Bono says Coldplay 'are not a rock band': 'There is something much more interesting going on there'

Bono just paid Coldplay the ultimate compliment.

The U2 frontman lauded the British band on an episode of BBC Sounds' eight-part series Music Uncovered: The Genius of Coldplay.

"I should mention Coldplay are not a rock band," Bono said. "I hope that’s obvious. There is something much more interesting going on there, like the Isley Brothers or something."

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The group — featuring Chris Martin, Jonny Buckland, Guy Berryman, and Will Champion — has won seven Grammys and boasts 34 Grammy nominations in the categories of rock, pop, and alternative over more than two decades. But Bono says they shouldn't be limited to those genres.

"They should not be judged by rock rules.… Rage is the river running under most rock formations," Bono continued. "Coldplay's music has a different source, and I think it's best revealed in this song 'Clocks.'"

The song is from Coldplay's 2002 A Rush of Blood to the Head album, which won the Best Alternative Music Album Grammy at the following year's ceremony.

"Clocks" blew him away. Bono remembered "punching the air in a manly but not aggressive way" and then the feeling of, "Oh, this is just better than anyone else’s song at the moment."

"It just sort of sticks to you, tighter than time itself," the "With or Without You" artist said.

Martin & Co. would surely appreciate Bono's words.

In December 2015, as the band released its A Head Full of Dreams album, Martin told The Telegraph that Coldplay felt "like rock music has been done."

"The future of music is in new sounds and new ways of treating vocals. We wanted to add those colours to our palette," he said. "No one would ever put us in a list of the top 10 rock bands. We've maybe rocked out once, for 10 minutes. I don't think anyone would throw up the devil horns to any of our major works."

His bandmate Berryman said, "There’s an awful lot of rock music already out there. I’m not sure there is anything left to add."

Coldplay, who return to their highly lucrative Music of the Spheres tour next month, are expected to finish making new music by next year.

"Well, I know I can tell you our last proper record will come out in 2025, and after that I think we will only tour," Martin said on BBC Radio 2 in December 2021. "Maybe we'll do some collaborative things, but the Coldplay catalog, as it were, finishes then."