Coldplay Book Reviews

Jenjie · 01-01-2008, 04:33 PM

I've nearly finished a project to complete a listing of all books about Coldplay, inc biographies & music books, for the Wiki Coldplay site. Its pretty much a Discography but for books. You can find the front page under the heading Library.

To help me finish off, I'd like to personalise the pages with your reviews. Any length of review would be ace. If you'd like to contribute, please post your reviews here.

Thanks in advance

yamfox · 01-01-2008, 04:46 PM

I read Coldplay: Look At The Stars by Gary Spivack.
Slightly outdated, as it came out before X & Y, but still a good book. It told me many things I didn't know before, and it is told from a first person view, as if the author was there. I would give it 8.5 out of 10 stars

Jenjie · 01-01-2008, 06:44 PM

cool ty

you're now the first person with their book review on our Wiki site

ApproximatelyInfinite · 02-01-2008, 02:32 AM

while i agree about that book, it does have some slight errors, such as calling the song "politix" and getting the occasional lyric wrong and spelling will's name "wil" throughout the book. oh, and the binding totally falls apart after one reading of it

Coldplay: look at the stars by phil o'brien is longer and focuses more on the details rather than the big picture, but the book itself is less pretty. the pictures in the gary spivak one are beautiful.

Open, Politik · 02-01-2008, 12:33 PM

Coldplay: Nobody Said It Was Easy is brilliant. So informative and such a easy read. I couldnt put the book down. Everything was so intreasting and it was before xy. The author is fantastic. Martin Roach-You are a genius.

twistedCLOCKS · 09-05-2008, 11:43 AM

"Nobody Said It Was Easy" was the first one i purchased.
a damn good read. i swear, you pick it up and can't put it down. i read it in one sitting, i remember it was on the day coldplay formed as a band (didn't even know it!) but i also have "Look At The Stars" i haven't read it cos well it would be pretty much the same, i only bought it for the great photos hehe.

Cobalt · 15-05-2008, 12:26 PM

Spammer *bancanon*

Anyways I'm interested in reading these

which one is best?

ColdplayBirdsFly · 15-08-2008, 07:49 PM

Martin Roach's book was very well written. I thought it was the best of all of the books. He has so much music industry insight to give and he even describes some of the alternate tunings (like the one for "Yellow"!) He focuses on all of the members and describes each of the songs on the albums, (excluding the more recent X&Y and VLV).
Although he disses "High Speed"...

Gary Spivack's book was decent. Agreed that the mispellings were often annoying

But he makes up for that with Lovely photographs. The closing part finishes on an endearing note about a personal experience with Chris.

Phil O'Brien's book was the most up-to-date of all 3. She writes with a unique style that had me laughing through many parts. (Her descriptions of Chris' faces were classic!) She tends to incorporate a lot of Chris' personal life towards the end - when the tabloids started pushing him around. This was a downfall since I wanted her to sidestep that area and stick with the band more. But she does have a lot of juicy quotes I'd never read before and she very specifically details the gigs they played. At one point, she even describes (almost road by road) how to get to one of the pubs they played in London!

marie/pims · 22-08-2008, 01:34 AM

I'm reading my first Coldplay book, Phil O'Brien's.I like it.It's rather old since it was written before X&Y.I never knew much about the band and its early days so it's an interesting read.I had no idea about Will's mother and I almost cried when I read about it.Poor Will.I'm gonna look at the Yellow video in a different way now considering her funeral took place on that day.I always wondered why the others weren't there.It's also a good book if you want to learn a bit more about the dynamics within the bands and the hard work they do.

Jenjie · 22-08-2008, 05:18 PM

ty both for your reviews

ColdplayBirdsFly · 25-08-2008, 06:57 PM

AHHH!!!
I cannot wait for Matt McGinn's "Roadie" book to come out!!!!

Ab · 02-09-2008, 06:46 PM

Hey guys, I can't really find such books here in Egypt so, does anyone have them in PDF?

sp★rkle · 04-11-2008, 05:52 AM

Quote:
Originally Posted by Loud Meditation;2522088
Hey guys, I can't really find such books here in Egypt so, does anyone have them in PDF?

yeah... same here...
i can't find any of the books here in the Philippines sadly...
But i'm trying my cousin from the US to buy them for me...
I saw cheap ones on the internet by Gary Spivack. its second hand but it says in good condition. Try looking at eBay.

sp★rkle · 04-11-2008, 05:54 AM

Quote:
Originally Posted by ColdplayBirdsFly;2510560

AHHH!!!
I cannot wait for Matt McGinn's "Roadie" book to come out!!!!

Hi. You got Will's drumsticks??
Wow congratulations!!!

Ab · 06-11-2008, 04:44 PM

Quote:
Originally Posted by ioshinoia;2613486
yeah... same here...
i can't find any of the books here in the Philippines sadly...
But i'm trying my cousin from the US to buy them for me...
I saw cheap ones on the internet by Gary Spivack. its second hand but it says in good condition. Try looking at eBay.

Thanx!

01-01-2008, 04:33 PM	#1
Jenjie PA to SammyBeeBurns Join Date: Oct 2002 Posts: 5,805 My Mood: Location: at Coldplaying.com Gender: Country: Chat posts: 0 Thanks given: 35 Thanked 90 Times in 41 Posts	Coldplay Book Reviews I've nearly finished a project to complete a listing of all books about Coldplay, inc biographies & music books, for the Wiki Coldplay site. Its pretty much a Discography but for books. You can find the front page under the heading Library. To help me finish off, I'd like to personalise the pages with your reviews. Any length of review would be ace. If you'd like to contribute, please post your reviews here. Thanks in advance __________________ "The fat lady has sung and the world's Vida has been well and truly Viva-ed." - R#42 14th March 2010 I've got my "I Heart Coldplaying.com, It's My Life" knickers in a twist!!! 2012: 9&10 June - Manchester Etihad; 2011: 4 Dec - MEN Arena 2010: 25 Nov - Boat Trip 2009: 30 Jan - Absolute Radio; 18 Feb - War Child; 19 Sep - Wembley 2008: 11&12 Dec - MEN Arena 2005: 4&5 July - Reebok Stadium; 19 Dec - MEN Arena 2003: 14 Apr - MEN Arena 2002: 20 June - Mountford Hall; 11 Oct - MEN Arena

01-01-2008, 06:44 PM	#3
Jenjie PA to SammyBeeBurns Join Date: Oct 2002 Posts: 5,805 My Mood: Location: at Coldplaying.com Gender: Country: Chat posts: 0 Thanks given: 35 Thanked 90 Times in 41 Posts	cool ty you're now the first person with their book review on our Wiki site __________________ "The fat lady has sung and the world's Vida has been well and truly Viva-ed." - R#42 14th March 2010 I've got my "I Heart Coldplaying.com, It's My Life" knickers in a twist!!! 2012: 9&10 June - Manchester Etihad; 2011: 4 Dec - MEN Arena 2010: 25 Nov - Boat Trip 2009: 30 Jan - Absolute Radio; 18 Feb - War Child; 19 Sep - Wembley 2008: 11&12 Dec - MEN Arena 2005: 4&5 July - Reebok Stadium; 19 Dec - MEN Arena 2003: 14 Apr - MEN Arena 2002: 20 June - Mountford Hall; 11 Oct - MEN Arena

02-01-2008, 02:32 AM	#4
ApproximatelyInfinite a thousand houses long Join Date: Feb 2006 Posts: 9,715 My Mood: Location: Norfolk, UK Gender: Country: Chat posts: 0 Thanks given: 1 Thanked 2 Times in 2 Posts	while i agree about that book, it does have some slight errors, such as calling the song "politix" and getting the occasional lyric wrong and spelling will's name "wil" throughout the book. oh, and the binding totally falls apart after one reading of it Coldplay: look at the stars by phil o'brien is longer and focuses more on the details rather than the big picture, but the book itself is less pretty. the pictures in the gary spivak one are beautiful. __________________ But I know one day, good things are coming our way M A L C J Tumblr\|Twitter\|Last.fm\|Listography

02-01-2008, 12:33 PM	#5
Open, Politik Babe Im Gonna Leave You Join Date: Nov 2007 Posts: 7,182 My Mood: Location: Where the Lemon lives Gender: Country: Chat posts: 0 Thanks given: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	coldplay books Coldplay: Nobody Said It Was Easy is brilliant. So informative and such a easy read. I couldnt put the book down. Everything was so intreasting and it was before xy. The author is fantastic. Martin Roach-You are a genius. __________________ 19/09/09 Best day ever!!!!!

09-05-2008, 11:43 AM	#6
twistedCLOCKS Twisted Join Date: Mar 2006 Posts: 1,468 Gender: Country: Chat posts: 0 Thanks given: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	"Nobody Said It Was Easy" was the first one i purchased. a damn good read. i swear, you pick it up and can't put it down. i read it in one sitting, i remember it was on the day coldplay formed as a band (didn't even know it!) but i also have "Look At The Stars" i haven't read it cos well it would be pretty much the same, i only bought it for the great photos hehe. __________________

01-01-2008, 04:46 PM	#2
yamfox The Pumpkin King Join Date: Feb 2006 Posts: 1,327 My Mood: Location: Fishers, Indiana, USA Gender: Country: Chat posts: 0 Thanks given: 0 Thanked 2 Times in 2 Posts	I read Coldplay: Look At The Stars by Gary Spivack. Slightly outdated, as it came out before X & Y, but still a good book. It told me many things I didn't know before, and it is told from a first person view, as if the author was there. I would give it 8.5 out of 10 stars

15-05-2008, 12:26 PM	#7
Cobalt OH SUCH THE SHAME! Join Date: Feb 2008 Posts: 18,297 My Mood: Location: Melbourne, Australia Gender: Country: Chat posts: 10 Thanks given: 159 Thanked 163 Times in 118 Posts	Spammer bancanon Anyways I'm interested in reading these which one is best? __________________ my quotes are old and my body is weary this space for rent

15-08-2008, 07:49 PM	#8
ColdplayBirdsFly Music = Air Join Date: Nov 2006 Posts: 579 My Mood: Location: Hiding in "the Bakery"...shhh! Gender: Country: Chat posts: 0 Thanks given: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Coldplay Books! Martin Roach's book was very well written. I thought it was the best of all of the books. He has so much music industry insight to give and he even describes some of the alternate tunings (like the one for "Yellow"!) He focuses on all of the members and describes each of the songs on the albums, (excluding the more recent X&Y and VLV). Although he disses "High Speed"... Gary Spivack's book was decent. Agreed that the mispellings were often annoying But he makes up for that with Lovely photographs. The closing part finishes on an endearing note about a personal experience with Chris. Phil O'Brien's book was the most up-to-date of all 3. She writes with a unique style that had me laughing through many parts. (Her descriptions of Chris' faces were classic!) She tends to incorporate a lot of Chris' personal life towards the end - when the tabloids started pushing him around. This was a downfall since I wanted her to sidestep that area and stick with the band more. But she does have a lot of juicy quotes I'd never read before and she very specifically details the gigs they played. At one point, she even describes (almost road by road) how to get to one of the pubs they played in London! __________________ http://i88.photobucket.com/albums/k1...yHartford2.jpg Chris' Mansfield Humor: "I don't know what you had to TIVO to be here. Maybe 'Entourage', no that was yesterday. Maybe the O'Reilly factor [laughs, boos]. As you can see we've been on this tour now for over 3 inches of curly hair, and when people start mistaking me for Michael Bolton then we'll come off tour..." LOVE TO ELBOW ^_~ *MANSFIELD, MA Replay* - Aug. 3 2009 (1st ROW PIT!)** H<3RTFORD, CT - May 23, 2009 V BOSTON, MA Replay - Oct. 29. 2008 - Thanks for remembering guys! I BOSTON, MA - Aug. 4, 2008 V MANCHESTER, NH - April 3, 2006 A MANSFIELD, MA - Aug. 6, 2005

22-08-2008, 01:34 AM	#9
marie/pims Reign of Love Join Date: Dec 2006 Posts: 6,005 My Mood: Location: London Gender: Country: Chat posts: 0 Thanks given: 0 Thanked 5 Times in 3 Posts	I'm reading my first Coldplay book, Phil O'Brien's.I like it.It's rather old since it was written before X&Y.I never knew much about the band and its early days so it's an interesting read.I had no idea about Will's mother and I almost cried when I read about it.Poor Will.I'm gonna look at the Yellow video in a different way now considering her funeral took place on that day.I always wondered why the others weren't there.It's also a good book if you want to learn a bit more about the dynamics within the bands and the hard work they do. __________________ http://i185.photobucket.com/albums/x...layimage-1.jpg "So we rode down to the river Where Victorian ghosts pray For their curses to be broken We go wandering 'neath the arches Where the witches are and they say There are ghost towns in the ocean" Sponsor and learn about my Ghana and Rwanda volunteer projects! http://long-distances.blogspot.com/ "We're all just working for Will Champion"

22-08-2008, 05:18 PM	#10
Jenjie PA to SammyBeeBurns Join Date: Oct 2002 Posts: 5,805 My Mood: Location: at Coldplaying.com Gender: Country: Chat posts: 0 Thanks given: 35 Thanked 90 Times in 41 Posts	ty both for your reviews __________________ "The fat lady has sung and the world's Vida has been well and truly Viva-ed." - R#42 14th March 2010 I've got my "I Heart Coldplaying.com, It's My Life" knickers in a twist!!! 2012: 9&10 June - Manchester Etihad; 2011: 4 Dec - MEN Arena 2010: 25 Nov - Boat Trip 2009: 30 Jan - Absolute Radio; 18 Feb - War Child; 19 Sep - Wembley 2008: 11&12 Dec - MEN Arena 2005: 4&5 July - Reebok Stadium; 19 Dec - MEN Arena 2003: 14 Apr - MEN Arena 2002: 20 June - Mountford Hall; 11 Oct - MEN Arena

25-08-2008, 06:57 PM	#11
ColdplayBirdsFly Music = Air Join Date: Nov 2006 Posts: 579 My Mood: Location: Hiding in "the Bakery"...shhh! Gender: Country: Chat posts: 0 Thanks given: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	McGinn's book AHHH!!! I cannot wait for Matt McGinn's "Roadie" book to come out!!!! __________________ http://i88.photobucket.com/albums/k1...yHartford2.jpg Chris' Mansfield Humor: "I don't know what you had to TIVO to be here. Maybe 'Entourage', no that was yesterday. Maybe the O'Reilly factor [laughs, boos]. As you can see we've been on this tour now for over 3 inches of curly hair, and when people start mistaking me for Michael Bolton then we'll come off tour..." LOVE TO ELBOW ^_~ *MANSFIELD, MA Replay* - Aug. 3 2009 (1st ROW PIT!)** H<3RTFORD, CT - May 23, 2009 V BOSTON, MA Replay - Oct. 29. 2008 - Thanks for remembering guys! I BOSTON, MA - Aug. 4, 2008 V MANCHESTER, NH - April 3, 2006 A MANSFIELD, MA - Aug. 6, 2005

02-09-2008, 06:46 PM	#12
Ab девочка Join Date: Jul 2008 Posts: 3,917 Location: Cairo, Egypt Gender: Chat posts: 0 Thanks given: 0 Thanked 1 Time in 1 Post	Hey guys, I can't really find such books here in Egypt so, does anyone have them in PDF? __________________ "General inconsideration of humans pisses me off." - Will Champion http://img190.imageshack.us/img190/5...spinmagsig.jpg "Lore" for Mrs Coldplaying 2oo9 \|\| "SueDeNimes" for Friendliest User 2oo9 \|\| "but a dream" for Biggest Jonny Fan 2oo9 \|\| "guyluvsliz" for Biggest Guy Fan 2oo9 \|\| "Twisted mind" for Best Signature 2oo9 \|\| "bear" for Biggest Coldplaying Perv 2oo9 \|\| "Pris" for Mexican & Central American Ambassador 2oo9 \|\| "rudy_o" for Asian Ambassador 2oo9 \|\| "MK" OR "i'maveryneatMonster.'" for Eastern & Southern Europe Ambassador 2oo9 \|\| "Veckatimest" for Best Album 2oo9 & "Ab" for African Ambassador 2oo9

04-11-2008, 05:52 AM	#13
sp★rkle drowning in Nai Cha Join Date: Oct 2008 Posts: 1,042 My Mood: Location: beneath an orange sky Gender: Country: Chat posts: 0 Thanks given: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Quote: Originally Posted by Loud Meditation;2522088 Hey guys, I can't really find such books here in Egypt so, does anyone have them in PDF? yeah... same here... i can't find any of the books here in the Philippines sadly... But i'm trying my cousin from the US to buy them for me... I saw cheap ones on the internet by Gary Spivack. its second hand but it says in good condition. Try looking at eBay. __________________ "THIS IS ABOUT OUR BAND AND OUR FEELING ABOUT EACH OTHER AND TRYING TO DO SOMETHING GOOD WITH OUR MUSIC AND FEELING LIKE SOMETIMES WE'RE UNDER ATTACK AND ALL THAT STUFF BUT NEVERTHELESS FEELING RESILIENT." -Chris Martin 16.2.09_20.9.09 I had a dream I stood beneath an orange sky...

04-11-2008, 05:54 AM	#14
sp★rkle drowning in Nai Cha Join Date: Oct 2008 Posts: 1,042 My Mood: Location: beneath an orange sky Gender: Country: Chat posts: 0 Thanks given: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Quote: Originally Posted by ColdplayBirdsFly;2510560 AHHH!!! I cannot wait for Matt McGinn's "Roadie" book to come out!!!! Hi. You got Will's drumsticks?? Wow congratulations!!! __________________ "THIS IS ABOUT OUR BAND AND OUR FEELING ABOUT EACH OTHER AND TRYING TO DO SOMETHING GOOD WITH OUR MUSIC AND FEELING LIKE SOMETIMES WE'RE UNDER ATTACK AND ALL THAT STUFF BUT NEVERTHELESS FEELING RESILIENT." -Chris Martin 16.2.09_20.9.09 I had a dream I stood beneath an orange sky...

06-11-2008, 04:44 PM	#15
Ab девочка Join Date: Jul 2008 Posts: 3,917 Location: Cairo, Egypt Gender: Chat posts: 0 Thanks given: 0 Thanked 1 Time in 1 Post	Quote: Originally Posted by ioshinoia;2613486 yeah... same here... i can't find any of the books here in the Philippines sadly... But i'm trying my cousin from the US to buy them for me... I saw cheap ones on the internet by Gary Spivack. its second hand but it says in good condition. Try looking at eBay. Thanx! __________________ "General inconsideration of humans pisses me off." - Will Champion http://img190.imageshack.us/img190/5...spinmagsig.jpg "Lore" for Mrs Coldplaying 2oo9 \|\| "SueDeNimes" for Friendliest User 2oo9 \|\| "but a dream" for Biggest Jonny Fan 2oo9 \|\| "guyluvsliz" for Biggest Guy Fan 2oo9 \|\| "Twisted mind" for Best Signature 2oo9 \|\| "bear" for Biggest Coldplaying Perv 2oo9 \|\| "Pris" for Mexican & Central American Ambassador 2oo9 \|\| "rudy_o" for Asian Ambassador 2oo9 \|\| "MK" OR "i'maveryneatMonster.'" for Eastern & Southern Europe Ambassador 2oo9 \|\| "Veckatimest" for Best Album 2oo9 & "Ab" for African Ambassador 2oo9