COLDPLAY - COLDPLAY CHRIS INSPIRES .GEEKS.

COLDPLAY frontman CHRIS MARTIN sent the crowd into a frenzy at his band's gig last night(16APR03) - after giving hope to "geeky" school children.

Despite earning fame as a star hitmaker and dating Hollywood stunner GWYNETH PALTROW, Martin remains honest about his own past - openly admitting he was a geek.

He sent the crowd at his sellout London EARLS COURT concert wild when he declared, "This proves geeky kids at school can win through."

Martin said earlier, "I'm just an ordinary guy in an ordinary band who just now are doing all right. You have to know I got into it all for the love of the music - and only ever for the love of the music."

Talking about the media interest in his romance with OSCAR-winning Paltrow, Martin says, "It's really distracting and gets away from what Coldplay are all about, you know. I don't understand the interest - it gets to me quite a bit.

"We're just normal people like everyone else, doing normal things and going about our normal lives. I suppose while this celebrity lasts, there will be this kind of interest. While it lasts - I suppose it won't forever."