The Wedding Album

The Wedding Album
The visuals of The Wedding Album, as seen on the home page of Coldplay's website on 9 October 2009.
Studio album by Coldplay
Released	Unreleased; intended for December 2009/2010
Recorded	2008-June 2010
Studio	The Bakery (London, England)
Genre	Alternative rock Acoustic rock
Label
Producer(s)	Brian Eno
Coldplay record chronology
← Previous	LeftRightLeftRightLeft
Current	The Wedding Album
Next →	Mylo Xyloto
Studio albums chronology
← Previous	Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends
Current	The Wedding Album
Next →	Mylo Xyloto

The Wedding Album is an unreleased studio album by British rock band Coldplay, originally planned to be the follow-up to their fourth studio album, Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends (2008). Seen as a diversion from the stadium-rock sound of the previous work, the record would consist of an acoustic and stripped-down approach for the group's catalogue; intimate live performances in smaller venues were also intended following the album's release. Lead singer Chris Martin confirmed the album's making before the release of Viva la Vida and stated it was initially scheduled for release in December 2009, being postponed later to December 2010. However, the album was eventually scrapped due to creative conflicts in the middle of the recording sessions, which led to the creation of their official fifth studio album, Mylo Xyloto (2011), based on its original concept story.

The concept for the record was later repurposed for Coldplay's eighth studio album, Everyday Life (2019), which conceives of an acoustic, organic, and experimental alternative rock direction.

Background

After the release of Coldplay's fourth studio album Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends on 12 June 2008, rumours that an eventual fifth installment was in the making started circulating. In an interview with Q Radio on 2 June 2008, Chris Martin exclusively revealed that the band would include their song "Lhuna" — a collaboration with Australian singer Kylie Minogue that did not make the final cut for Viva la Vida — on a ten-track record that would come out by the end of 2009.

In August 2008, a source at the former record label EMI told British tabloid newspaper The Sun that the recording sessions for Viva la Vida with producer Brian Eno were reportedly “incredibly fruitful. [Coldplay] gelled brilliantly with Brian and recorded much more music than they could fit on one album.” It was also reported that most of the songs on the album were already finished, although the band would have to return to the studio at some point to record additional songs for the project. The insider went on to speculate that the band would rush to release the new “surprise album” as a way to free themselves from their record label obligations and effectively become free agents, much like former EMI artists such as Radiohead, Paul McCartney, and The Rolling Stones did when EMI was acquired by UK-based private equity firm Terra Firma Capital Partners in 2007, in which many of its signed artists at the time opposed the deal. The source added, “Standard industry contracts tend to be for six albums, so if [Coldplay] provide some kind of compilation after their next album they will be free agents and able to renegotiate their contract or head out on their own.” A spokesperson for EMI, however, denied the reports, declaring, “Coldplay are signed to a long term record deal with EMI and are committed to produce a number of albums. The band's relationship with EMI is both long-term and positive.”

Speaking on BBC Radio 6 Music on 30 August 2008 with host Steve Lamacq and Michael Stipe from American rock band R.E.M., Chris and Will Champion discussed details of the group's impending releases. When asked by Stipe whether the media rumours were true, Chris revealed that the band would release their Viva-related EP Prospekt's March, originally around Christmas of 2008, and then a new album in December 2009 “to end the decade”. After quietly whispering the record's title, as they were not supposed to announce it yet, Chris implied Coldplay would disappear from the public eye after its release. Contradicting the rumours after Stipe asked if the material had already been recorded, Chris explained, “No, we've recorded the EP, but we've got to get down to the other thing.”

On 9 December 2008, bassist Guy Berryman said that the band would begin work on the new album the following year and claimed that there were “a few ideas being thrown around”, therefore expecting a release within a year or two if the material was considered good.

On 24 May 2009, in an interview with The Philadelphia Inquirer, Chris discussed balancing touring with making new music while on the road. He said the band would not tour for a while after the conclusion of the European leg of the Viva la Vida Tour, as they would “put out a record without quite so much fanfare” instead. Chris also mentioned it would be a “quite stripped-down” record based on the idea of a story, which he did not discuss for fear that it might be bad and underdeveloped at the time.

Interviewed backstage at the Esprit Arena in Düsseldorf, Germany, on 27 August 2009, Chris said the band would have to go in “a very different direction” with the new album, stating the big mistake would be to try to replicate the scope of its predecessor, Viva la Vida. Guy was also excited by the idea of returning to the studio and admitted that they even had lists of songs ideas; he said, “We never stop writing. We go into the studio with all the best laid plans then what we end up with is not what we intended. It's just exciting to wonder what will come out the speakers in a year's time. We have very exciting things lined up. It's time to take our music down different directions and really explore other avenues.”

The graphic design used on Coldplay's website between September to November 2009.

Around late September to early November 2009, the home page of Coldplay's website changed from a Viva la Vida Tour to a new and minimalistic design. This new graphic resembled a wedding invitation and contained ‘Coldplay request the pleasure of your company.’ written on it; the file used for the design was also labeled as ‘wed-hometop.jpg’. The home page was redesigned once again in the middle of November, now featuring a different graphic design and a displayed message by the band saying that they were in the studio at that moment.

In December 2009, the month scheduled for the album's release, no announcements, teasing or statement by the band had been made before or during the current month. However, according to a report from The Sun early that month, Coldplay were collaborating with producer Brian Eno once more on the new album while some live recording sessions took place in a North London church. The report stated the work on the album has been postponed to 2010 as a result of overwork due to touring but claimed the band had "hit a rich vein with their songwriting and feel more creative than ever" as Chris was reportedly concerned that they would be seen as a massive stadium act, but totally inaccessible for their most loyal fans. The article would also reinforce the band's plans to release a "more acoustic" album to keep them as close as possible to their fans, as well as their intention of touring in smaller venues. Coldplay would test the new songs performing them live in the church for their families and closest friends in early 2010.

In an interview for Brazilian weekly television news program Fantástico in February 2010, the group revealed they were planning to release the album by the end of the year on Christmas. Chris stressed the security surrounding the recorded tracks, claiming that leaking from the album would not be an issue. He explained, “There are only two people in the whole building who know how to open all the recording files. Even we don't know how to do it. We couldn't even steal our own music at the moment. So, you would have to be a computer genius and a great burglar to get into the building, and download something, and mix it.” They also debunked rumours that they would leave EMI after the record's release and admitted they were committed to a considerable number of albums with the label.

On 1 September 2010, Chris performed a short set of Coldplay songs as a special guest at an Apple's press conference event and premiered "Wedding Bells" at the piano. Before playing the song, he stated it might not even be released and that the performance “could be the only time it ever appears.” In September of 2009, an acoustic guitar version of the song briefly appeared in a special Coldplay episode for the television series, The South Bank Show. Two weeks after the performance, a source close to the band reportedly claimed that "Wedding Bells" and other tracks for the album were not yet finished — even though they were close to, as the band tend to finish large volumes of songs together. The reason alleged for the delay was that “the last two months have not been as completely productive as first imagined”, although the band remained confident in the situation and did not intend to rush the recording process.

Coldplay wearing tuxedos backstage at Journal Tyne Theatre, Newcastle, on 20 December 2010.

By the end of 2010, the album was not released as expected, although their standalone holiday single "Christmas Lights" was issued on 1 December as a stand-in when it was clear it would not be ready for a release that year. Speaking to BBC Radio 1's Zane Lowe, Chris said they were working hard to finish the songs for the album, adding, “We had a lot of songs and we cut a lot of songs. It's quite brutal - especially if you're the person which brings the songs. Now we're close to what the album might be.”

Ultimately, The Wedding Album was scrapped and not released as their fifth studio album; Mylo Xyloto, their concept and thematic rock opera album, was released, instead, on October 24, 2011. The record went through several changes of style and sound during its conception, for which Jonny Buckland referred to as a distillation of two planned albums by the band: The Wedding Album, an acoustic, stripped-down, intimate and reflective album that started to be recorded first, simultaneously along with an electric one that was already being called Mylo Xyloto by the band at the time. At some point, while working on both albums, Coldplay considered releasing The Wedding Album as an original soundtrack to an animated film; elements of this idea would pave the way for the concept presented on Mylo Xyloto as they later decided to combine them both.

Discussing the decision of combining both records, Will explained that the band realised they could not focus on more than one thing at once, and songs like "Paradise" could not be played in an acoustic style. He added, “[...] We decided to put everything in one basket, and some of those songs from the acoustic thing survived — the song 'Charlie Brown' was originally in that format and 'Us Against the World', and I think putting all our eggs in one basket allowed us to kind of free everything up and allow the songs to dictate where they want to go.” In another interview, Chris also corroborated that "Charlie Brown" was one of the tracks that made the band focus on the electro-rock album. “We have a song called 'Charlie Brown', which was the centrepiece of [The Wedding Album]. We were playing the riff on an accordion and Guy came in one morning and said, 'I'm afraid I have to put my foot down. I don't want to speak out of turn, but I will not allow this song to be played on an accordion - that has to go in with the Mylo bunch.' So then we thought - let's just make one album.” The accordion version of the song is briefly shown on the 2018 documentary Coldplay: A Head Full of Dreams.

In the end, some songs composed for The Wedding Album such as "Us Against the World" and "U.F.O." maintained the stripped-acoustic approach, while others such as "Charlie Brown" and "Paradise" changed into a new form. Worldbeat elements from the predecessor Viva la Vida are present, but the overall production of the record became electronic influenced.

In 2019, Coldplay released their ninth studio album, Everyday Life, which slightly repurposes The Wedding Album's original idea and concept a decade after its initial conceiving; the band also considered titling Everyday Life as The Wedding Album but was eventually renamed. In an interview, Chris explained the record was eventually “abandoned” for they did not have the right songs for it at the time, but added that its seed “was sewn and it's been gradually rolling and rolling since then”, which ultimately culminated in the making of Everyday Life. Some wedding visuals of the album are also replicated on Everyday Life, such as the band wearing tuxedos for public appearances and promotional photoshoots during that era, as well as a drumhead reading “The Wedding Band & Dance Orchestra” in both the album's cover art and Will's drum kits.

Tracks

In the very early stages of its conception, Chris alleged the record would contain ten tracks overall; track 9 would be their then-unreleased collaboration with Kylie Minogue called "Lhuna", and the last track would be "Life in Technicolor II", which ended up being released as the only single and opening track for their extended play, Prospekt's March. Most of the stripped-down tracks featured on Mylo Xyloto was also confirmed to be intended for The Wedding Album, originally, while others that did not make it in the group's proposed style had to be reworked to fit the newly envisioned concept. The unreleased song "Wedding Bells" was also presumed to be included due to its title. Both Chris and band's long-time producer Daniel Green confirmed that the acoustic intro featured on "Arabesque" (from 0:13 to 0:28) is from the original recording sessions of The Wedding Album.

• "Life in Technicolor II" (Confirmed; released on Prospekt's March)
• "Lhuna" (Confirmed; released as a charity single in December 2008)
• "Wedding Bells" (Presumably; unreleased)
• "Christmas Lights" (Confirmed; released as a standalone single in December 2010)
• "Paradise" (Confirmed; reworked for Mylo Xyloto)
• "Charlie Brown" (Confirmed; reworked for Mylo Xyloto)
• "Us Against the World" (Confirmed; released on Mylo Xyloto)
• "U.F.O." (Presumably; released on Mylo Xyloto)
• "Up with the Birds" (Presumably; released on Mylo Xyloto)
• "Arabesque" (Confirmed, acoustic intro snippet; reworked for Everyday Life)