Will Champion
Will Champion |
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William "Will" Champion (born 31 July 1978) is a multi-instrumentalist and the drummer of English rock band Coldplay.
Early life
Will was born in Southampton, Hampshire, England, and was brought up in a small urban area called Chandlers Ford, just outside Southampton, where his father, Timothy Champion, is a professor of archaeology. As a youth, his musical influences included Tom Waits and traditional Irish folk music. He grew up playing guitar, but also had experience on the piano, bass, and tin whistle. Before Will joined Coldplay, he performed in a band called Fat Hamster. He went to college at Peter Symonds College.
Coldplay
Champion was the last of the four band members to join the ensemble on 31st July 1997 (Also his Birthday). He took up the position as drummer with no prior experience, but quickly adjusted to fill the role.[1]
In 1999, Singer Chris Martin sacked Champion but the band asked him to return soon after.[2]
During the Viva la Vida Tour Champion sang and performed an acoustic version of the song "Death Will Never Conquer". A version of the song was included on Coldplay's live album LeftRightLeftRightLeft. He has also done lead vocals on a live version of "Til Kingdom Come" and their B-side "The Goldrush".
Other projects
In Autumn 2004, Champion and Coldplay bassist Guy Berryman guested on a-ha keyboardist Magne Furuholmen's first solo album, Past Perfect Future Tense.
Personal life
Champion was the first Coldplay member to marry: He married Marianne Dark, a teacher, in 2003. Their first child, a girl named Ava, was born on 28 April 2006. On 7 May 2008, Marianne gave birth to fraternal twins Juno and Rex.[3]
Equipment
Champion currently uses a Yamaha drum kit[4] with Zildjian cymbals.[5]
References
- ^ Ali, Mehreen F. "All That Is Cold play". Dawn. Retrieved 2005-11-26.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/showbiz/a177327/martin-i-punish-myself-with-vodka.html
- ^ McLean, Craig (2008-06-01). "'We're about to be fed to the lions'". The Guardian. guardian.co.uk. Retrieved 2009-03-18.
Will Champion (father of a two-year-old and three-week-old twins).
{{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ Yamaha Drum Artists, retrieved 2009-07-22
- ^ Zildjian.com - en-US, retrieved 2009-07-22
Notes
- Roach, Martin (2003). Coldplay: Nobody Said It Was Easy. Omnibus Press. ISBN 0-7119-9810-8.
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