Join us live on 92.9 from 8am for the Top Ten Coldplay Songs Saturday 25th, or enjoy them in your own time right here.
10. Every Teardrop is a Waterfall (Mylo Xyloto, 2011)
Coldplay released Every Teardrop is a Waterfall as the first single from their fifth album Mylo Xyloto in 2011. It made it to number 14 on the ARIA charts in Australia and just as the album was, it was big, bright and bold for the summer of its release. The song contains elements of 'I Go To Rio' by Australia's Peter Allen and Adrienne Anderson as Coldplay were inspired by a song from a 90s German group who had featured the sample as well. Despite negative comments about plagiarism, Peter and Adrienne are credited.
9. Adventure of a Lifetime (A Head Full of Dreams, 2015)
A Head Full of Dreams is a much more upbeat album than its predecessor Ghost Stories, which was written after Chris Martin and Gwyneth Paltrow's 'conscious uncoupling'. The groovy track Adventure of a Lifetime tells the story of Chris Martin finding love and feeling alive again. While this song only charted at number 20 in Australia it reached number one in the US and across Europe.
8. Fix You (X&Y, 2005)
Fix You reached number 25 on the ARIA charts and was one of Chris Martin's favourite songs from X&Y. Before his father-in-law Bruce Paltrow died, he had bought a keyboard that was never played. Chris plugged it in, turned it on and out came an incredible sound which inspired a lot of music during this time.
Listening to Fix You, you can't deny the emotion it allows you to feel and the hope it inspires by the time you get to the end.
7. Speed of Sound (X&Y, 2005)
A couple of well deserved accolades come with Speed of Sound as it was the first song for Coldplay to crack the Top 10 in the US. The only other group from the UK to do this was The Beatles. Spice Girls are the only female group to achieve this feat.
Also, fun fact: In 2006, this became the billionth song downloaded from iTunes.
6. Something Just Like This ft. The Chainsmokers
Something Just Like This is a collaboration with The Chainsmokers who were already big fans of Chris Martin and Coldplay. Andrew Taggart of The Chainsmokers told NME:
"As a songwriter, he nails that hopeful, melancholy feeling that I grew up on."
Charting at number 1 in nine countries and number 2 in Australia, this was a very popular song as it introduced Coldplay to new fans who followed The Chainsmokers.
5. Clocks (A Rush of Blood to the Head, 2002)
Like many Coldplay songs, this is about love. The lyrics and piano riff were put together right before the release of A Rush of Blood to the Head. It made it to the album and eventually won the Grammy for 2003 Record Of The Year, beating out "Hey Ya" by Outkast and "Crazy In Love" by Beyoncé. It reached number 1 in the US and 28 on the ARIA charts.
4. Yellow (Parachutes, 2000)
This was the second single from Coldplay's debut album Parachutes, but the lead single in the US. The film clip to this song is widely known and uses one continuous shot of Chris Martin walking on a beach in England. Sadly at the time of filming, the drummer, Will Champion's mother died shortly before the shoot. The film crew and extras were already hired, so with the band's blessing, Martin went by himself while the other members attended the funeral. It was raining that day, so instead of using the extras, they had Martin alone on the beach.
3. Paradise (Mylo Xyloto, (2011)
This was the second single from Coldplay's fifth album, Mylo Xyloto. The album was intended to be acoustic, but when Paradise was written, it changed the direction entirely. The song was used in the trailers for the Academy Award winning film, Life of Pi and won best rock video at the 2012 MTV Video Music Awards, beating the Black Keys' "Lonely Boy," Linkin Park's "Burn It Down," Jack White's "Sixteen Saltines" and Imagine Dragons' "It's Time."
2. A Sky Full of Stars (Ghost Stories, 2014)
This is another anthemic tune from Coldplay with this dance-inspired track, A Sky Full of Stars. It was recorded during the sessions for Ghost Stories with Avicii and you can clearly hear his imprint on the song. Similarly Chris spent a lot of time listening to Katy Perry during the recording of this album that he found himself tapping into her sing-a-long style melodies over repetitive chord patterns.
1. Viva la Vida (Viva la Vida or Death and all His Friends, 2008)
This song made Coldplay the first British group to hit #1 on the Hot 100 for over ten years. The previous British group to top the US singles chart was the Spice Girls with "Wannabe" in February 1997. The title of the song and album is inspired by a painting Mexican artist Frida Kahlo, where Chris Martin describes his love for her boldness and endurance through a very hard life.
Believe it or not, this song beat Metallica for Best Rock Album in 2009.