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Sep 1996: The four future members of Coldplay meet at University College, London. Chris Martin, who grew up in Devon, is studying Ancient History. Jonny Buckland from Mold, North Wales, has been playing guitar since he was eleven, and is doing a Maths and Astronomy degree. Guy, who was born in Fife, Scotland, but later moved to Kent, has chosen an Engineering course, and Southampton-born Will Champion is reading Anthropology. "We all lived in the same building and we took the name 'Coldplay' from Tim, one of our other flatmates who also had a band. He decided he didn't like the name any more because it was too depressing," says Martin.

May 1998: The group issue their self-financed debut Safety EP, recorded the previous month. Tracks featured are Bigger Stronger, No More Keeping My Feet On The Ground and Such A Rush. Most of the 500 run are snapped up by friends or given to prospective record companies. Phil Harvey becomes their manager. Caroline Ellery of BMG Publishing and Dan Keeling, an A&R man at Parlophone, both obtain copies of the EP and will the following year sign the band to respective publishing and recording contracts.

Dec 1998: Simon Williams, co-founder of Fierce Panda Records, sees Coldplay at the Camden Falcon. He offers the group a one-off deal and mentions them to the NME in his tips for the following year.

Apr 1999: Coldplay release the single Brothers & Sisters, backed with Easy To Please and Only Superstition. 2,500 copies are manufactured. NME claims the song "has a clear eye and an honest face. The youth-group outreach projects await." Steve Lamacq features the lead track heavily on his Radio 1 Evening Session. The EP reaches #92 in the national charts. The band sign to the EMI label Parlophone.

Jun 1999: All four members take their finals and pass with flying colours. Coldplay appear on the New Bands stage at Glastonbury. Sessions with Beta Band producer Chris Allison only yield three tracks: Don't Panic, See You Soon and High Speed. A&R man Keeling worries.

Nov 1999: Bigger Stronger and Such A Rush are added to the Allison tracks to make up the Blue Room EP. The limited edition release extends to 5,000 copies. The NME's review is ecstatic. "The ideal debut. Very Nick Drake. Very English," the paper says. "And reminiscent in quality and comforting familiarity of nothing so much as a very nice biscuit on top of a chest of drawers." Radio 1's Jo Whiley begins to champion the group, who co-headline a nationwide tour with Bellatrix.

Jan 2000: Coldplay join Shack, Campag Velocet and Les Rythmes Digitales on the NME Carling Premier Tour.

Mar 2000: Shiver, recorded in Wales and at Liverpool's Parr Street studios, is released. B-sides are For You and Careful Where You Stand. The NME moans about "young men, big music, all rather less than the sum of its parts". Nevertheless, it becomes Coldplay's first Top 40 hit as they tour the UK with Terris. Martin claims he wrote Shiver "about a girl who is not interested. At first, it was actually about the general situation you're in when you can't get anyone to fancy you. And then, after it was written, it became about a particular girl. Unrequited love, that old story. Did she ever know? I'm sure she did. And then it stopped being about her."

May 2000: Coldplay make their television debut on Later... With Jools Holland, performing Shiver and Yellow.

May 2000: Steve Lamacq is the first DJ to play Yellow on Radio 1 as the band complete recording sessions for their album, produced by Ken Nelson (Gomez, Badly Drawn Boy).

Jun 2000: Sandwiched between headliners Muse and fellow University College London alumni My Vitriol, Coldplay steal the show at the London Astoria.

Jun 2000: The band begin their first headline tour at Leeds Cockpit. The tour takes in a triumphant London gig at The Scala, and ends at Club Ifor Bach in Cardiff on June 22.

Jun 2000: Pierre Perrone of The Independent interviews Coldplay and predicts a million sales for their first album. They don't believe him. Martin confesses to being in one of his "down, doubtful moods. Today, I think we're shit, I don't like the album. For our own sanity, the only people we believe about music is ourselves. People who hate us are less likely to come and talk to us."

Jun 2000: The single Yellow finally comes out just after their winning performance at Glastonbury. NME is grudgingly impressed. "Coldplay are the Sunday School kids brought in to provide a little heart-warming interdenominational harmony. It's amazing how they get away with this. There's something undeniably enchanting about them. Whatever moves Yellow beyond the realm of drippy Thom Buckley pastiche, it's a true gift." On a tidal wave of airplay, Yellow enters the charts at #4. B-sides are Help Is Round The Corner and No More Keeping My Feet On The Ground from the Safety EP. According to Martin, "Yellow is a Welsh song. It was all written in Wales and Liverpool, where we were recording. It was really inspired by the scenery. It was just a beautiful day, a beautiful night. It sounds naff, but it was very simple and completely heartfelt."

Jul 2000: Coldplay mark the release of their debut album Parachutes with an evening performance at the HMV store in Oxford Street. The queue of wristband-wearers stretches around the block, proof of how dedicated their growing following is. Chris: "We know a girl who has been to about six gigs. That's what you wanna do when you're in a band, you want to inspire that kind of loyalty. You want to be so good that people are into you." NME makes Parachutes its lead review, gives the album 9/10, and argues that, unlike Oasis, "Coldplay will never let you down." Listening to the album is "like reading one long, intimate love letter. For a man in his early 20s, the mind boggles over the tragic air of his love life. It's the force of feeling which counts. All told, it's incredible this is a debut album." Parachutes goes in at #1 and goes on to sell over 300,000 copies in the UK. Chris reveals, "The album could have been called Don't Panic, but that would have been a bit over-the-top. I like the idea of Parachutes. They're very optimistic things, you put your trust in them. They make you safe. The general mood we were trying to get across is of things being quite bleak but actually being absolutely fine."

Jul 2000: Parachutes is nominated for the Mercury Music Prize. William Hill instantly make Coldplay 3-1 favourites.

Jul 2000: Following many unplugged radio performances of Yellow and Shiver, the group play their first full acoustic gig at Ronnie Scott's in Birmingham.

Aug 2000: Coldplay tape an afternoon set at the Monarch in Camden for the first instalment of The Barfly Sessions, which airs on Channel 4 on August 23. It's a sort of homecoming for the band who have made their reputation there. They hardly seem affected by Alan McGee's assertion that they are "boring bed-wetters who cared more about passing their exams". Jonny Buckland has the perfect reply: "We are trying to be who we are. We can't help but be nice. Pretending to be a bit mad and rock'n'roll would be just sad," he comments.

Sep 2000: Badly Drawn Boy wins the Mercury Music Prize and pays tribute to favourites Coldplay's sportsmanship and support in his acceptance speech. Coldplay perform 'Yellow' as a three-piece at the ceremony, Jonny being ill. "I think we've got a long way to go," muses Chris. "The day we believe we're as good as some people say is the day we'll stop. And we'd all like to end on a peak

Oct 2000: Coldplay begin their biggest UK tour to date.