Coldplay Documentary “Head Full of Dreams”
In all the videos I’ve seen about Chris Martin, the lead singer and creative force behind Coldplay, I always get the sense that he is a very nice chap. Some months ago, I discovered that a documentary about the band’s 20th anniversary in 2018 had been released. Watching it, you get the sense that the other three members are also very nice human beings.
What makes them nice, in my book, is that none of them are particularly confrontational, so arguing about which songs should go on an album is hard for them, and I can relate to this. Watching a documentary about a successful band gives us the wrong impression that somehow the band’s success was preordained because they had superior skills. But as I found out in college, any band that plays on a college campus on a Saturday sounds amazingly good, and becoming a world-famous band involves a considerable degree of luck. When Chris Martin formed the band with the other members, he already had big plans for becoming very successful, and they are clearly among the few bands that can fill stadiums.
Watching the documentary made me realize again the power of unifying people all over the world through their appreciation of the same kind of music. Music unites all of humanity, and Coldplay is a leading force in using music to highlight what we all have in common as a human species.
For me, the most remarkable episode in the documentary is when the record company suggests that the drummer of the band is simply not good enough, so the other three members decide to fire him—only to realize a couple of weeks later that this was completely against the band’s values. They felt terrible about this dismissal and realized that it was destroying their souls, so they reversed course and brought the drummer back. Reflecting on this almost 20 years later, they acknowledged that the drummer became the foundation for the band’s stability. In fact, it seems that the four guys are best friends who provide each other with stability that a female partner might not. It is remarkable that so little is said about the partners of the four Englishmen. Only when Chris Martin is going through a depression because of his divorce is a partner mentioned. We learn nothing about the partners of the other three members.
Another great story in the documentary is about a fifth member who is not a musician but their early business manager, who went to school with Chris Martin. This person is also integral to the band’s long-term success. In fact, they refer to him as the fifth member of the band.
Many of the concerts featured in this documentary are visually stunning. Nowhere do we find out who is behind the visual design of the concert venues or the artwork adorning the band’s records throughout the 20 years.
As I said before, watching documentaries about musicians and bands is so much fun simply because of the fantastic soundtrack. This is definitely true for Coldplay as well. If you are a fan of Coldplay, you’ll want to see this film.