Chris Martin (Photo: Live4ever)
Coldplay frontman Chris Martin has revealed he wishes he had written The Verve‘s 1997 classic ‘Bittersweet Symphony‘.
Martin has made no secret of his admiration for the Wigan band over the years and now, as part of Q Magazine‘s 25th anniversary celebrations, the singer has told the publication it is the one song he would like to have been in his own canon.
“‘Bitter Sweet Symphony’ no contest,” he said when asked which song from the last 25 years he wishes he had written. “I was in a bar and it was on the TV and I was like, ”What the **** is that?’ It just blew my head off. ‘Where The Streets Have No Name‘ is the other one.”
Like certain other tracks before it, such as New Order‘s ‘Blue Monday‘, ‘Bittersweet Symphony’ became a tale of love over money thanks to the use of strings originally composed as part of the Andrew Oldham Orchestra‘s reworking of The Rolling Stones hit ‘The Last Time‘.
Despite missing out on any profits after a legal challenge, the single did help to push its parent album ‘Urban Hymns‘ to its current status as one of the most commercially successful albums of the 90s.