Quotes from Martin Roach

The subject matter of Coldplay songs is deeply intertwined with Chris's frame of mind. He has admitted he needs to be slightly morose, maudlin even, to write well. He cannot see how he can write if he is in a serious and happily committed relationship.

In the Seventies, there was Queen's 'Bohemian Rhapsody', in the Eighties there was Duran Duran's 'Rio' and in the Nineties 'Runaway Train' by Soul Asylum. We're Coldplay and this is 'Yellow'.

Songwriting is a mix of fiction and myth. Things are very romanticised. A song is like a film in that you can say anything you want. So there are parts that are based on truth and there are also parts that just sound good or feel good. It's a mixture of the two. It's all imagery. It's not strictly truth.