Chris Martin will only go solo if desperate

Chris Martin will make a solo album if he splits from Gwyneth Paltrow.

The Coldplay frontman insists he can't think of "anything worse" or less likely than him quitting the band to go it alone.

Asked if he would release a solo album, he said: "It would probably mean I've been dumped by my wife and I desperately need the money.

"Hell would not only have to freeze over but be skated over and closed up. The Pope would have to declare it didn't even exist. I cannot think of anything worse."

Chris – who has two children, Apple, five, and Moses, three, with his 'Iron Man' actress wife – also warned fans to expect more humour on the group's next LP as he finally feels old enough to be witty.

The 32-year-old musician explained: "We're not as lyrically mature as all that yet. We're still dealing with teenage angst. We're working our way up to witticisms.

"There has to be some spark that takes you by surprise. Some word will just send your mind going. Like falafel. That hasn't happened yet. But then I would probably go to the guitar, and since it's falafel, I would probably start with an F chord, and then I probably would try to link it to the breakdown of a relationship.

"We may put out a record without quite so much fan fare. I think the next one will be quite stripped down and based upon this story idea which I can't talk about because it might be bad."