Guy Berryman
Background information
Born	(1978-04-12) 12 April 1978 (age 34) Kirkcaldy, Scotland
Genres	Alternative rock
Occupations	Bassist, Musician, producer
Instruments	Bass guitar, double bass, piano, keyboards, guitar, vocals, drums, mandolin, percussion santoor, trumpet, french horn, cello
Years active	1995–present
Associated acts	Coldplay, Apparatjik
Notable instruments
Fender Precision Bass Fender Jazz Bass

Guy Rupert Berryman (born 12 April 1978, in Kirkcaldy, Scotland) is a Scottish musician and producer known as the bassist for the groups Coldplay and Apparatjik. Berryman is left-handed but plays the bass right-handed.

Coldplay[link]

Berryman started an engineering degree at University College London. Soon after, he dropped out of his engineering course and switched to a seven-year architecture program at The Bartlett.^[1] He dropped out of his architecture degree after one year to focus on playing bass with Coldplay. While his bandmates were still continuing their degrees, Berryman worked as a barman in a local London pub.

During the Twisted Logic Tour for the promotion of Coldplay's third album, X&Y, Berryman took candid pictures of the band with disposable cameras and threw them to the audience.^[2]

Personal life[link]

Berryman was educated at an independent school in Scotland, The Edinburgh Academy, and Kent, at Kent College Canterbury, before attending University College London. In 2004, Berryman married Joanna, his childhood sweetheart,^[3] in a low key ceremony in the City of Westminster. They have one daughter, Nico, born on 17 September 2006.^[4][5] In March 2007, Coldplay's spokesman confirmed that Guy and Joanna separated after three years of marriage. They are now divorced, but see each other frequently for the wellbeing of their daughter Nico.^[6]

Berryman used to run a clothing shop called Jezebell in London, which has closed due to debt with running the business. The opening of the store was attended by bandmates Jonny Buckland and Will Champion, and their partners.

Berryman is an avid marathon runner and likes to run in the nearest parks or around the neighborhoods of the hotels whenever the band is touring. He also has an interest in photography, fashion and electronic gadgets.^[2] He is a fan of his local football team Raith Rovers F.C.

Berryman owns a vintage retro style juke box and collects Motown and Stax 7" singles to play on it. He jokes that he knows "every secondhand vinyl shop in every major U.S. city". Berryman once said to have been starstruck by the late James Brown in concert.^[2]

According to an article released by MSN UK in April 2008, Berryman has an estimated wealth of £25 million.^[7]

On 7 June 2010, The Sun reported that Berryman and his brother Mark would be forming a company for antiques.^[8]

Other musical projects[link]

Berryman playing the bass during Coldplay's 2008 Viva la Vida Tour in Milan

In 2004, Guy (and Will Champion) collaborated with Magne Furuholmen of a-ha, Guy's big musical hero,^[9] on his solo album Past Perfect Future Tense playing the song Kryptonite.

In 2008, Berryman participated to the Movie Soundtheme of Umi no Shanghai. He also played the bass guitar in Furuholmen's A Dot of Black in the Blue of Your Bliss.

In the same year he collaborated with Magne Furuholmen, Jonas Bjerre (of Mew) and Martin Terefe under the band name of Apparatjik for the theme to the BBC2 series, Amazon.^[10] The theme is available along with exclusive tracks from various other artists on the Survival International charity album, Songs for Survival. Apparatjik has recently announced on their Twitter and Facebook pages that a new track called "Electric Eye" will be available on 30 November, as a free download on their website. Apparatjik made their very first live performance at the eleventh edition of club transmediale, an annual festival in Berlin, due to take place between 28 January and 7 February 2010. This first ever performance of Apparatjik took place inside a specially constructed cube at the WMF on Monday, 1 February 2010.[1] On the same day, they released of their debut album, titled We Are Here.

In 2010 and 2011, Berryman worked with The Pierces and Coldplay's producer Rik Simpson in the production of The Pierces' new album You and I.

Non-musical credits[link]

Berryman was credited with providing photographs for the inner sleeve of the album Foot of the Mountain, released by Norwegian pop band a-ha in 2009.^[11]

Notes[link]

External links[link]

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Guy Berryman

• Coldplay's official website
• Apparatjik's Official website (Curated by the supergroup themselves, designed by Aspire Design Studios)

The Pierces are an American New York-based band consisting of sisters Allison Margaret Pierce (born July 23, 1975) and Catherine Eleanor Pierce (born September 11, 1977).

Biography[link]

Childhood[link]

The Pierce sisters were born three years apart in Birmingham, Alabama. They traveled frequently and received home-schooling from their self-described hippie parents. Their father played the guitar in various bands, while their mother was a painter. Exposed to music and arts at an early age, the Pierce sisters grew up listening to Joni Mitchell and Simon & Garfunkel. As children, they were encouraged to explore their creative side and would perform at parties, weddings and churches. Allison started dancing at age three, and both sisters are accomplished ballerinas.

Musical career[link]

It was while they attended Auburn University that a friend sent a tape to a record company in Nashville. This eventually resulted in their debut album The Pierces (2000). It featured folk harmonies and adult alternative songs. In a 2004 interview, Allison Pierce commented that the album "sort of got lost in the shuffle".^[1] Allmusic attributes the poor reception to "no label support".^[2]

On August 10, 2005, their second album Light of the Moon was released through Universal. The album was produced by Brian Sperber and featured 11 tracks that the girls either wrote or co-wrote.^[3]

On March 20, 2007, their third album Thirteen Tales of Love and Revenge was released in the U.S. Produced by Roger Greenawalt (Nils Lofgren, Radish, Ben Kweller), the album has been well-reviewed, particularly for the single "Boring", which parodies celebrity socialites. The album has a darker, edgier style, at times using such diverse instruments as an accordion, a calliope, bassoons, a sitar, violins, an autoharp, and a Hawaiian lap steel. It marks a definitive change in the direction of the band, which hitherto had been known as a folk rock band.^[4]

In an interview with Rolling Stone, after they were featured as a Rolling Stone Breaking Artist, they revealed that this album "felt like [their] last chance". As a result, they "just went for it, had fun".^[5]

On December 5, 2007, The Pierces appeared on the CW television series Gossip Girl, playing their songs "Secret" and "Three Wishes".

On August 21, 2008, "Secret" by The Pierces appeared in a promo for Showtime show Dexter.^[6] In May 2009, Dutch TV channel NET 5 used "Secret" in a promo for their fantasy shows Charmed and Ghost Whisperer. It also appears as the theme song for the ABC Family's original TV series, based upon the series of books by Sara Shepard, Pretty Little Liars. Secret was also played over the closing credits in the movie "ExTerminators."

The duo appeared in The All-American Rejects' third album, When The World Comes Down, in the track, "Another Heart Calls". They performed the song live with The All-American Rejects in July 2009 at MySpace's The List in Dallas, Texas.

The single "Secret", is the theme song of the tv-series Pretty Little Liars, it was suggested by one of the stars of the show, Ashley Benson.

On October 23, 2010, the group appeared on Later... with Jools Holland. In December 2010, the sisters and their band toured with Lissie as her support act. They also performed live on ITV1 show Lorraine in March 2011 whilst promoting their new single "Glorious".

On May 30, 2011, their fourth and latest album You & I was released featuring their new singles "Love You More", "You'll Be Mine", "Glorious" and "It Will Not Be Forgotten" produced by darktones and released by Polydor Records. However, The Pierces only have a label currently in the UK and are therefore focusing on widening their popularity there, later working on their homeland the US.

They went on their first ever official tour through June 2011, with Delta Maid and Alice Gold as support: 7th June-The Pleasance (Edinburgh), 8th June-Rescue Rooms (Nottingham), 9th June-The Cockpit (Leeds), 11th June-The Ruby Lounge (Manchester), 12th June-HMV Institute (Birmingham), 13th June-Thekla (Bristol), 14th June-Bush Hall (London).

The Pierces played at the Glastonbury Festival in June 2011.

The Pierces supported Coldplay at the iTunes Festival in July 2011, which happened to be on Alison's 36th Birthday.

A second, much larger UK tour took place through October 2011, with Marcus Foster as support: 7th October-Leadmill (Sheffield), 8th October-02 ABC (Glasgow)(changed from the smaller venue Oran Mor due to high demand), 9th October-Academy 3 (Manchester), 11th October-Condorde 2 (Brighton), 12th October-Glee Club (Birmingham), 13th October-02 Shepherds Bush Empire (London), 15th October-Junction (Cambridge), 16th October-Waterfront (Norwich), 17th October-Glee Club (Cardiff), 19th October-02 Academy2 (Oxford), 20th October-Anson Rooms (Bristol), 21st October-Stanley Theatre (Liverpool).

On 11 September, 2011, the duo announced via Twitter that their next UK single from You & I will be "Kissing You Goodbye", due 23 October.

The Pierces will be supporting Coldplay once again for their upcoming North American tour in April-May 2012. They will be appearing at the Edmonton, Calgary, Vancouver, Portland, Seattle, San Jose and Los Angeles shows.

Members[link]

• Allison Pierce: Vocals and acoustic guitar
• Catherine Pierce: Vocals and percussion

Discography[link]

Studio albums[link]

Extended Plays[link]

• Love You More EP (Released: October 25, 2010)
• You'll Be Mine EP (Released March 7, 2011)
• iTunes Festival London 2011 (Released July 20, 2011)

Singles[link]

Music Videos[link]

• "A Way to Us"
• "Boring"
• "Sticks and Stones"
• "Secret (Slideshow)"
• "Turn On Billie"
• "Secret"
• "Love You More"
• "You'll Be Mine"
• "We Are Stars"
• "Glorious"
• "It Will Not Be Forgotten"
• "Kissing You Goodbye"
• "I Put Your Records On" (Released 05 March 2012 on Youtube)

References[link]

1. ^ "Who to know". Portico Birmingham. Archived from the original on 2007-07-01. http://web.archive.org/web/20070701171742/http://porticomag.com/dec04/whotoknow.html. Retrieved 2007-07-07. 
2. ^ "The Pierces Overview". Allmusic. http://www.allmusic.com/artist/p442746. Retrieved 2007-08-24. 
3. ^ "Pop Matters Short Takes". Pop Matters. http://www.popmatters.com/shorttakes/2005_03_06_archive.shtml. Retrieved 2007-08-24. 
4. ^ "The Pierces: Thirteen Tales of Love and Revenge - PopMatters Music Review". Pop Matters. http://www.popmatters.com/pm/music/reviews/43771/the-pierces-thirteen-tales-of-love-and-revenge/. Retrieved 2007-08-24. 
5. ^ "VIDEO: Meet Rolling Stone’s New Breaking Artist, the Pierces". Rolling Stone. http://www.rollingstone.com/rockdaily/index.php/2007/05/16/video-meet-rolling-stones-new-breaking-artist-the-pierces/. Retrieved 2007-08-24. 
6. ^ Promo
7. ^ http://www.bpi.co.uk/certifiedawards/Search.aspx

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: The Pierces

• Official site
• MySpace URL
• Rolling Stone feature article

Albert Hammond, Jr.
Albert Hammond Jr. playing a show in Paris (2006)
Background information
Birth name	Albert Louis Hammond[1]
Born	(1980-04-09) April 9, 1980 (age 32) Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Genres	Indie rock, garage rock, post-punk revival, alternative rock
Instruments	Guitar, vocals, melodica
Years active	1999–present
Labels	New Line, Rough Trade, Scratchie, Black Seal
Associated acts	The Strokes
Notable instruments
Fender Stratocaster Gibson Les Paul Jr.

Albert Louis Hammond, Jr. (born April 9, 1980) is an American musician and member of the garage rock band The Strokes, in which he primarily plays guitar, but also plays keyboards live. He is also a solo musician. His father, Albert Hammond, whose career was primarily in the 1960s and 1970s, had even greater success on the singles charts as a songwriter and occasional singer. He released his debut album Yours To Keep in 2006 and followed up with ¿Cómo Te Llama? in 2008. The Beach Boys, Buddy Holly, Frank Black, Guided By Voices, John Lennon, Matthew Sweet and The Velvet Underground are often cited as his major influences.^[2][3]

Life and career[link]

Hammond was born in Los Angeles, California, the son of British-Gibraltarian singer/songwriter/musician Albert Hammond and Argentine former model and beauty pageant winner Claudia Fernández.^[4] Hammond Jr. was sent to the elite boarding school Institut Le Rosey in Switzerland at the age of 13. While there, he met Julian Casablancas, who would go on to be a fellow band member.^[5]

In 1998, Hammond met up with Casablancas in New York City and together they formed The Strokes with Casablancas' former schoolmates Nikolai Fraiture, Nick Valensi, and Fabrizio Moretti.

His trademark is wearing formal three-piece suits, and has been said by bandmate Julian Casablancas to be the most influential on the band's style. Hammond is usually seen playing a 1985 '70s reissue Olympic White Fender Stratocaster or Gibson Les Paul Jr. that is sometimes used by bandmate Nick Valensi. On the majority of The Strokes' songs he plays rhythm guitar, and solos are played by Valensi. The songs in which Hammond does play solos are "Last Nite", "Trying Your Luck", "Take It or Leave It", "Under Control", "The End Has No End", "Ize of the World", and "Vision of Division". His solos tend to focus largely on more emotional, "bluesy"-type melodical work, and the guitar tends to have a cleaner, softer tone in comparison to Valensi's (with a notable exception found in "Vision of Division"). He often holds his guitar in a high horizontal position, similar to Buddy Holly, which he says is so that he can dance better.

Hammond is set to release his own line of men's suits which he will co-design along with stylist Ilaria Urbinati. The suits will at first only be available at the soon-to-open Confederacy store in Los Angeles which Urbinati co-owns with actor/DJ Danny Masterson. Speaking about the designing endeavor Hammond, Jr. told New York magazine, "I want to make suits that I'm going to have for myself. They're for the person who needs his one suit for a wedding. He'd rather get something like this than go to Men's Wearhouse, pay the same amount, and look like an out-of-date parent." Prices for his line start at $1,250 for the Urbinati-designed trench coat and the $2,000+ price range for his suits. Hammond told NME that the suits will be available in three styles with a new design every season and that he's aiming to keep the line classic.

He previously dated British supermodel Agyness Deyn.

Musical setup[link]

Albert's main guitar is a Fender Stratocaster Arctic White 1985 Reissue of a 1972. He owns three white Stratocasters, a Gibson Les Paul special single cutaway, a Rickenbacker 325, and a Gretsch hollowbody. His amplifier is a Fender Hot Rod DeVille 2x12. His pedal board is made up of an old version of the MXR Micro Amp, a V1 Jekyll and Hyde Ultimate Overdrive and Distortion, and a BOSS TU-2 tuner. In later shows he adds another Micro Amp, and Jekyll and Hyde, and a Boss Digital Delay. He now uses a Mad Professor Deep Blue Delay pedal instead of the Boss Digital Delay.

Songwriting and solo work[link]

This section is in a list format that may be better presented using prose. You can help by converting this section to prose, if appropriate. Editing help is available. (September 2009)

Vocalist Julian Casablancas is the primary songwriter in The Strokes. Hammond co-wrote the track "Automatic Stop" with Casablancas for the group's second album, Room on Fire. He has also been credited with writing three mostly instrumental songs ("Swiss Beats", "Holland", and "By The Way") for the band's 2001 tour video entitled In Transit. These songs were reworked for his later solo album and have different titles ("Everyone Gets A Star", "Bright Young Thing", "In Transit"). He wrote "Elephant Song" when he was required to record a song for his Sound 101 class during his freshman year and used the school's recording equipment. The song was played at a few shows before the release of The Strokes' album. They later re-recorded the song as a special giveaway for fan club members.

In October 2005, Hammond and Ben Kweller released a version of "Wait" on This Bird Has Flown – A 40th Anniversary Tribute to the Beatles' Rubber Soul.

Hammond released a solo album entitled Yours To Keep in the U.K. through Rough Trade Records on October 9, 2006 and in North America through New Line Records/Scratchie Records on March 6, 2007. Produced by Thin Lizard Dawn vocalist Lattimer and recorded at the Electric Lady Studios in New York City, the album features several musical guests, such as Sean Lennon, Ben Kweller, The Strokes' manager Ryan Gentles, Jody Porter of Fountains of Wayne, Chris Feinstein, Mikki James, Sammy James, Jr. (The Mooney Suzuki) and The Strokes' lead singer, Casablancas. Bassist Josh Lattanzi and drummer Matt Romano serve as the backing band, with Hammond on guitar and vocals. The first single taken from the album, "101", was released exclusively through iTunes on September 4, 2006. The music video to "In Transit" was directed by Joaquin Phoenix.

Hammond has said to have been "waiting to make a record like this for years".^[6] Early support from his bandmates in the Strokes was only evident after Casablancas' role playing bass and back-up vocals on the track "Scared", though all of the members (with the exclusion of Nick Valensi, who was busy taking care of his newborn children) attended his shows in and around New York.

"101" was the follow-up single to "Everyone Gets A Star". The music video debuted online in March 2007.^[7] This will be available in general music stores, unlike "Everyone Gets A Star" which was only available through UK iTunes Music Store. It was released on November 27, 2006.

In November 2006, Hammond was announced to be joining Incubus on tour during their North American tour for their new album Light Grenades.

On 16 March 2007 at the South by Southwest festival, Hammond performed a twelve song set including covers of Frank Black's "Old Black Dawning" and Guided By Voices' "Postal Blowfish".^[8] Hammond also regularly covered The Cars' "Don't Cha Stop" in live performances.

The Yours To Keep album was released in North America on March 6, 2007; he also supported Bloc Party on their world tour before making stops at Montreal's Metropolis and Toronto's Kool Haus. After this, Hammond headlined two North American tours along with a European tour. The North American tour featured his friends, The Mooney Suzuki.

Hammond announced that "In Transit" will be his next solo single, featuring a cover of Frank Black's "Old Black Dawning" as the b-side. It was recorded live from the Bowery Ballroom.

On 29 August 2007, Hammond announced on MySpace that he was going back into the studio to record his second album in October 2007 for five weeks.

On 20 March 2008, Hammond posted a blog entry on MySpace in which he revealed the title of his second album, ¿Cómo Te Llama?. Furthermore, he wrote that it contained 13 songs with a total length of 46 minutes and 30 seconds. He also said he hoped to be touring with the new album until the end of 2008. The album was released on July 7, 2008.^[9]

Albert has also produced the new track "123 Stop" by New York band The Postelles.

On 27 May 2008, Hammond released "GfC", the first single off ¿Cómo Te Llama?, on iTunes in the US. The song has already been played extensively live on his 2007 tour. A non-album song entitled "& So it Goes" was released as a B-side along with the single.

On 29 May 2008, Hammond was Myspace's featured artist and exclusively premiered his new album ¿Cómo Te Llama? uploading all the tracks of the album on his official Myspace page.

On 8 July 2008, Hammond played a small show at the Virgin Megastore, Union Square, in New York City to celebrate the release of his new album. A noted absence from Hammond's band was recording bassist Josh Latzanni. Steve Schiltz of the band Longwave, who toured with Hammond on his first album was also missing. Although Hammond was supposed to play only 2 or 3 songs, he ended up playing almost 10, with a selection that included both new and old tracks.

On 11 July 2008, Hammond began his worldwide tour in support of ¿Cómo Te Llama? with a sold-out show at the landmark venue Spaceland in the Silverlake neighborhood of Los Angeles, CA with a capacity of only 260 people. This was his only west coast appearance.

On 23 August 2008, Hammond's website officially announced that Hammond would be the support act of the British band Coldplay during their European Tour, which kicked off on September 1 in Strasbourg, France.

Discography[link]

The Strokes[link]

Main article: The Strokes discography

Studio albums[link]

Singles[link]

See also[link]

• List of Gibraltarians
• Music of Gibraltar

References[link]

• Spin Magazine feature, October 2003, retrieved 25 March 2007
• Star Magazine web feature, 28 March 2007

External links[link]

• Albert Hammond, Jr. official website

Albert Hammond OBE (born 18 May 1944) is an English singer, songwriter and record producer from Gibraltar.

Birth and early success[link]

Hammond was born in London, England,^[1] where his family had been evacuated to from Gibraltar during World War II. His family returned to Gibraltar shortly after his birth, and there he grew up.^[1] In 1960, he started in music with Gibraltarian band 'The Diamond Boys', which had no real commercial success, but played a part in Spain's introduction to popular music. The Diamond Boys performed at the first nightclubs in Madrid to stage modern bands alongside Spanish rock and roll pioneers such as Miguel Ríos. In 1966 Hammond co-founded the British vocal group The Family Dogg, scoring a UK Top 10 hit with "A Way of Life" in 1969.^[1][2]

Main career[link]

He also wrote songs for others with frequent collaborator Mike Hazlewood. These include "Little Arrows" for Leapy Lee, "Make Me An Island" (1969) (which Hammond himself re-recorded in 1979, in a Spanish disco-style version), and "You're Such a Good Looking Woman" (1970) for Joe Dolan, "Gimme Dat Ding" for The Pipkins in 1970 (itself a cover from the Freddie and the Dreamers album, Oliver in the Overworld), "Good Morning Freedom" for Blue Mink, "Freedom Come, Freedom Go" for The Fortunes in 1971 and "The Air That I Breathe" which was a hit for The Hollies in 1974.^[1] In 1971. Hammond also sang on Michael Chapman's fourth album, Wrecked Again, and worked briefly with The Magic Lanterns on recordings of his and Hazlewood's songs and other material.^[3]

He then moved to the United States, where he continued his professional career as a musician. He is known for his hits of the 1970s, released on Columbia subsidiary Mums Records:

1. "Down by the River" — US 91 (1972)
2. "It Never Rains in Southern California" — US 5 (1972)
3. "The Free Electric Band" (the only single of his to chart in the UK)^[2] — UK 19, US 48 (1973)
4. "Half a Million Miles from Home" — US 87 (1973)
5. "If You Gotta Break Another Heart" — US 63 (1973)
6. "The Peacemaker" — US 80, South Africa 1 (1973)
7. "Down by the River" — US 91 (1973)
8. "I Don't Wanna Die in an Air Disaster" — US 0 (1974)
9. "I'm a Train" — US 31 (1974)
10. "99 Miles from L.A." — US 91 (1975)

Written with Carole Bayer Sager, "When I Need You" was first recorded by Hammond on his 1976 album When I Need You. Produced by Richard Perry, Leo Sayer's version made #1 on the UK Singles Chart for two weeks in February 1977, after three of his earlier singles had stalled at #2. A hit worldwide, it reached #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for a week in May 1977. Leapy Lee released a version of "When I Need You" on his first recording since 1970.^[4]

Hammond had success as a singer-songwriter with his Spanish recordings. His releases on Epic Records allowed him to successfully tour every region of Latin America. It was during this period that he met Manuel Montoya, CBS Mexico executive, who later became his personal manager in 1985, leading to the Grammy Award winning production of Lani Hall, "Es Facil Amar", producer and writer of "Cantaré, Cantarás" (the Latin American equivalent of "We Are The World"), and collaborations with Roberto Livi on recordings by Raphael, Eydie Gorme and others.

With Hal David, Hammond co-wrote "To All The Girls I've Loved Before", a hit in 1984 for Julio Iglesias and Willie Nelson. Hammond collaborated with Diane Warren on "Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now", a transatlantic #1 in 1987 for Starship, and "I Don't Wanna Live Without Your Love", a hit for Chicago that peaked at #3 in the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1988. Hammond also co-wrote "One Moment in Time", the theme song to the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Korea, as performed by Whitney Houston.

In 1991, Hammond co-wrote "When You Tell Me That You Love Me", which was sung by Diana Ross. In 2005, Diana Ross performed the song again, this time in conjunction with Westlife.

He wrote several hits for Tina Turner, including "I Don't Wanna Lose You", "Be Tender With Me Baby", "Way of the World", and "Love Thing". Turner also recorded the original version of Hammond/Warren's "Don't Turn Around", a UK #1 for Aswad in 1988 and a hit for Ace of Base five years later.

In 2005 he released his first album in many years, Revolution of the Heart (where Todd Sharpville was his music director), and the single "This Side of Midnight".

Present day[link]

In 2008, Hammond met Kasaan Steigen of the Los Angeles based Trigger Management who became his personal manager, during which time Hammond collaborated with British singer Duffy and others. Duffy's resulting album, Endlessly, co-written and co-produced by Hammond, was released in November 2010.^[5]

In 2010, Hammond also worked on Legend, a new recording of duets of his greatest hits, featuring such artists as Elena Paparizou and Bonnie Tyler. It was released on Sony Spain on 23 November that year.^[6][7]

His son, Albert Hammond, Jr., is a successful solo musician and also a member of The Strokes.

Awards and accolades[link]

In 1987, Hammond's composition with Diane Warren "Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now" (recorded by Starship) was nominated for an Oscar, Golden Globe and Grammy. In 1988, Hammond won an Emmy Award for the song "One Moment in Time", a song he wrote along with John Bettis.

In 2000, he received an OBE.^[1] On the 19 June 2008, Hammond was inducted in the Songwriters Hall of Fame.

Hammond was immortalised in song by Half Man Half Biscuit in their 1986 track "Albert Hammond Bootleg".

Other songwriting credits[link]

• "When You Tell Me That You Love Me"
• "It Isn't, It Wasn't, It Ain't Never Gonna Be"
• "Through the Storm" — a duet with Aretha Franklin and Elton John
• "Careless Heart" — written with Roy Orbison and Diane Warren
• "Once in a Lifetime" — written with Antonia Armato and Dennis Morgan
• "Just Walk Away"
• "Moonlight Lady"
• "Smokey Factory Blues" — written by Hammond and Hazelwood, and recorded by Johnny Cash on his John R. Cash album. Also recorded by Steppenwolf on the Slow Flux album
• "Room in Your Heart" — written with Richard Darbyshire and Marcus Vere (Living in a Box)
• "I Don't Wanna Lose You" — written with Graham Lyle
• "Way of the World" — also written with Graham Lyle
• "Love Thing" — written with Holly Knight
• "Creep" — credited by Radiohead as having co-written with Hazlewood
• "I Need to Be in Love" — written with Richard Carpenter and John Bettis for The Carpenters and first recorded on their album, A Kind of Hush.

Discography[link]

• 1972 — It Never Rains in Southern California
• 1973 — The Free Electric Band
• 1974 — Albert Hammond
• 1975 — 99 Miles from L.A.
• 1976 — Canta Sus Grandes Éxitos en Español e Inglés
• 1976 — My Spanish Album
• 1977 — Mi Album de Recuerdos
• 1977 — When I Need You
• 1978 — Albert Louis Hammond
• 1978 — Greatest Hits
• 1979 — Al Otro Lado del Sol
• 1981 — Comprenderte
• 1981 — Your World and My World
• 1982 — Somewhere in America
• 1986 — Hammond and West (Dutch edition)
• 1987 — Hammond and West (German edition)
• 1988 — The Very Best Of (CBS)
• 1989 — Best of Me
• 1991 — Songsmith
• 1992 — Exitos
• 1995 — Greatest Hits
• 1996 — It Never Rains in Southern California (Golden Classics album)
• 1996 — Coplas & Songs
• 1997 — El Nuevo Mundo de los Gnomos (soundtrack) (Various artists)
• 1998 — Todas Sus Grabaciones en Espanol para Discos (Epic) (1975–1978)
• 1999 — It Never Rains in Southern California
• 1999 — The Very Best Of (Sony)
• 2004 — It Never Rains in Southern California / The Free Electric Band
• 2005 — Revolution of the Heart
• 2010 — Legend

See also[link]

• List of Gibraltarians
• Music of Gibraltar
• Inductees of the Songwriters Hall of Fame

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official website
• A Profile on Albert Hammond
• Albert Hammond - 5 Minute Interview with John Matthew Hall of The Independent

Chris Martin
Chris Martin playing the guitar during Coldplay's Viva la Vida Tour in 2008.
Background information
Birth name	Christopher Anthony John Martin
Born	(1977-03-02) 2 March 1977 (age 35) Exeter, Devon, England
Genres	Alternative rock, art rock, post-Britpop
Occupations	Musician, producer
Instruments	Vocals, piano, guitar, mandolin, clarinet, trumpet, harmonica, bass, organ, glockenspiel, Keyboards
Years active	1996–present
Labels	Parlophone, Capitol
Associated acts	Coldplay
Website	Coldplay.com

Christopher Anthony John "Chris" Martin (2 March 1977) is an English singer-songwriter, who is the lead vocalist, pianist and rhythm guitarist of the band Coldplay. He is well known by fans for his distinctive tenor voice. He is married to actress Gwyneth Paltrow.

Early life[link]

Chris Martin was born in Exeter, Devon and is the eldest of five children. His father, Anthony Martin, is a retired accountant, and his mother, Alison Martin, is a music teacher.^[1][2] Martin started his education at the pre-preparatory Hylton School and then went on to preparatory Exeter Cathedral School.^[3] It was at the prep school that Martin formed his first band, The Rocking Honkies, with Nick Repton & Iwan Gronow. Their debut performance was met with boos from the crowd.^[4] After Exeter Cathedral, Martin boarded at Sherborne School, a boys' independent school in Dorset. He also met future Coldplay manager Phil Harvey at the school.^[5] Martin continued his studies at University College London, staying at Ramsay Hall where he read Ancient World Studies and graduated with First Class honours in Greek and Latin.^[2][6] It is here he met future Coldplay bandmates Jonny Buckland, Will Champion and Guy Berryman.^[7]

Recording career[link]

Coldplay[link]

While studying at University College London, Martin met Jonny Buckland, Will Champion and Guy Berryman. In January 1998, they formed the rock band Coldplay. The band has had internationally recognised fame and success since their debut album, Parachutes, in 2000. Since then, they have released several further albums/EPs including: A Rush of Blood to the Head, Live 2003, X&Y, Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends, Prospekt's March, LeftRightLeftRightLeft and Mylo Xyloto.

Solo work[link]

Martin sitting at his piano for a 2005 concert

As a solo artist, Martin has written songs for a variety of acts including Embrace ("Gravity") and Jamelia ("See It in a Boy's Eyes", co-written with Coldplay producer Rik Simpson). Martin has also collaborated with Ron Sexsmith, Faultline, The Streets, and Ian McCulloch. He also sang a part of the vocals for the Band Aid 20 single, "Do They Know It's Christmas?" at the end of 2004. In 2005, Martin collaborated with Nelly Furtado on the track "All Good Things (Come to an End)", for her 2006 album, Loose. The two were once rumoured to be a couple, after they both performed at Glastonbury in 2002. Furtado joked about the situation, saying that "Yeah, he's my boyfriend — he just doesn't know it yet".^[8]

Martin's fascination with hip hop was shown in mid-2006 when he collaborated with rapper Jay-Z for the rapper's comeback album Kingdom Come after the two met earlier in the year. Martin put some chords together for a song known as "Beach Chair" and sent them to Jay-Z who enlisted the help of hip hop producer Dr. Dre to mix it (contrary to popular opinion it was Coldplay producer Rik Simpson and not Dre who conceived and performed the drum beats). The song was performed on 27 September 2006 by the two during Jay-Z's European tour at Royal Albert Hall. In 2007, Martin appeared on a track titled "Part of the Plan" for Swizz Beatz' debut solo album One Man Band Man. Martin has also worked on a solo collaboration with Kanye West, with whom he shared an impromptu jam session during a 2006 concert at Abbey Road Studios.^[9] He performed the chorus of "Homecoming", from West's album Graduation.

Influences[link]

Martin's and Coldplay's main influence is the Scottish rock band Travis, with Martin crediting the band for the creation of his own group.^[10] U2 has been another important influence on Martin both musically and politically,^[11] on whom he wrote for Rolling Stone magazine's "100 Greatest Artists of All Time",^[12] in the section on U2, saying: "I don't buy weekend tickets to Ireland and hang out in front of their gates, but U2 are the only band whose entire catalogue I know by heart. The first song on The Unforgettable Fire, "A Sort of Homecoming", I know backward and forward – it's so rousing, brilliant, and beautiful. It's one of the first songs I played to my unborn baby." Martin also comments on Bono's effect on his own charity and political involvement he is even known to joke with friends referring to himself as "Crono".^[11]

Martin is very vocal about his love for Norwegian new wave/Synthpop band a-ha. In 2005 he stated the following in an interview: "I found myself in Amsterdam the other day and I put a-ha's first record on. I just remembered how much I loved it. It's incredible songwriting. Everyone asks what inspired us, what we've been trying to steal from and what we listened to as we were growing up – the first band I ever loved was a-ha."^[13] Martin has also performed live together with Magne Furuholmen of a-ha. In November 2011, he stated that "back when we didn't have any hits of our own we used to play a-ha songs."^[14]

He also is known to be a fan of artists such as English alternative rock bands Oasis & Muse,^[15] Irish pop group Westlife,^[16] English band Radiohead, British pop groups Girls Aloud^[17][18] and Take That,^[19] and Canadian indie rock band Arcade Fire. Solo artists Martin likes include Leona Lewis,^[20] Noel Gallagher, Kylie Minogue,^[21] Johnny Cash, Bob Dylan and Hank Williams.^[15]

Coldplay performed R.E.M.'s "Nightswimming" with Michael Stipe on their Austin City Limits performance. During the show, Martin called "Nightswimming" "the greatest song ever written".^[22]

Other endeavours[link]

Martin playing "Trouble" on his piano during a concert in Brazil, February 2007

Martin and Coldplay guitarist Jon Buckland made cameo appearances in the film Shaun of the Dead as supporters of the fictional charity ZombAid.^[23] Martin has a second cameo in this film as a Zombie.^[23] In 2006 Martin had a cameo role in the second series episode four of the Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant created comedy Extras. He also appears singing in the closing credits of the 2009 film Brüno alongside Bono, Sting, Slash, Snoop Dogg, and Elton John.^[24] Martin also played one gig with the "Sid James Experience".

Martin has been particularly outspoken on issues of fair trade and has campaigned for Oxfam's Make Trade Fair campaign. He traveled to Ghana and Haiti to meet farmers and view the effects of unfair trade practices.^[25] When performing he usually has variations of "Make Trade Fair", "MTF" or an equal sign written on the back of his left hand and the letters "MTF" can be seen emblazoned on his piano. ^[26]

He was a vocal critic of President George W. Bush and the war in Iraq. Martin was a strong supporter of Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry, most notably during his acceptance speech for the 2004 Grammy Awards Record of the Year, accepting for "Clocks". Martin also supported the Democratic Party candidate for President in 2008, giving a shout-out to Barack Obama at the end of a performance of "Yellow" on 25 October 2008 episode of Saturday Night Live.^[27]

On 1 April 2006, The Guardian reported that Martin was backing the British Conservative Party leader David Cameron and had written a new theme song for the party titled "Talk to David".^[28][29] This was later revealed to be an April Fool's joke. Whilst touring Australia in March 2009, Martin and the rest of Coldplay were the opening act at the Sound Relief benefit concert at the Sydney Cricket Ground in Sydney, for the bushfires and floods in Victoria and Queensland.

Personal life[link]

Martin met American actress Gwyneth Paltrow in 2002 backstage at a Coldplay gig after the death of the actress's father, Bruce Paltrow. The couple married a year later on 5 December 2003.^[30] Their daughter, Apple Blythe Alison Martin, was born on 14 May 2004 in London.^[31] Their second child, Moses Bruce Anthony Martin, was born on 8 April 2006 in New York City.^[32] Simon Pegg and Martin's bandmate Jonny Buckland are Apple's godfathers.^[33][34] Martin is a longtime friend of Pegg, having met him in 2001, and appears in Shaun of the Dead,^[23] one of Pegg's movies.

Martin does not smoke cigarettes or drink alcohol.^[35]

Martin was raised as a Catholic but has since lapsed. In a 2005 Rolling Stone magazine interview, Martin said of his religious views: "I definitely believe in God. How can you look at anything and not be overwhelmed by the miraculousness of it?"^[36] In the same interview he spoke of going through a period of spiritual confusion, stating "I went through a weird patch, starting when I was about sixteen to twenty-two, of getting God, religion, superstition, judgement all confused".^[36] However, in a 2008 interview he stated:

"I'm always trying to work out what 'He' or 'She' is. I don't know if it's Allah or Jesus or Mohammed or Zeus. But I'd go for Zeus."^[37]

Following said interview, he released a text message declaring himself an "alltheist", a word of his invention meaning that he believes in "everything".^[37]

Martin often suffers from insomnia and has undergone sleep therapy.^[38] He has said in interviews that ideas for songs most often come to him at night, and that he also often has nightmares about performances going wrong.^[38]

Martin is a supporter of the Liberal Democrats.^[39]

In a 2012 interview with the British tabloid Daily Mail, Chris Martin revealed that he has had tinnitus for the past ten years and he developed it from listening to loud music when he was a teenager. He brings strong awareness to this condition and warns youngsters to avoid the same fate, while also protecting his own children's hearing with 'Peltor Kid' headphones.

Filmography[link]

Television[link]

Films[link]

Solo discography[link]

See Coldplay discography for his work with said group.

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Chris Martin

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Chris Martin

• Coldplay.com
• Chris Martin at the Internet Movie Database