Chris Martin says Coldplay have ditched more than 40 songs as they start work on their new album.

Martin says the band are already writing and recording material for the follow-up to A Rush Of Blood To The Head.

But he said their biggest achievement on the project so far has been scrapping songs that were not up to scratch.

Martin told NME.com: “So far all we’ve achieved is managing to scrap 42 songs. I regard that as constructive destruction.

“But numbers are insignificant. You could say: “I’ve written 12 songs” and they’re all rubbish, or you could say you’ve written one song and it could be Bohemian Rhapsody.”

Martin said that a typical day in the studio at this early stage was “hectic and emotional”, and that Coldplay were still struggling with what they consider quality.

“It strikes me the more fame and success you get, the more you realise that the only thing that’s really worth anything is the thing that made you want to get famous and successful in the first place.

“And that is writing tunes. The answer is putting down your favourite new song or being with the people you love the most. It’s not about the bling bling aspect. We’ve got some tunes man, let me tell you that!”

Coldplay’s new album is not due before the end of 2004 but is already being billed as one of the most hotly anticipated British releases in years.

ananova.com