Difficult times have followed the band, including insecurities, gruelling touring schedules and challenging trip to Ghana to renew the band’s long-standing commitment to help make trade fairer for developing countries. However the songs have been influenced for the better, like ‘A Message’, a song that Chris describes almost as a surprise gift. “I didn’t write it as much as it got sent. I woke up in the middle of the night, I ran downstairs and this song arrived, like a late-night visitor.”

The kind of raw, emotional songs that Coldplay do so well are still here; ‘Swallowed In The Sea’, written early in 2004 and a song about coming to terms with the death of people close to you; the simple, moving love song ‘A Message’; and the achingly beautiful ‘What If’, which shows that Chris hasn’t lost the capacity to worry. Elsewhere, ‘Twisted Logic’ shows a darker, angry side to the band. There’s the same emphasis throughout on strong songs, but the way these songs have been treated this time round shows a band that is growing, maturing, and ready to try new things. Apart from the riff to Kraftwerk’s ‘Computer Love’ - which makes a surprise appearance on ‘Talk’ – the band have stressed that it wasn’t really musical ideas they took into the studio, more just moods: a sound, a moment, a feeling.

So ‘X&Y’ is yet another leap forward from ‘Parachutes’ and ‘A Rush of Blood To The Head’. From emotional rollercoasters to rocky and electro-tinged songs, the band believes this album is a raw statement of them being true to themselves; for this, their third album, it took a marathon 18 months’ work before they were ready for the last-minute creative sprint to the finish line. But when you’re passionate about your music, you do whatever it takes. And it was worth waiting for.