Chris Martin (born March 2, 1977) is the lead singer, rhythm guitarist and pianist of the band Coldplay. Having a tenor voice, he is known for his frequent use of falsetto. He was born in Devon, England. He attended Sherborne public school, followed by University College London (UCL), where he gained a first in Ancient World Studies. His mother was a teacher and his father was an accountant. He married actress Gwyneth Paltrow on December 5, 2003. Their daughter, Apple Blythe Alison Martin, was born on May 14, 2004. The couple's second child, Moses Bruce Anthony Martin, was born in New York City on April 9, 2006.
As a solo artist, Martin has written songs for a variety of acts including Embrace ("Gravity") and Jamelia ("See it in a Boy's Eyes"). Martin has also collaborated with Ron Sexsmith, Faultline, The Streets, and Ian McCulloch. He also sang a part of the vocals for the Band Aid 20 single, "Do They Know It's Christmas?" at the end of 2004. In 2005, Martin collaborated with Nelly Furtado on the track "All Good Things", from her upcoming album, Loose. The two were once rumoured to be a couple, after they both performed at Glastonbury in 2001. Furtado joked about the situation, saying that "Yeah, he's my boyfriend - he just doesn't know it yet". Martin is also expected to work on a solo collaboration with Kanye West, with whom he shared an impromptu jam session during a 2006 concert at Abbey Road Studios.
Martin and Coldplay guitarist Jon Buckland made cameo appearances in the film Shaun of the Dead as supporters of the fictional charity ZombAid.
Martin has been particularly outspoken on issues of fair trade. He has done a great deal of campaigning for the charity Oxfam's Make Trade Fair campaign. He personally travelled to Ghana and Haiti to study the effects of unfair trade practices. When performing, he usually has variations of "Make Trade Fair" or an equal sign written on his left hand.
Martin has been somewhat active in politics. He was a vocal critic of President George W. Bush and the war in Iraq. Martin was a strong supporter of Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry, most notably during his acceptance speech for the 2004 Grammy Awards Record of the Year, accepting for "Clocks".
On April 1, 2006, The Guardian reported the unlikely news that Martin was backing the British Conservative Party leader David Cameron and had written a new theme song for the party entitled "Talk to David". This was later revealed to be an April Fool's joke.
Martin was voted as one of PETA's two 2005 "World's Sexiest Vegetarians".
