CHRIS MARTIN FOR ROLLING STONE: I WAS SWAYED BY BOOBS

In an interview with Rolling Stones' Brian Hiatt, Coldplay's Chris Martin talks about growing up in a religious environment where the prospect of heaven and hell loomed ever large.  "As a kid, you don't know any better.  But then...the cracks begin to appear and you're like, I'm not sure about this hell thing.  And I'm not sure whether it's really wrong to be gay."

Did you ever think you might be gay?
It was more like, "Oh, shit, what if?"  Because I was brought up to think that was really wrong.  But then it struck me: Who gives a shit?  And then it wasn't a problem.  It sounds silly to say it now, but when you're a kid you think, "I'm going to to burn in hell for eternity if I like other guys or if I marry someone Jewish."

I guess something convinced you finally that you were, in fact, straight.
Well, I was swayed by boobs.  Let's face it.  They're fantastic.

Read the entire interview in the new issue of Rolling Stone, on stands June 13, 2008.
Photograph by Nadav Kander