Some acts take years to develop; others arrive more fully formed. Coldplay have had a foot in both camps: evolving their sound with each album, but ready to take on the world from the very start.

“Parachutes was such a great debut,” says their international agent Steve Strange, of X-ray Touring. “There were some amazing songs on that album - you couldn’t fault it. They had great songs and they were great people.

“Even back then, Chris [Martin] had a ...