Coldplay has managed to make every list of celebrated British bands with extraordinary musical craft resulting in an amazing album and an incredible live performance.
Why won’t they? They have more than 100 million copies of songs and albums sold worldwide, solidifying their stance as one of the most successful British bands in history.
The track record of the British band serves as a trailblazer that cannot go unnoticed for generations to come. Even though the band reported that they might stop recording songs by 2025, 9 studio albums containing hundreds of songs are enough for them to continue touring the world for years to come, making it harder to get Coldplay tickets.
That aside from their current tour, the Music of the Spheres world tour which began in 2022 and is scheduled to end by the 16th of November, 2024.
But one thing we all seem to be missing is the fact that Coldplay didn’t magically appear at the top. There are certain individuals, like the band’s managers, who put in the work behind the scenes.
For Coldplay, there are 2 main players in this category. Phil Harvey and Dave Holmes. These two will be the focus of this article as we surf through their contribution to the growth of Coldplay, now one of the most successful British bands of all time.
But before we dive right into it, you should know that there is a marketplace that is focused on providing you with sold-out Coldplay tickets. The primary objective of this marketplace is to ensure you don’t miss any of Coldplay’s shows.
The Beginning – Phil Harvey
Phil Harvey, full name, Philip Christopher Harvey is a 47 years old English creative director and a manager that is best known for his role as Coldplay’s manager.
To an extent, Coldplay owes a great deal of their success to Phil because of the life-changing decisions he had to make back when the band was still taking baby steps.
When Coldplay started running gigs in 1998, Phil was the frontman making sure that the band got chances to play, and also get to their performances on time.
Phil was specifically good at managing the band at such an early stage because before Coldplay came into existence, he was already working night clubs and setting up students’ parties alongside other promotional influences.
He was the go-to man for students of Trinity College. This made him a bit popular among his peers and the popularity came with connections to local promoters making it possible for him to hook Coldplay up with some gigs.
Chris Martin eventually formed the Coldplay Band at University College, London making Harvey the band’s manager. The role made him drop out of school to focus on building the band, and helping them ensure the release of their first EP, “Safety.”
Coldplay’s First Rodeo Act
With Phil as the band’s manager, Coldplay was ready to take on the world. But they were still feeding off of the hands of local show promoters. Some of them started to become hateful towards the upcoming band forcing Chris to voice out his concerns for the future of the band, back in 1998.
Chris Martin’s complaints against one of the local show promoters made Harvey sit up tight. Phil later decided for the band to host a show of their own which marks the band’s first rodeo act and as it is, their first success story under Phil Harvey’s management.
Coldplay’s Baby Steps – Their First Ever Organized Live Performance
After abandoning local show promoters, Coldplay went on to organize their first show under Phil’s management at Dingwalls, a comedy and live music venue located in Camden, London, England.
The event had a total of 400 attendees, which created an avenue for the band to sell 50 copies of their first extended play, “Safety.”
Although small, the earnings motivated the band. Harvey used part of the money to pay back some old depths alongside financing the EP properly.
Phil then took up his duties as the band’s manager more seriously by scheduling more shows for the band, calling A&R professionals, and reading Music Week.
Coldplay’s Breakthrough – The Music Industry
A few days after recording their small success at Dingwalls, with all dues paid, Phil got contacted by Debs Wild. A scout who had connections with BMG Publishing.
The call later became the reason for Coldplay being connected with the Music Industry, leading the band to write “Brothers & Sisters” and then record it through Fierce Panda Records under a short-term deal.
By the time “Brothers & Sisters” was released, Coldplay had already signed a contract with Parlophone, leading them to release their debut album, “Parachutes” in 2000.
The success recorded from “Parachutes” after it topped the UK Albums Charts became too much for Phil to handle alone since he ended up working up to 16 hours a day with calls coming in through 3 different phone lines.
Phil said, “It was only later that I discovered most international bands have huge teams and organizations supporting them, not just one bloke in a shithole office.”
Phil Left – Dave Came
In an event that was described as dramatic, Phil left the band he had been with for more than 5 years because he was exhausted.
The news of his departure came after a successful recording session of the last track on Coldplay’s second studio album, “A Rush of Blood to the Head,” in 2002.
Phil made the announcement himself and described it as a dramatic one because of his relationship with Coldplay’s Chris Martin.
The news was a devastating one seeing that he was moving to a different continent. But his exit paved the way for Dave Holmes who then became the band’s new manager in 2002.
Dave Holmes – New Coldplay Manager
Dave took over from Phil in 2002 and has done a good job since then. Coldplay has dropped up to 7 studio albums in their career under Dave’s management.
It is from these albums that they take out songs to make up the set list of the music of the Spheres world tour, their 8th successful tour as a band.
Dave was extremely excited after getting the opportunity to work with Coldplay. It is reported that he gifted his mother a copy of “Parachutes” while breaking the news of his involvement with the band.
Based on reports, Dave has been responsible for organizing the band’s tour and making available the equipment they’ll need to make each of their live performances a successful one.
Part of his duties as the band’s manager also included making proper deals with music producers for the benefit of the band, alongside taking care of expenses for the tour and other music productions.
The Return of Phil Harvey
Coldplay had no choice but to reinstate Phil Harvey after Dave’s contract expired in 2022. According to reports, the band had considered extending Dave’s contract until they released their 10th and 11th studio albums.
But plans for that stopped halfway after a fallout between Coldplay band members and Dave Holmes hit the net.
This left Phil Harvey with no option but to take over from where Dave had left. But this time, he has two assistants assisting him. Arlene Moon and Mandi Frost.
