Jonathan Mark Buckland (born 11 September 1977) is an English-born Welsh musician and songwriter best known as the lead guitarist and co-founder of the rock band Coldplay. Raised in Pantymwyn, he began to play guitar from an early age, being influenced by acts such as the Stone Roses, My Bloody Valentine and U2. Noted for sparse and delicate arrangements, he uses the slide bar and delay pedal with a stylistic chiming and ringing timbre that led to comparisons with the Edge. Buckland has a degree in astronomy and mathematics at University College London, where he formed Coldplay with Chris Martin, Guy Berryman and Will Champion. The group signed with Parlophone in 1999, finding global fame through the release of Parachutes (2000) and subsequent records. He won seven Grammy Awards and nine Brit Awards as part of Coldplay. The band have sold over 100 million albums worldwide as of 2021, making them the most successful group of the 21st century. Early life Jonathan Mark Buckland was born on 11 September 1977 in Islington, London, England, being the second child of high school teacher John Buckland and his wife Joy. The family moved to Pantymwyn, Flintshire, Wales when he was four years old. He attended Ysgol y Waun primary school, while secondary education was held at Alun School, learning guitar notes and chords in the former and taking A-level music lessons on the latter. His teacher, Margaret Parr, mentioned that Buckland was "always extremely interested" on the subject and had particular strength for composition. He listened to numerous Jimi Hendrix and Eric Clapton records owned by his parents during his childhood, being encouraged to attain further experience on the guitar by his brother Tim, who introduced him to My Bloody Valentine, Sonic Youth, the Stone Roses, George Harrison, U2 and other similar artists. Before that, when Buckland was seven years old, he had piano lessons but did not enjoy them. At 10 years old, he was part of a rap group and experimented with computer music using beats consisting of dog barks. He joined the Scouts when he was 11 years old and mentioned still liking the uniform in 2008. He then added that, one night when his friends were playing on a field, they had an encounter with an angry sheep which ran over and attacked him multiple times. The experience caused him to not wear wool or eat lamb since