The night sky over New Zealand is wide and wondrous, inky and vast.
Its the pop in of sky that broadcasts Earths infinitesimal place in the infinite cosmos.
The bang out of sky that fills one with awe at the beauty and mystery of existence.
It was not his first time visiting the water that day.
And it lifts you advice he heeded then and has heeded since.
Martin, a musician who is known to be mindful, tends to have a lot on his mind.
Youre never really alone.
1: From Earth With Love, and last yearsMusic of the Spheres Vol.
2: Moon Music).
There were four separate fireworks displays.
Martin clarified when he saw the sign up close.
OK, I didnt quite understand that.
Im not nearly enough of a cynic to care.
fixable with the widespread program of Coldplays brand of love for all humankind (and beings!)
and with Martin singing Fix You right there on the upright.
SO, OK. THATS how I feltthen.
He seems to hum with a sort of Zen energy, like a person coming off a fast.
Anything that might be not cool I dont really mind.
Do what you want, he says from the crook of a sleek, L-shaped sofa.
Ive spent a long time not needing anyone elses approval.
And thats a daily practice.
He pauses and pulls his bare feet up beneath him.
WE ARE FOUR WHITE, MIDDLE-CLASS MEN FROM ENGLAND.
WE DESERVE TO TAKE SOME SHIT.
He sounds legit, of course, widening his eyes slightly as if to let in or give off?
And now, its just like, No.
Just follow whatevers being sent.
And thats a very liberating place to be.
QVC was just fun and odd.
Its a weird thing to go out and sell an album.
Were a very, very easy, safe target.
Were not going to bite back.
We are four white, middle-class men from England.
We deserve to take some shit for what our people have done.
Even when I bring up the election, Martin finds an optimistic framing.
You could look at it like that, that theres this chasm between two groups of people.
But Im in a job where I dont see anything except the opposite of that.
Every day I go onstage, I dont see a chasm at all, I only see collaboration.
Isnt that amazing?)
I love shoes, and I also love not shoes.
Im not trying to disrespect the shoe community.
Tiny silver fish flutter past our toes.
Martin looks out toward the horizon and then closes his eyes and tips his face toward the afternoon sun.
This is very special.
Thank you for this moment, he says.
He seems for real.
Very, very, very for real.
About all of theRolling Stonerock & roll tropes not taken.
About Coldplays acceptance that theirs is a message of acceptance.
But also, now, about how maybe that message is the one Martin himself most needs to hear.
Its a daily thing not to hate yourself.
Forget about outside critics its the inside ones, too.
There arent that many [groups] that get to champion that philosophy to that many people.
So we do it.
I dont want to do that, but its so tempting.
Sometimes you need it writ large across a stadium of people.
Sometimes you need literal fireworks.
Maybe the theatrics are all part of that, he ponders.
The second-happiest place on Earth.
COLDPLAY ARE TRYING TO FLY THE FLAG FOR LOVE BEING AN APPROACH TO ALL THINGS.
Rows of crops stretch in one direction, tended by a cheerful young man named Sam.
The night before, Martin had presumably stayed up into the early morning hours, as he typically does.
They wake you up, songs.
Theyre always a surprise to me.
Sometimes the title is way ahead, and its waiting for the song to come, the right song.
There was about six shitty Viva La Vidas, and then the actual one.
Paul Simon, who I love speaking to, will say, Im not writing anything.
But then I wake up and theres a song knocking on the door.
And I have to get out and do it.
And Im like, Yeah, I know that feeling.
Song titles fromMoon Musicare written in colored marker on the white, shiplap walls.
He doesnt think hed be able to do it anymore.
I turn to page 327 and read a few nondescript lines.
Thats not The Adventure of the Copper Beeches, is it?
(It is.)
Its also interesting coming back to America just trying not to watch the news).
Hed meditated for 21 minutes.
Hed said my version of prayers, just sending thoughts out to people.
I destroy them after Ive written [them], he explains.
Im not playing it very well.
Its going to be good one day, when I know how to play it.
Behind Martin, the side of a building is painted with a seascape and signed Apple & Chris.
I like [my kids] very much.
Even though theyre not biologically mine Im breaking the story now, he jokes.
I like them a lot.
I think they are mine, to be fair.
Its sad, he says of empty nesting.
Thats the only word.
But of course itd be weirder if they were still like, I cant leave.
Then youd be more worried.
Perhaps the idea of a lovelorn Martin just fits the collective narrative.
Theres a part of me thats always been a bit heartbroken from the beginning, he says.
Maybe about the world, maybe just about the human condition.
I hope that doesnt sound pretentious.
I dont care if it sounds pretentious, its true.
Ive always had this deep joy mixed with a deep sadness.
He was 11 the first time he felt empathy wash over him with such strength that it surprised him.
Just like, Why do I feel so strongly what this guy is going through?
Its a strange part of me that I feel peoples sadness really heavily.
And my own shit I feel pretty heavily.
Maybe thats just being human.
Or maybe you better feel that if youre the kind of person songs get sent to.
However it happened and whatever its result it is a trademark quality.
He was there for me when I got separated and was heartbroken, his longtime friend Shakira tells me.
The first live event he ever attended was a Billy Graham satellite broadcast.
The first music festivals he went to were Christian-music festivals.
He went to a cathedral choir school, but wasnt good enough to be in the choir.
InCentral Feeding, Harvey will later specify.
Central Feeding was the name of the cafeteria.
I mean, that really gives you an insight into the school.
It was very impersonal, a tough environment.
Bands were not a thing at our school.
Rugby was a thing.
But back then he was gangly, awkward, fey.
They sensed weakness and soft spots, and they just went for it.
It was pretty brutal.
And that takes a lifetime to unravel.
It takes years and albums to shed.
Slowly, too, his naivety and theological rigidity began to fall away.
Thats a bit over the top.
In 1996, the four members of Coldplay met in Ramsey Hall their first week at University College London.
Not long after, Martin heard Buckland playing guitar from behind the door of his dorm room.
He was like a whirlwind, Buckland tells me.
Just, Oh, you play the guitar?
They started rehearsing in the dorm bathroom, where the acoustics were good.
The band members signed a record deal in April 1999 and then took their final exams a month later.
She was deadly serious, Martin says.
Im so sorry to hear about your son wasting all that education.
I NEED OUR MUSIC MORE THAN ANYONE.
THOSE SONGS ARE THERAPY AND CATHARSIS AND EXPLAINING.
In some ways, it was; in some ways, it wasnt.
(I think were kind people.
Were not always nice, Martin specifies.
The making and release ofGhost Storieswas another tenuous point.
Look, Im trying to I have to choose my words carefully, says Harvey.
I think Chris carries a lot of pain and damage or trauma around in him.
And it was embedded in there largely in those mid-teenage years.
Ive been thinking about this recently, Champion says of Coldplays staying power.
Chris is obviously relentless, just never stops.
We always say after a leg of a tour, like just rest a little bit.
And then within a day or two, theres an email saying, Hey, got this new idea.
I sometimes feel that we are most powerful in countries where they dont really speak English, says Martin.
The wind has started to pick up now, and the afternoon is cooling.
On a scale of one to 10, I ask, where would Martin put his happiness?
Id say, Im one and 10, he replies.
Meaning that more and more, I realize Im always on both nothing in the middle.
you’re free to never escape.
you’re able to never win, if youre looking for just winning.
The stronger the light, the darker the shadow.
You cant avoid it.
Its painful to watch, but when its your own child, you cant self-annihilate and you cant blame.
And it reminds you: Its just being human.
This very famous person emailed me, and she said, Dont worry about what everyones saying.
I was like, What?
I hadnt looked at anything.
Then I collapsed into the internet and became really down for a while.
And that was some kind of weird epiphany for me.
HALF THE TIME I FEEL LIKE IVE DONE NOTHING BUT FAILED MY ENTIRE LIFE.
MAYBE THAT KEEPS ME GOING.
I need our music more than anyone, he explains.
Those songs, they are therapy and they are catharsis and they are explaining.
And theyre full of love and acceptance and kindness.
And theyre often ahead of me, in terms of what theyre singing about.
Theyre aspirational for me as a person.
Theyre saying, Hey, if you aim in this direction, things might get better.
He pauses and laughs.
I know this is very rock & roll, he says, poking fun at his own goodliness.
How can you other what is right there in front of your eyes?
Maybe radical acceptance is actually the most … radical thing of all.
Maybe its all too much for you, the dancing unicorns, the rainbow hearts, the serenaded puppies.
They run their show on used cooking grease, for crying out loud!
And few bands are as conscientious about pairing up with and promoting younger artists from all over the world.
Im really grateful that I get the amount of support I get from him, she adds.
Even that, he took in stride.
I think he is not even intentionally funny.
He is just direct and honest, which is very charming, especially his dad jokes.
How is the scene in New Zealand in terms of making a living from playing?
You cant possibly help everybody, which is such a bummer, Martin tells me later.
And then you leave, and then they all hang out together, and it empowers [them].
By the time we do, its past 10 p.m.
Lets go right, he says.
Walk around and see the big view.
Martin leans his head back and looks at them.
I SOMETIMES FEEL THAT WE ARE MOST POWERFUL IN COUNTRIES WHERE THEY DONT REALLY SPEAK ENGLISH.
We walk for a while, for a long time, sometimes in silence.
We pass boats strung with Christmas lights, bobbing in the blackness.
Its like you give so much openness, but its so hyperreal to process like that all the time.
And why it kills a lot of people.
Its a quite hazardous job.
And I understand why, because it is a form of drug.
And going in the ocean really helps me with that.
He tries to swim in the ocean every day, even sometimes after dark.
He watches TV, reruns of favorites likeCurb Your Enthusiasmand30 Rock.He reads.
He doesnt currently own a car.
Whats it been this year?
I hope shes OK. Its hard for the younger ones, especially when theyre on their own.
He says theres no way hed have survived without Jonny, Will, and Guy.
The cover of the album, Ive known it since 1999, Martin says.
Its a photograph by the same photographer that took the photo thats the cover of our first EP.
Were still years away from any kind of retirement.
But I think you have to have a plan.
If youre running a marathon, you know you have to run 26 miles.
Eventually, we do turn back toward the hotel, but not before Martin asks, Hows your swimming?
I reply, referencing the R.E.M.
Deserves a quiet night.He likes this response.
One of the best songs ever.
R.E.M., for so many of us, are such a big deal.
Hes quiet for a moment.
Its a funny thing, really, to ponder legacy.
Half the time I feel like Ive done nothing but failed my entire life, he says.
You could have been great.
And thats OK, because it gives you something to work through, and work with.
And thats OK, he says, to himself as much as anyone.
I am the disease and the cure, I offer, my own little affirmation.
Yeah, Martin says.
Yeah, I reply.
He looks out to where the stars reflect off the water.
We have a line like that, in a song called Clocks.
I was quoting you to you, I affirm.
You know, whats interesting is that the cure for most things is in the toxin.
The antidote for most poisons is the poison itself.
The toxin is often the remedy.
Often the thing thats causing your pain also contains its own solution.
Theres a metaphor in there somewhere, I tell him.
Production Credits
Styling byBETH FENTON.
Grooming and wardrobe byTIFFANY HENRY.
Produced byPATRICIA BILOTTIforPBNY PRODUCTIONS.
Photographic assistance:GILLES OKANEandBRANDON EPPERSON.
Styling assistance:MANUEL PARRAandSTEPHANIE MASTRO.
Safety Diver:HAL WELLS.
Water Camera Assistant:EVAN CONNELL.
