Have you been puzzling over the meaning behind those geometric colour patterns on the cover of new Coldplay album 'X&Y'. Oh, we know you all have. Well, puzzle no longer, for NME.com says that the apparently random blocks of colour are in fact a 19th century telegraphic code, the Baudot Code - or the International Telegraph Code No. 1, a predecessor of Morse Code. The centre pages of the album's inlay shows a full telegraphic alphabet, whilst the cover spells out 'X&Y' and the message at the back of the album's booklet says 'Make Trade Fair'
Incidentally, this week's NME features art experts trying to analyse the patterns, so maybe they'll all feel a bit silly now. But I doubt it.