Summing up the iconic career of British alt-rockers,[lastfm link_type="artist_info"] Coldplay[/lastfm], is impossible to do in a few pages, but three facts present themselves as a pattern in Coldplay’s career: rapid-fire success, tons of awards, and non-stop critical acclaim. One thing is for sure: Coldplay’s career has been steadily going up since they started as a group of University kids in 1998.

Want to familiarize yourself with Coldplay’s massive career? Check out our year-by-year career retrospective before you watch their exclusive performance from the legendary stage of New York’s Ed Sullivan Theater for Live on Letterman, presented by AT&T, rethink possible.

The entire concert will stream live on Tuesday, September 20 at 8pm ET/ 5pm PT, and you can watch it right here.

1996-97

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• In 1996, lead vocalist Chris Martin and guitarist Johnny Buckland formed a band called Pectoralz while still at the University College London.
• When bassist John Berryman joined, the band changed their name to Starfish in 1997.