Guy Berryman

Berryman playing the bass during Viva la Vida Tour in September 2008

Berryman was the third member to join the band in 1997.[13] Their college friend Kris Foof described him as "a quiet young man who had been put in 'Paris Block', the less populated block of rooms in Ramsay Hall. The rest of the band had been placed in 'New York Block', but not Guy, he was the outsider that the insiders all knew about, namely from his stockpile of musical instruments in his room".[10] Martin affirmed having a wrong impression of Berryman when they first met: "He's not as scary as he looks [...] Everyone thinks he's moody, soft-spoken is better".[10] Along with Buckland, they recorded a number of demos without having a drummer and, by November of that year, the trio called themselves Big Fat Noises.[13] Champion then completed the performing line-up in 1998.[lower-alpha 2] Berryman later dropped out of his original degree and enrolled in a seven-year architecture program at The Bartlett, which in turn was abandoned to focus on playing bass.[15] He worked as a bartender to pay rent.[10]

During the Coldplay: A Head Full of Dreams (2018) documentary, the bassist mentioned the marketing campaign for X&Y (2005) was a very turbulent period for the band, as they had frequent arguments, particularly between him and Martin: "I was probably much more opinionated back then, which was a huge pain in the ass for everyone, I don't know if I was trying to get away from myself or if I wasn't comfortable with myself, but I definitely had a drinking problem".[16] When the band were asked about their creative process in an interview for The Howard Stern Show, they claimed that while Buckland is usually more optimistic to either disapprove or give his input on Martin's initial ideas, Berryman tends to be more critical, concluding that if he does not like a certain song, "there's no point in ever playing it again".[17] Conversely, he has been responsible for starting tracks such as "Magic" on his own, which was released as the lead single for their sixth album, Ghost Stories, in 2014.[18]

Berryman formed a supergroup called Apparatjik with Magne Furuholmen (from a-ha), Jonas Bjerre (from Mew) and Martin Terefe in 2008.[19] Their debut single, "Ferreting", served as the musical theme of BBC Two's documentary series Amazon and was included in Songs for Survival, an album released in support of Survival International.[19] Two years later, the quartet made We Are Here (2010) available for download through their official website and appeared at the CTM Festival on the same day.[20] In March 2011, they played at Neue Nationalgalerie,[21] took part in the Steirischer Herbst festival,[22] and launched Apparatjik World, an iPad application with songs fans could help them produce.[23] After 10 different versions of the project, a final edition titled Square Peg in a Round Hole (2012) was released as their second album.[24] On 20 March 2020, they published a song named "Julia" on YouTube.[25] However, as Berryman has not performed with the rest of the band since 2011, it remains unknown whether or not he contributed to the track's creative process.[26]

In 2019, he created collectable quarterly magazine The Road Rat along with two friends and car specialists.[27] They celebrate classic automobiles and do not cover on-diary stories, since "each issue is meant to be timeless".[28] Berryman runs the project from his garage, working as its creative director.[29] In the following year, he launched Applied Art Forms, a fashion label inspired by utilitarian, workwear, and military clothing.[30] Interviewed by the British GQ, he noted "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".[31] The bassist added that he aims for longevity and creating styles that "will last and age beautifully".[32] Instead of following the seasonal fashion calendar, Applied Art Forms makes occasional updates and additions.[30] Moreover, they are based in Amsterdam and Berryman stated that he brings a sewing machine with him while touring with Coldplay to design pieces.[33] Still in 2020, he co-founded Bodyhero, a plant-based products start-up.[34] The bassist then donated part of his personal collections to Marrkt in 2022, with proceeds going to Save the Children.[35]

Berryman guested on Magne Furuholmen's debut album, Past Perfect Future Tense (2004), along with Champion.[36] He played bass on the subsequent A Dot of Black in the Blue of Your Bliss (2008) as well.[37] In 2007, he wrote "Guy Romance Theme" and co-wrote "Bass Theme" for the soundtrack of The Longest Night in Shanghai.[38] His most notable hobby throughout the years has been photography, which included taking candid photos of his bandmates with disposable cameras on the Twisted Logic Tour (2005–07) and throwing them to attendees.[39] He then provided pictures for the booklet of a-ha's ninth album, Foot of the Mountain (2009).[40] Accompanied by Rik Simpson, the bassist founded a producing duo called The Darktones and contributed to Love You More (2010) and You&I (2011) by the Pierces.[41] Berryman played instruments like the guitar, glockenspiel, omnichord, keyboards and percussion on the latter record.[42] He also produced James Levy & the Blood Red Rose's Pray to Be Free (2012) and Hudson Hank's DayBreak (2013).[43] During Music of the Spheres World Tour (2022–24), he curated a photo diary for NME and shot pictures for the concert run's official book.[44]