Chris Martin talks up tight trousers

Chris Martin owes his success to tight trousers.

The Coldplay frontman claims the best advice he was ever given was to change his wardrobe slightly, which he thinks boosted the band's success in the US.

He said: "What's the best piece of advice I've been given? Michael Stipe from R.E.M. once told me to wear tighter trousers. We did and we had a number one in America."

While the singer is happy with his wardrobe on stage, he admits some of the props the group have used haven't always gone down so well.

He added to Q magazine: "We had a Chinese dragon's head on stage last year. I came offstage and said, 'God, that dragon bit was good, wasn't it?' The rest of the band just stayed quiet."

On their last tour, the group – also comprising Johnny Buckland, Will Champion and Guy Berryman – donned military-style outfits and have previously revealed they stitched the garments themselves.

Guitarist Johnny said: "Guy came up with the direction. Then we all got together in our studio to work on the outfits. We had someone who helped us make the jackets and trousers. We made them ourselves. We really wanted this whole album to be homemade again, we wanted to take it back and have it all come from us."