5 Things You Might Not Have Known About GUY BERRYMAN of COLDPLAY

It was on April 12, 1978, when Guy Berryman of Coldplay was born in Kirkcaldy, Scotland. Beyond just laying down the groove for Chris Martin and company, Berryman is something of a renaissance man with a variety of intriguing interests that he plays out in grand fashion. In short, he's a pretty cool guy without having to try very hard. Considering the ongoing global success of the band, Berryman has been able to make the most of those interests. Here's a quick look at the man behind Coldplay's low end, Guy Berryman.

1. He's left-handed, but plays bass right-handed.
From many a left-handed musician's point of view, this is quite a stroke of luck for Berryman. Finding left-handed instruments can often be difficult and expensive. For the left-handed Berryman, however, when it comes to rocking out on the bass, he does so in the standard right-handed position.

2. He's a sucker for design
Berryman is passionate about design. Enough that he likes to collect cars, synthesizers, and watches that exemplify top-notch design: "I'm a completist when it comes to collecting, so I have to restrain myself," he told none less than Christie's. "At least with cars you have to have space to keep them all in. But you can get a lot of watches into a drawer." His love for classic watches has found him hunting down the kinds of timepieces that cost well into the thousands of dollars. "When we started making it big, I was in my early twenties, and suddenly had more money than I'd ever had,' he revealed. "So, I spent a couple of thousand pounds on a Rolex Air-King. It was quite a nervous purchase, because it was a lot of money, but also a very significant purchase for me. The mechanism inside a watch is so small and yet so complicated. Watch movements are a real demonstration of human ingenuity. But they're aesthetically very appealing, too."

3. Berryman has his own GQ-approved fashion line, Applied Art Forms
With all of the emphasis on design, it's no surprise that the bass player has launched his own fashion line. Unlike many artist-derived style houses, however, Berryman's comes with an enviable stamp of approval: GQ UK, who praised the debut Applied Art Forms collection in November 2020. "For me form and function are everything and, in designing the core pieces for this collection, I was driven by the need to create clothes that were the consummate expression of great design and perfect fabrics," Berryman told GQ UK. "These are clothes for wearing every day. They won't date and they won't let you down."

4. Berryman's photography can be found in an a-ha album
Berryman is quite the photographer, with some of his shots showing up in the inner sleeve of a-ha's 2009 release, Foot of the Mountain. This is no case of the cool rock star photo credit, either; Berryman's the real deal, sharing some of his favorite shots (spoiler alert: lots of Coldplay candids) and some of his personal philosophies to Ilford Photo: "What I've learned myself which I think is good advice is that in photography, music, or any other creative field for that matter, you must not convince yourself that the equipment you have is key to making good work," he stressed. "It's easy to feel your pictures are not as good as they could be because you don't have the latest camera, lens or newest piece of shiny equipment. Some of the best photography/art will have undoubtedly been created on lesser equipment than yours. Let your ideas and creativity be the focus, not the equipment."

5. Guy Berryman's car collection is a thing of dreams.
While he might have joked that space is the only thing containing his car collection, what he does have is rather impressive. Just last year, he was seen showing off his stunning classic 1960s Porsche collection: "I think there was a design language in the 1950s and 60s that had a very beautiful, sculptural quality to it as a result of things being drawn by hand," he said to Porsche. "Back in the '60s, I think there was a real flamboyance, spirit and energy in automotive design that resulted in these very pure forms."