Coldplay’s lyrics for ‘Mylo Xyloto’ were inspired by listening to Bruce Springsteen.

The band’s singer, Chris Martin, wrote many of the tracks on their latest album from a third person perspective, which he admits comes from listening to Bruce and artists such as Tom Waits and Arcade Fire.

He told Spin magazine: “You can sometimes get your own feelings across more strongly if you pretend that you’re singing it from someone else’s angle. But it’s always from me. It’s just a new way of framing it. That’s definitely from listening to so much Springsteen.

“It’s about transforming the darker stuff in life into something more colourful.”

The songs on ‘Mylo Xyloto’ tell the story of a pair of lovers trying to make their way in a difficult and uncaring world, and Chris has told how the concept was inspired by graffiti art – particularly in Berlin, Germany – and the White Rose movement, a group of German university students who resisted the Nazis during world II, and were executed by the regime for making leaflets against it.

Chris added: “I responded twofold to the graffiti, it’s about having your voice heard regardless of what anyone says.

“And that’s what the White Rose movement was about too. It’s also about turning gray, drab, ugly surfaces into pieces of art.”

He also talked about how the concept related to the band, and how he perceives the criticism which has been levelled against them.

He said: “Some people misconstrue our band to be just a commercial venture. They question the soulfulness of Coldplay because we’ve done okay.

“Maybe it’s because I’m English, but in terms of how people perceive us I only pick up on the negative side of it. I always feel like the big bad outside world just f***ing hates us.”

‘Mylo Xyloto’ is out now.