Christopher Anthony John Martin was born on 2 March 1977 in Exeter, Devon, England, and is the oldest of five children. His father, Anthony Martin, is a retired accountant, and his mother, Alison Martin, is a music teacher. His family's business was Martins of Exeter until sold by his father in 1999. William Willett, the man who campaigned for and made daylight saving time a recognised practice, was Martin's great-great-grandfather.

Martin was educated at the pre-preparatory Hylton School and the preparatory Exeter Cathedral School where he found his passion for music. After Exeter Cathedral School, Martin boarded at Sherborne School in Dorset, where he met future Coldplay manager Phil Harvey.

Martin continued his studies at University College London (UCL), staying at Ramsay Hall, where he read Ancient World Studies and graduated with first-class honours in Greek and Latin. At UCL, Martin met his future Coldplay bandmates Jonny Buckland, Guy Berryman and Will Champion.

Coldplay

While studying at University College London, Martin met Jonny Buckland with whom he decided to form a band—Martin as lead singer and Buckland as lead guitarist. They were joined by Guy Berryman as their bass player and Will Champion, as their drummer. In 1996, they formed the rock band Coldplay, originally known as Pectoralz, later changed to Starfish temporarily until finally they were offered the name Coldplay by another band who did not want the name anymore.

Since the release of their debut album Parachutes in 2000, the band has had internationally recognised fame and success. Their song Yellow from Parachutes instantly entered the charts at Number 4, the hit carried Coldplay to their aforementioned fame. To date, they have released seven studio albums in total including Parachutes, A Rush of Blood to the Head, X&Y, Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends, Mylo Xyloto, Ghost Stories, and A Head Full of Dreams. They also released several EP's at the beginning of their creation including Safety and The Blue Room.

Solo work

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", co-written with Coldplay producer Rik Simpson). 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 (Come to an End)", for her 2006 album, Loose. The two were once rumoured to be a couple, after they both performed at Glastonbury in 2002. Nelly Furtado joked about it, saying, "Yeah, he's my boyfriend—he just doesn't know it yet".

Martin's fascination with hip hop was shown in mid-2006 when he collaborated with rapper Jay-Z for the rapper's comeback album Kingdom Come after the two met earlier in the year. Martin put some chords together for a song known as "Beach Chair" and sent them to Jay-Z who enlisted the help of hip-hop producer Dr. Dre to mix it. Coldplay producer Rik Simpson conceived and performed the drum beats. The song was performed on 27 September 2006 by the two during Jay-Z's European tour at Royal Albert Hall. Martin has also worked on