One of the biggest bands to emerge from the UK this decade, Coldplay's rise to international success began when the four members - Chris Martin, Jonny Buckland, Will Champion, and Guy Berryman - met while attending the University College of London. Drawing on influences as wide and varied as U2, Kraftwerk, Oasis, Roxy Music and Neil Young, Coldplay played their first show in early 1998 under then name Starfish. Changing their name to Coldplay, the group released two EPs - The Safety EP in mid-1998 and the Brothers and Sisters EP in 1999 - on a limited run of 500 copies each. By mid-1999, the group had landed a deal with Parlaphone and released The Blue Room EP. Their first release in 2000 was the heart-wrenching 'Shiver', but it was the second release that year that made people take notice of Coldplay. 'Yellow' was the band's international breakthrough. Its catchy melody and endearing lyrics turned the world onto their sound and was soon followed with the debut album Parachutes. After 18 months of touring, awards, nominations and acclaim, Coldplay bunkered down to work on their second album. Emerging in August 2003, A Rush of Blood to the Head was the collection that propelled Coldplay into the upper echelons of international music. The second single from that album, 'Clocks', earned the band their biggest hit to date as well as the prestigious Record of the Year Grammy in 2003. Following a massive world tour, and the release of a live album and DVD recorded at Sydney's Hordern Pavilion, the band again bunkered down to work on new material. After more than a year's work, Coldplay returned with X & Y, an album that remained true to Coldplay's melodic pop roots but also moved the band in a more electronic direction. X & Y went to number one in more than 30 countries and has since sold over 7 million copies, making Coldplay one of the biggest bands in the world today.