Said Champion: "It's tough when people accuse you of stealing something, when you know that you didn't. Coldplay drummer Will Champion responded to the claims of plagiarism to by claiming the band are a victim of their success. Stream it, here.In addition to Joe Satrini's lawsuit, Yusuf Islam claimed this resembles his 1973 song, "Foreigner Suite," which he recorded under his old name of Cat Stevens. Sheppard’s latest single, Come Back, examines the effect isolation and a lack of human contact can have on a relationship. I’m not sure how far I would have made it as an actor. Thank you for taking a band like Coldplay and turning them into something like you, and more importantly, thank you for changing the course of my life. You’re an incredible album that’s gotten me through many a rainy day. You taught me what it means to be able to make good quality, accessible pop music that relies on experimentation – not cookie-cutter, formulaic methods. ‘Yes’, ‘Strawberry Swing’, ‘Violet Hill, ‘Death and All His Friends’ are all gorgeous pieces of music that challenged what I thought pop music could be at the time. The song ‘Viva La Vida’ itself is the obvious standout, being the first Coldplay song to have strings as the main instrument (rather than the typical guitar or piano as was with older Coldplay recordings), but my favourite tracks are the outliers. You brought them to the height of their popularity because underneath all of the lush production you served us up a universally accessible buffet of quality pop songs. From the very first track, the instrumental ‘Life in Technicolor’, you’re a gorgeous, experimental pop-rock album that manages to tie all of the class, sophistication and musical intricacy of an orchestra to a world-beating, high-energy, commercial pop band at the top of their game. You’ve served as a benchmark for which I’ve strived to reach with my own band. You practically laid the foundations for what I have since strived to be as a pop/rock musician. Needless to say, you ignited a musical spark in me that ended up changing the course of my life – a spark that still hasn’t faded.
That was the very first moment we started making music together. I had been dipping my toe into the songwriting pool, but now I was keen to jump in. She had to write and produce a pop song and wanted my help. Not long after finishing acting school, I was back in Brisbane visiting my family when my sister Amy came to me with an assignment she had for university (she actually WAS studying music). By the time I graduated, I’d written my first original song. One of the first songs I learned and performed in front of that 5-person crowd was ‘Lost!’.
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But as I slowly gained confidence and learned how to put chords together, I was able to keep a small audience of my class entertained for the majority of the lunch break. At first, it was just 5-10 mins at a time on my own. I started sitting down at the piano every lunch break for the remainder of my days at drama school. “Anyone but Coldplay dude… I’m having a good day.”
I turned to my friend (who decidedly was NOT a fan of the band) and warned him I was about to buy and chuck on a new Coldplay album. It was Coldplay, but it didn’t sound anything like the Coldplay I had heard.
The intro of the song immediately perked my ears, and when I checked who it was, I was shocked.
Coincidentally, the song ‘Rainy Day’ came on through a random playlist through this fancy new streaming service I was testing out called Spotify. I remember listening to you from start to finish for the first time during a rainy Saturday afternoon in 2009, having a few cheeky beers with my flatmate on our balcony. Even so, you came along at a point in my life when my artistic mind was impressionable, ready to soak up some good influences and get inspired. In my head, I was absolutely going to be in theatre, movies and tv. I was the most annoyingly determined actor you’d ever met. I was at drama school in Sydney and hadn’t ever planned on becoming a musician. There’s so much I want to say to you, but I guess I should start by saying thanks for coming around at the time you did. George Sheppard, Sheppard – Coldplay, Viva La Vida (Prospekt’s March Edition)(2008)