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A collection of early Coldplay recordings are up for auction, including a demo that Chris Martin pitched as a James Bond theme.
The archive, which is going under the hammer via Wax Poetics, contains items from British producer, mixer and engineer Chris Allison – who helmed the band’s 1999 EP, ‘The Blue Room’.
Martin and co. recorded the five-track project shortly after they signed to Parlophone, following on from their self-titled debut EP, ‘Safety’ (1998).
Allison’s collection brings together original audio tapes, alternate mixes and demos from the formative sessions at London’s Orinoco Studios.
“Produced, mixed and recorded by Chris Allison in 1999, these recordings document a crucial moment in the band’s development, shortly after the members had left university and begun recording professionally,” a listing reads.
The recordings are described as Coldplay’s “earliest professional studio sessions”, which laid the groundwork for their seminal debut album, ‘Parachutes’ (2000). An early version of ‘Don’t Panic’ from the group’s first LP appears on ‘The Blue Room’.
Allison’s version of the song ‘High Speed’ from the EP ended up making its way onto ‘Parachutes’.
An “extraordinary, unreleased recording” is up for sale, too. ‘The World Is Not Enough’ was recorded by Martin as a potential theme song to the 1999 James Bond film of the same name.
Garbage ended up recording the theme for the movie. Their take on ‘The World Is Not Enough’ was written by composer David Arnold and lyricist Don Black.
Martin’s “stripped-back acoustic guitar and vocal” demo of his proposed theme is presented on an original Parlophone reference cassette, “capturing the song in a raw demo form before any studio production”.
The track “offers a fascinating glimpse into an alternative direction” for the 007 film, starring Pierce Brosnan as Bond. It is said that the recording has never been commercially released or made public before.
The wider archive includes multiple mix DATs labelled ‘Coldplay Mixes #1’, ‘Mixes #2’ and ‘Mixes #3’, alongside a reference CD-R of final master mixes and a CD-R of the final mastered versions. These boast early versions of tracks such as ‘Spies’, ‘High Speed’, ‘See You Soon’, ‘We Never Change’, ‘Don’t Panic’, ‘Shiver’ and ‘Bigger Stronger’.
It is noted that some of the songs “differ from the final commercially released versions”, giving the buyer “a rare opportunity to examine the band’s creative and production process during one of the most important periods in their history.
“These working masters capture songs as they evolved in the studio, before final sequencing, mastering and release,” the site adds.
There is also a promotional package of ‘The Blue Room’ up for auction, as well as an early demo archive, a pre-studio demo cassette, and a live recording cassette. Find More information here.
A portion of Allison’s proceeds from this collection will be donated to Restore The Music, a social impact charity that addresses systemic inequality in music education by providing capital grants to state schools in areas of high socio-economic deprivation.
Speaking to NME in 2021, Martin revealed that Coldplay had created “Bond themes for about five movies, but they’re not very good, to be honest”.
“We kept trying to write one for 20 years, but never submitted them,” he explained. “[…] Also I don’t know if we’re spiritually on the same trip as James. As much as I like the films, I don’t know if us singing would do it for him.
“He’d be like, ‘That’s not what I’m into at all, fellas. I like guns and shit. All this hippie stuff just isn’t going to work’.”
Coldplay embarked on a huge 10-night run at London’s Wembley Stadium last year in support of their 01th and latest studio album, 2024’s ‘Moon Music’. Towards the end of the residency, Martin teased a yet-to-be-announced 2027 leg of their ‘Music Of The Spheres’ tour.
“This tour has 138 more shows to go,” he told the crowd. “We have a break coming up, and we’ll announce the shows for 2027 soon.”
During an interview with NME in 2024, Martin doubled down on the plan for the band’s catalogue to end after 12 albums.
“Yes, it is 12 albums for sure, but we’re going to be a bit later than [2025],” he explained. This lines up with the group’s planned return to the road in 2027, and suggests that their next LP could arrive that year, or at ome point in 2026.
Martin told NME that “album number 11” would be “a musical”. However, he said this record “might have to come out after album 12 because of how long musicals take to animate”.
He went on: “Our last single is on this album [‘Moon Music’], and that’s called ‘All My Love’. That’s the last ‘single’ single. We have the musical thing, then an album just called ‘Coldplay’, which is the final one. I think that will be a year late – I know it will be.”
Martin insisted that the 12-album plan was “very real”, but assured fans that this didn’t mean Coldplay “won’t tour or finish some compilation things or outtakes or whatever”.
In other news, Martin has curated the first-ever World Cup Final Halftime Show, with Madonna, Shakira and BTS set to perform.
Haim have offered an early glimpse into their next album, telling NME that New York has been fueling their creativity and that they are “always writing”.
Also read: Este Haim discusses scoring Bella Ramsey film Sunny Dancer and Haim’s fifth album shaped by New York
The Los Angeles group, featuring siblings Danielle, Este and Alana Haim, put out their fourth studio album, ‘I Quit’, during the summer of 2025.
During a recent conversation with NME, Este spoke about creating the soundtrack for the new Bella Ramsey movie Sunny Dancer with Zachary Dawes, known for his work with Lana Del Rey and The Last Shadow Puppets. The bassist was also asked whether Haim had started developing fresh music.
“Haim business is open for business, 24 hours, seven days a week,” the musician responded. “We’re always writing, we’re always thinking about what the next thing is going to sound like.”
Still, Este indicated that the sisters are not rushing into their fifth album and plan to give themselves enough space to discover new ideas. She explained that she “just want[s] to live in it a little bit and experience life”.
“I want to revel in being married for a minute,” Este went on. “I didn’t get married until I was 39, so now I want to enjoy it and stop and smell the roses for a little bit.”
Discussing what has been sparking ideas for Haim and possibly influencing the direction of their upcoming project, Este pointed to the time she has spent in New York and the friendships she has been able to revisit there.
“I’ve really found New York to be very inspiring. Being here and reconnecting with friends that I went to college with and didn’t have the chance to hang out with because I was living in LA has been really great.
“And the energy in New York, I’ve really been thriving in it. You go outside of your door and you’re in the shit; you are in the flow whether you like it or not. I’ve found it really inspiring – just the energy and the sounds of New York, it’s so different for me.”
Asked how those surroundings might eventually translate into Haim’s music, Este kept the details under wraps, saying: “We’ll have to wait and see! I don’t know the answers yet, but I’m having a great time figuring it out!”
Este has also worked with Christopher Stracey on the music for the upcoming Callum Turner film One Night Only. Her previous composing credits include Netflix’s Maid and the Sydney Sweeney romantic comedy Anyone But You.
She takes on the role of Aura in Sunny Dancer as well. Meanwhile, her sister and fellow Haim member Alana Haim has appeared in The Mastermind, The Drama and One Battle After Another within roughly the last year.
Haim marked the arrival of ‘I Quit’ last summer by playing an unannounced performance at Glastonbury Festival. After completing a run of North American dates, the trio embarked on a UK arena tour later that year.
‘I Quit’ earned a place on NME’s ranking of the 50 best albums released in 2025, while ‘Relationships’ was included among the publication’s standout songs of the year. A deluxe version followed in October, adding ‘Tie You Down’, a collaboration with Bon Iver.
Awarding the original release four stars, NME said: “‘I Quit’ is set at a crossroads in the grieving process, when lessons have already been learned, but the pain of memories still linger.
“But this is still a Haim album, and their songs never linger on despair, are never far from the warmth of their sisterhood. They’re no longer the pop group you once knew, but this record is proof that sometimes, you really do need to let go in order to grow.”
