British group Coldplay must have realised they had reached the top of the musical tree when people started to describe them as one of the biggest bands on the planet. Quite an achievement for four students who met in their first week of college in the mid 1990’s. But while other bands might have gone on a global bender with the rewards of that kind of fame, Coldplay seem to have become more thoughtful as their success has grown. Their lead singer, Chris Martin, supports anti-poverty campaigns and charities working with some of the world’s poorest people. And just a quick look at the lyrics of their third album, X & Y, shows they have deep questions to ask. Chris Martin says on the band’s website: “In mathematics, X and Y are always the answers, but in life no one knows. "To me the album is about those unanswerable questions, and what you should do about the fact that you can’t explain all the unknown variables.” Even if Coldplay have more questions than answers it is obvious that they are a band with a message. Al Rogers, aged 30, from Loughborough, works for the parish of Emmanuel Loughborough and St Mary in Charnwood Nanpantan. | 
