Coldplay are just four friends trying to make great music.

At the end of the day, we're just trying to prevent each other from going mad.

A lot of the time there is a lot of melancholy in the lyrics.

The first time we all played as a band, I think it was in January 1998, in Jonny's bedroom.

I think hopefully we've got enough brain cells left to decide if our music is really worth something.

Two weeks later, we played our first concert and had 100 people there. It was pretty cool.

We're also passionate about music and very critical about the music that we listen to.

When you write something it has to hit the level that you accept as being good.

Optimism is the key.