Coldplay are a British
rock band formed in 1996 by lead vocalist
Chris Martin and lead guitarist
Jonny Buckland at
University College London (UCL). After they formed under the name Pectoralz,
Guy Berryman joined the group as a bassist and they changed their name to Starfish.
Will Champion joined as a drummer, backing vocalist, and multi-instrumentalist, completing the line-up. Manager
Phil Harvey is often considered an unofficial fifth member. The band renamed themselves "Coldplay" in 1998, before recording and releasing three EPs:
Safety in 1998,
Brothers & Sisters as a single in 1999 and
The Blue Room in the same year.
The Blue Room was their first release on a major label, after signing to
Parlophone.