Being famous ain't so great, says Coldplay's Chris

The idea of celebrity is “nonsense” and fame is not all it is cracked up to be, Coldplay’s Chris Martin said today.

The frontman, who is married to Hollywood actress Gwyneth Paltrow, 31, said great books, music and architecture fall by the wayside because people are into celebrities.

Speaking to The Sunday Times Culture magazine as the band prepared to release their album, X&Y, in June, he said: “Fame isn’t the answer it is cracked up to be in our society.

“Great things get ignored because they’re not famous enough – great books, music, architecture.

“Most people don’t talk about that stuff, but they can tell you who’s going out with who.”

Martin, 28, said he tried to focus on his music and one-year-old daughter, Apple.

“I just try to ignore it as much as possible because, you know, Apple needs me to change her nappy: it’s real it’s not a cartoon.”

The star also said that, at one point, he had considered abandoning lyrics detailing raw emotion in favour of something less personal.

“There came a point when we were having all sorts of stuff in our private life that I said to Jonny (Buckland) ‘Do you think I should stop singing about how I feel? Maybe become a bit more ironic or detached? Start singing about Terry the butcher?’ And he said ‘You shouldn’t even think about that.”’