All I want for Christmas is a trio of violin-playing Elvis impersonators... Coldplay take time out from recording their new album with a rare one-off single in the form of this seasonal jolly and enlist Mat Whitecross to direct the proceedings.

"Every Coldplay shoot involves a leap of faith" explains Whitecross. "The band are always intuitive and overflowing with great ideas. My job is to try and compress as many of them as humanly possible into a four minute track".??

"Chris and Phil approached me three weeks ago to do a simple low budget video for their Christmas single. Just me, the band and a handycam, walking down Oxford Street at midnight.

"A week later we'd narrowed the location down to their studio, a music hall, a central London rooftop, or possibly even Marble Arch. But finally we found ourselves on the banks of the Thames, building a huge stage, spraying confetti and setting off fireworks in front of a boatful of a hundred fans.??

"The band are the most generous, trusting and loyal friends you could ever hope for. Working with them is like making a family video on a Hollywood budget. It doesn't get any better than this".?

Watch: here Coldplay website