Coldplay to make history when they take to the stage at Glastonbury Festival

They'll become the first act to headline the music festival five times

Author: Rosa BownPublished 29th Jun 2024
Last updated 29th Jun 2024

The group, consisting of Chris Martin, Jonny Buckland, Guy Berryman, and Will Champion, which formed in the 1990s, played the Pyramid Stage in 2002, 2005, 2011 and 2016, as well as performing at Live At Worthy Farm in 2021, although this was without an in-person audience, as the usual event had been cancelled due to the Covid 19 pandemic.

They're due to break the record for having headlined the festival the most time, even though Northern Irish musician Van Morrison has performed on the main stage eight times, according to the Victoria and Albert museum's Glastonbury Festival archive, but crucially, not all of these were headline slots.

The band members met at University College London (UCL), after which the band was formed! They have cited U2, James, Travis and REM as musicians who have inspired them.

The Brit-award winning group have had hits including Clocks, Magic, Fix You and Yellow, with two number one singles in the UK charts with Viva La Vida and Paradise.

Since the release of their debut number-one record, Parachutes, in 2000, the band has had a streak of chart-topping studio albums, with their latest efforts including A Head Full Of Dreams (2015), Everyday Life (2019) and Music Of The Spheres (2021).

In 2021, Martin, 47, said the band will release their last record in 2025 and plan to "only tour" after that.

The group embarked on their most recent tour, Music Of The Spheres, in 2022, which is still ongoing.

Coldplay are big fans of renewable energy, and have been on a mission to make their latest tours and shows as sustainable as possible, which is why their shows have been supported by a "show battery", supplied by BMW, which is recharged using solar power and generators powered by hydrotreated vegetable oil.

Their forthcoming album, Moon Music, will be released in October.

You can hear the latest news on Planet Rock.