Coldplay singer Chris Martin was often mentioned over the years as a ‘celebrity supporter’ of Exeter City. His cardboard cut-out image was one of 1,748 such figures used to populate Wembley Stadium for City’s 2020 behind closed doors play-off final against Northampton Town.  

Born in Exeter in 1977, Chris lived in nearby Whitestone and was educated at Exeter Cathedral School before attending Sherborne School and University College London. His grandfather ran a caravan business in Clyst St Mary and was both sheriff and mayor of Exeter. Chris met the other members of Coldplay during his first week at university and, after releasing their first album in 2000, the band went on to become one of the biggest entertainment acts in the world over the next twenty-five or so years. Between 2003 and 2016 he was married to the actress Gwyneth Paltrow.

Whilst the extent of Chris’s interest in Exeter City is unclear, he was often mentioned as one of the club’s 'celebrity fans'. He certainly mentioned the Grecians during his stage act on occasions and, in 2014, presented the club with an engraved commemorative album disc to mark the centenary of the tour of South America which was to be auctioned to raise funds for the staging of The Day We Played Brazil musical.  

Subsequently in 2016 he posted a good luck message in advance of City’s FA Cup game against Liverpool and - four years later - his cardboard cut-out image watched on as the Grecians played Northampton Town in the 2020 play-off final that was played behind closed doors during the Covid-19 pandemic.