Chris Martin refused to sing songs about “evil or the Devil” when he was a teenager.
The 48-year-old Coldplay frontman grew up with Christian values having attended Exeter Cathedral School, and later boarded at Sherborne School, a former monastery in Dorset, and so when he was asked to sing songs like Sympathy For The Devil by The Rolling Stones, he felt it wasn’t appropriate.
Appearing on the #ABTalks podcast, he said: “There are a couple of songs when I was 15 that I wouldn’t sing.
“I was in a band and they wanted to do some covers and I said, ‘I don’t think I can sing that,’ because they were about evil or the Devil. Now I realise it was just a song.”
Chris family attended Belmont Chapel, a conservative evangelical church, and religious teachings were very much part of his upbringing.
However, later in life, he branded himself an “alltheist”.
Speaking in a 2021 interview with Howard Stern, he explained: “My God, for me, is all things and all. God is everywhere and everyone and it’s also the unknowable, the vast majesty behind everything. And it’s just the point where you get to the place where you can’t think any further—that’s where I think God is.”
Coldplay’s songs have also touched on faith and spirituality, including We Pray, Fix You, Paradise and Viva La Vida.
Elsewhere during the interview, Chris explained why he relates to Homer Simpson from the iconic sitcom The Simpsons.
He said: “I have to say Homer Simpson. I just think he’s one of the most beautifully constructed characters in all of creativity because he’s so human and does stupid things and makes mistakes, but his heart is good.
“He’ll always make the right decision in the end. He’s angry and full of all the emotions, but ultimately he will always do the right thing.”
Chris actually appeared in the 2010 episode Million Dollar Maybe, performing Viva La Vida for Homer and his son Bart Simpson at a private concert.