Coldplay rocker Chris Martin was a late bloomer. Gwyneth Paltrow's hubby didn't lose his virginity until he was 22, he admits in an interview with Rolling Stone magazine.

"There were religious issues and s--t like that," he explains. "Also confidence. I had a tricky time with girls."

He confessed that bedding women was part of the motivation behind his career choice.

"I was like, 'I need to be a rock star'," he says.

His relationship with Paltrow was his first serious one - but he's serious about his music as well, telling the magazine, "I f***ing die for it. I just can't believe I've got it."

The singer also says a lot of his drive to excel at what he does comes from the reminder that his wife was once engaged to Hollywood heartthrob Brad Pitt.

"If your wife went out with Brad Pitt you'd want to prove yourself, you know what I mean?" Martin said.