It's all in the eyes of course. From Liam's schizo-stare to Robbie's gimme-gaze, amazing lead singers have always carried the source of their drama in their peepholes. So, it's no surprise to find that Coldplay singer Chris Martin sporting a pair of swollen, stretched sockets, each containing a huge, milky jewel which screams triumph and panic. But then so would you if, possessed with Chris' humility, you found yourself preparing for a huge V2000 performance in front of blinding adoration.

The band meet us just before jetting off to Japan for a batch of pre-V2000 gigs. The singer, now with an even shorter crop, nods as we recount the success story - stars of Glastonbury and T In The Park, the hit single "Yellow" and Number One album "Parachutes" - which will see them crowned kings of indie this weekend. But he's in a fidgety place right now, unsure of how to prepare for V2000 where, post-Number One, Coldplay will caress thousands more with their youthful melancholia. 

"No, in a nutshell, it's not easy to deal with," he mutters. "Because I keep feeling that we've cheated or that we're gonna be slated. I know we're not, because we're good and I really believe in us - we all really believe in us. It's just kind of scary, really. What's changed the most? Our states of mind. It's a very confusing time. I haven't been happy for ages. I think my hair's falling out! I've been getting paranoid a lot. We're only young and we haven't really done much."

Not done very much! You've put guitar tunes and wistful indie mood music back at Number One. Oh, and you're favourite to walk home with the Mercury Music Prize. Do you deserve it? "Yes, because we put an awful lot into it and there's only a handful of albums this year that I thought were good and I do think ours is one of them," declares Chris. "It will have a big backlash, but that's to be expected."

Do you think the album's going to carry on selling this well? "I'd be upset if it didn't." What about the T-word? "Er, I love…talking?" No, Travis! "No, it won't be as big as that!" shouts Chris, his eyes straining. "Don't be ridiculous! No way, no way, no way! Absolutely no way!"

Does he protest too much, readers? "Soon we'll be writing about the rain," Chris jokes. "Look, the reason why we get compared to Travis is that I talk between songs and we're not a bunch of bastards all the time. The thing that worries me is that Oasis might split up. I think bands like us and Travis are great. But you need flipping Oasis around. It would be such a shame because they're f***ing rock'n'roll. We are in our own way and we have got a deep-seated aggression, desire - even if it doesn't come across in the same way as Oasis."

What does this mean for V2000, though? Under the weight of expectation and mega sales, will Coldplay be crushed; their ambition spent, just another indie guitar band? Bassist Guy Berryman is more laid-back, amused at his friend's needless concern. "Backlash? For God's sake!" he laughs. "It does happen, but hopefully not. Everyone is happy, everything is fine and dandy in the Coldplay camp."

Okay, let's take your mind off fame, lads. Tell us about your V experiences to date. "I've been there as a spectator," says Guy. "I went to V99. I actually enjoyed it more than Glastonbury, simply because it's much better organised, not quite as chaotic. I enjoyed playing Glastonbury, but I found it very hard to walk around without getting stressed."
"I've never been," admits Chris. "Will (Champion, drums) worked there one year. He was hearing all the demands James Brown was making. So now we can be in that position to make demands, like ironing boards and shit."
"There was this brilliant story of how this message came on the headphones saying, 'James Brown is refusing to go onstage until he has 25 Tommy Hilfiger rucksacks and a silk carpet to stand on," laughs Guy. "I think we will probably have to make a few demands, because we can do that now we're huge. A couple of hot-air balloons, and a big wicker picnic hamper of nice things to eat halfway through our set onstage. And maybe lots of jeans."

Who are you looking forward to seeing at V2000? "We wanted to see The Flaming Lips, but they're playing on the other day, so we won't," grumbles Chris. "I was gutted. Who else? Joe Strummer, Supergrass. Mansun? I don't really know them, but I really like their single. I think we're playing on the same day as Moby, that'll be good."

Suddenly a huge fissure cracks open in Britain's most easy-going group. Fight! Fight! Fight! "Joe Strummer is always interesting to watch. But Moby?" Guy says with incredulity. "I don't really see it myself. I did watch him at Glastonbury and he's brilliant at what he does, but I've never been into that sort of music." That's about as rough as it gets in Coldplay. But why waste time arguing, when your songs have got all the emotional drama you'll need? If you fall out, you lose each other's trust, lose the songwriting, and split up. Then just lose it. Talking of which… "It's really good that Richard Ashcroft's playing, but I'm not really a big fan of solo artists like that," admits Guy. "The Verve around the time of 'A Northern Soul' were one of the best bands. I love Supergrass; they're a wicked band, one of my favourites. Travis? Definitely, and I thought that The Bloodhound Gang's single was really quite cool." What about your chart rivals, All Saints? Diplomatically, Guy answers: "There's a need for pop acts and stuff. Kids enjoy it. If it makes them enjoy music, that's a good thing."

OK. The pressure's on, but Coldplay won't be letting anyone down. And you'll be able to tell them how astonishing they were when you find Chris, Jonny (Buckland, lead guitar) and co winding down with a spontaneous game of five-a-side. At T In The Park, an impromptu game against the Embrace boys ended in a respectable draw. "We don't hide in the trailer," Chris smiles. "We play sport. It will be good - we'll make sure of that. If it's a sunny day, you can't go wrong, everyone's happy." Especially the Coldplay crowd, the ever-present collective who follow their polite heroes. "There's always people we meet up with," says Guy. "But there won't be any family there - I'm not sure my parents would like it. I think they'd be pretty horrified. It's hard to be impolite sometimes when we're busy, because it's great and I love meeting new people." But how are you going to top Glasto? "For us, we topped Glastonbury when we did T In The Park. That was just mental. I'll never forget that. It will be interesting to see the reaction at V2000 after the single and the album. I'm looking forward to it."

Composed and confident, it's not as if Coldplay are festival virgins. And they're not virgins. But only just. After Chris revealed in The Maker last month that he was a virgin at the age of 22, a certain Wapping-based newspaper decided that Top Five single + sex-related information = headline news. Did you see the tabloid reports on your deflowering, Chris? "What The Sun? Dominic Mohan's page about my love life?" Er, yes. Embarrassed? "Yeah! (Pauses) No, I don't even give a shit; I'll talk about it until the cows come home. It was just funny. Why would anyone be interested? If it had been like 'I was a bondage queen at the age of 17' it would have been more like tabloid news. I'm honestly not bothered. Everyone has got things in their closet. There's far worse things they could have written. I've done things in my life that I would be embarrassed to read about. I feel like these are our songs, bollocks to our image or whether I lost my virginity when I was 22. This is what we're really about."

V2000, then, is going to be something special, probably the final chance to see Coldplay in the sunshine. Because they're playing at about 3pm - and even then they seem to have crept up the bill. "Well we weren't particularly keen on that," says Chris. "But we haven't been moved up," insists Guy. "We're actually just playing later in the day - there was a gap to fill because someone pulled out." What about playing some new songs this weekend? Chris fires back: "No chance!" Are you worried about writing new material, then? "Yeah, I'm always worried about whether we're gonna have the new songs. We've got one which is the best song ever written. Apart from that… No, we've got one that's all right. We'll play it when we go on tour in October." What's it called? "I'm not telling you yet because it might be shit. This could be the last album we ever do. Recently I've been sitting playing our songs thinking, 'How are we going to write new songs?' I expect everyone goes through that." Hey don't panic. "Hahahaha! That's good advice!"
"Obviously we are going to do a big production for our tour in October with lots of stuff to make it a bit of a spectacle as well, maybe get some projections going," adds Guy. "The new songs? They are not a massive departure, but we are moving on. It's a natural progression."

Same as V2000; a natural progression from huge to massive. But it's all the same to them. Chris: "If someone says to us we have to play somewhere, we're always mad for it! V2000 will be brilliant - we'll give it everything we've got. We always give everything we've got, even at three in the afternoon. Commitment ain't a problem when it comes to music."

As Chris departs to prepare for his biggest weekend ever, those eyes display a hunger. And - maybe I imagined it - but I'm sure he just winked at me.