a band like that, who’ve put together such a brilliant body of work, it’s hugely impressive. I do understand what they mean about having other bands to discuss things with. It’s like I mentioned earlier about Win coming to visit us while we were making the album; it just helps sometimes to have a person around who’s been through the whole process themselves.

“It’s also very flattering to have a band of their stature say nice things about you. Having an artist you admire pay you a compliment is perhaps the biggest buzz of all.”
I conclude by asking Guy about Coldplay’s performance at Live 8 in 2005. How did the day go for them?

“It was great,” he reflects. “Thankfully, it all worked out well for the organisers. And of course we performed with Richard Ashcroft, who we’re all big fans of.”

Did you watch U2 and Paul McCartney’s performance?

“We were stood at the side of the stage,” recalls Guy. “It really was the perfect opening. We were on after U2 and The Beatles – talk about having a tough act to follow!”