The group’s fifth chart-topper, 'Mylo Xyloto,' has been nominated in the Best British Album category alongside Adele’s multi-million selling '21,' Florence & The Machine’s 'Ceremonials,' Ed Sheeran’s '+' and PJ Harvey’s 'Let England Shake.'

But Martin told BBC Radio 2’s Jo Whiley that the band think the 23-year-old star, who picked up six gongs at Sunday’s Grammy Awards, will emerge victorious:

“Unless Adele somehow deletes her albums, I think we can come to the conclusion (that we won’t win anything). I’m pretty sure of it.”

But he added that he is still looking forward to the show at London's 02 Arena:

“You can be one of those artists that don’t really care about them or you can, like us, love it and we’re always so grateful to be included. It’s kind of Olympics for a band; it’s nice to win a medal.”

Coldplay are also up for Best British Band, while Martin is rumoured to be performing with Noel Gallagher on the night.

Watch Coldplay perform ‘Paradise’ at the 2012 Grammy Awards below:

Speaking on BBC Radio 2, BRITs host James Corden let slip that the pair might be set for a blockbuster collaboration.

However, he mentioned that he wasn't sure if it is true or that he was supposed to mention the potential duet. He said:

"I think - and I don't know if this is true and I'm almost certain that I'm not supposed to tell you - that Chris Martin is going to accompany Noel on the piano."

This year's BRITs, which take place in London on February 21, sees the likes of Ed Sheeran and Adele nominated for a number of gongs - however, Sheeran reckons that the '21' hitmaker will clean up at the awards.

Gallagher was quoted by the Mail on Sunday as saying how "great art" was made under the former Conservative Prime Minister's rule, and that these days, no one has "anything to say".

However, Gallagher soon took to the blog on his official website to clarify his reported comments, stating that he was misrepresented. He said:

"There is a headline that implies that I am of the opinion that the years spent under the rule of... Thatcher, was good for the soul. I've read the story and I must say it's very misleading; any great working class art, fashion, youth culture etc came to be in spite of that woman and her warped right wing views and not because of them."

He finished by saying: "Also for the record, on the day that she dies we will party like it's 1989. Just so you know."

http://soundcloud.com/cannonball_pr/thomas-white-ocean-green

Artist: Thomas White
Album: Yalla!
Released: 19th March 2012
Label: Bleeding Heart Recordings

Taking a break from his various other bands and collaborations (including The Electric Soft Parade, Brakes, British Sea Power and Patrick Wolf) Thomas White will release his third solo album ‘Yalla!’ on 19th March 2012 via Bleeding Heart Recordings.

How often do we really ever ‘get away from it all’? And when we do, how much of that time is spent evoking our home, pining for what we’ve left behind?

In September 2010, Thomas White left these shores for an extended break, spending six weeks in the blazing dry heat of Dahab, Egypt. Quite what brought on a trip of this scope remains a mystery, but a friend had offered a bed and lodgings, and the proposition of a month and a half of pure, unblinking sunshine proved too much to decline. On arrival, however, this wide-eyed wonder quickly turned to abject homesickness. What to do with six weeks in a town with a population of 5,000? Anticipating some ‘free time’ along the way, Thomas had wisely packed with him a travel guitar, a laptop computer, and by means of a microphone, an old Sony Handicam.

Perhaps the Gods were looking down, perhaps the stars were aligned, but several days into the trip the songs started coming, thick and fast. A pattern emerged – wake and bake, record the previous night’s ideas, head for the sea, snorkel, find a suitable bar, note down any thoughts, drink through the evening, collapse, wake up, commit the previous night’s ramblings to tape, take a dip, repeat. Within days another theme was also revealing itself – not some rose-tinted travelogue, but rather a deep yearning for home – any and all memories were called upon to evoke the land left behind. In perhaps a week and a half, the album you hear now was written, recorded and mixed.

Obliquely touching on the untimely death of Thomas and his brother (and The Electric Soft Parade band member) Alex’s mother in 2009, explicitly referencing Brighton people and places, and dealing unflinchingly with issues of sexuality and identity, “YALLA!” (meaning, “Let’s get going,” in Arabic) is perhaps Thomas’s most unrelentingly personal solo effort to date, utilising just vocal, guitar and the sparest of production, yet somehow saying so much more. One might cite Mark Hollis and Billy Mackenzie as similar artists who have shunned a deep, varied palate in favour of arrangements that lay bare both singer and song. If 2008′s ‘I Dream Of Black’ was the bedroom-producer-gone-maximalist, and 2010′s ‘The Maximalist’ was the dark dream in frightening technicolour, then ‘YALLA!’ is the sound of a man turning his back on ten years’ experience and truly forging ahead. Gone is the need to shroud all meaning and nuance in multi-tracking and studio trickery – with ‘YALLA!’, Thomas White has finally caught up with himself.

Thomas has just completed touring Europe with The Electric Soft Parade in support of Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds. He will be performing solo shows in support of ‘YALLA!’ soon – dates to be announced.

Track Listing:

1. All The Fallen Leaves
2. I’ll See Her Again
3. That Heavy Sunshine Sound
4. Ocean Green
5. Dreamt I Dwelt In Marble Halls
6. Lungful Of Air
7. King Of The Kingdom
8. I’ve Seen The Sunrise
9. Diver’s Torch
10. The English Sargasso

http://www.myspace.com/thethomaswhite

The former Oasis man is lined up to collect the award at the bash on February 29, with the prize boasting alumni like Paul Weller and Dave Grohl.

Gallagher, who has been flying high with his solo project over the past year, told NME:

"I would like to thank NME for bestowing upon me such a great accolade. I have dreamt of this moment since I was 43 years old. I accept that I am now a genius, just like God."

NME's editor Krissi Murison meanwhile said:

"For the best part of two decades, the voice of one man has dominated the pages of NME more than any other. That man is Noel Gallagher. Opinionated, intelligent, passionate and always hilarious - Noel walks and talks it better than any other musician out there, and it's just one of the reasons why the British public loves him so dearly."

Beady Eye was formed by Liam Gallagher in 2009 after the split of Oasis, whilst his brother Noel launched Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds in 2010.

Speaking to the Yorkshire Evening Post, Gallagher however dismissed any suggestion that he was revelling in the fact that his album sold better than Beady Eye's first record. He said:

"There's nothing ironic about it; more people bought it. It's great that I've sold nearly half a million records. It's not great that I've sold half a million more than anybody else. Record sales don't make it a better record than anybody else's. You look at some of the best albums of all time and they've sold s***. Some of the biggest albums are appalling. It's great to sell records but I don't have a rivalry with anyone else."

Comparing the siblings' respective solo projects, Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds and Liam's Beady Eye, in a new interview with the Daily Star newspaper, the 'Kickstarts' star said there's a distinct difference in the two acts' sounds:

"When you hear Noel's album, and you heard the Beady Eye stuff, it's plain to see Noel was the talent, the songwriter. Liam is a star and an amazing frontman, but the ideas were all Noel's."

2012 is set to be a big year for Example as it was recently confirmed that he has recorded a collaboration with Ed Sheeran and he also wrote a song for The Wanted, which he expects will help launch their career in the U.S. 

Watch his music video for 'Midnight Run' below:

With less than six weeks to go until The BRIT Awards 2012 with MasterCard take place at The O2 in London, the nominations were announced this evening at a special launch event at The Savoy. It was revealed that 2012 was the year of the solo singer-songwriter, with Ed Sheeran, Jessie J and Adele leading the nominations.

The nominations showcase the incredibly exciting and diverse year that British music has enjoyed, featuring a list of unique, talented artists who are now all in the running for the highly coveted BRITS statue, exclusively designed for 2012 by Sir Peter Blake. The winners will be announced at the The BRIT Awards 2012 with MasterCard, which will be held on Tuesday 21st February at The O2 Arena and will be exclusively broadcast live on ITV1. It can also now be revealed that performances on the night will come from Adele, Bruno Mars, Coldplay, Ed Sheeran, Florence + The Machine and Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds. This year’s winner of the prestigious Outstanding Contribution to Music award, Blur, will give their first UK live performance since 2009 when the original line up reformed to play a number of concerts including one of the Glastonbury festival’s most memorable headline performances.

Topping the list of nominations this year is Yorkshire-born singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran, who appears in four different categories including British Breakthrough Act and the prestigious MasterCard British Album of the Year. This reflects an incredible year for the young artist, who only released his debut album ‘+’ in September. Solo artists Jessie J and Adele both follow with three nominations each, while Florence + The Machine, Emeli Sandé and Coldplay are all nominated in two categories, along with international male solo artists Bon Iver and Aloe Blacc. Coldplay are the only group with more than one nomination. 

Adele, Coldplay, Ed Sheeran, Florence + The Machine and PJ Harvey are all up for the MasterCard British Album of the Year, the biggest award of the evening. Though Ed Sheeran gets the nod for his debut album, Coldplay have won this award three times in the past. Meanwhile, revered solo artist PJ Harvey has been nominated eight times for a BRIT but has yet to win. 

The nominations for British Female Solo Artist see Jessie J, Florence and The Machine and Adele go head to head, all of whom are previous winners of the BRITs Critics’ Choice award, won this year by Emeli Sandé. They will be up against last year’s British Female Solo Artist winner Laura Marling and Kate Bush, who has been nominated in this category an incredible seven times but has not won it since 1987. 

The nominations were officially revealed by Greg James at a special event at The Savoy in London tonight, featuring performances by Ed Sheeran and Emeli Sandé, winner of the Critics’ Choice Award. Voting for British Single also opens today and will be voted for by listeners of Capital FM and users of iTunes along with British Group supported by BBC Radio 2 and British Breakthrough Act with BBC Radio 1. 

The BRITs 2012 nominations can be read in full here.

The musician told the Sunday Mirror that he believes the era of the likes of his former band Oasis and Blur were the "last great assault" on the charts - and bemoaned the apparent homogenisation of pop music today.

He even took a stab at the last Christmas edition of Top of the Pops. He said:

"The days of Oasis and Blur were the last great assault on the charts by alternative music. Christmas Top of the Pops was dreadful. Every song sounded like it came from the same field of music. There was a rap in there somewhere, everyone sang in a transatlantic soul voice and it was rubbish. The Britpop thing was vastly different. We were all great live bands, and that's gone now."