By the time Coldplay released X&Y, they were on their way to becoming the biggest rock band on the planet.
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However, new cracks appeared. X&Y sounded like the crushing weight of the band’s success—too safe, too self-aware, and too Coldplay. But one tearjerker of a song, “Fix You,” saved the band. They survived themselves and found new life in subsequent albums, Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends and Mylo Xyloto.
Frontman and chief songwriter Chris Martin has admitted to his lyrics’ shortcomings; though he lacks Bruce Springsteen’s poetry, he is capable of the Boss’ communal reach.
“Fix You” sits alongside “The Scientist” in Coldplay’s catalog. Though the latter’s charm lives in its naivety, the former’s high-gloss production doesn’t stop the emotional rescue that has turned stadiums into secular churches—like Springsteen and U2 before them.
Trouble
Martin explained to Howard Stern that “Fix You” is about fixing his band. They were going through a difficult period with addiction and inner group turmoil. Their manager, Phil Harvey, had taken a hiatus due to health issues, and Martin explained to Stern that the band felt “f–ked.”
And high up above or down below
When you’re too in love to let it go
But if you never try, you’ll never know
Just what you’re worth
Following the colossal success of their first two albums—20 million in combined sales—the press turned on them. The critical vitriol arrived good and hard, aimed directly at Martin.
The most famous example is Jon Pareles’ case against Coldplay in The New York Times. Addressing Martin’s songwriting, Pareles said, “And the lyrics can make me wish I didn’t understand English.”
Surviving the Storm
With X&Y’s arrival in 2005, critics argued the band had already reached the parody phase of its career. But Coldplay survived the incoming fire, and “Fix You” was a bulwark against the backlash.
Lights will guide you home
And ignite your bones
And I will try to fix you
Martin conceded X&Y isn’t the band’s best work, but he’s proud of “Fix You,” which, in many ways, defines the group as much as “Yellow.” The song endures similarly to U2’s “Without or Without You.”
Tears stream down your face
When you lose something you cannot replace
Coldplay’s churchy organs and arena hymns echo U2, and Jonny Buckland’s chiming, ethereal guitars certainly evolved from The Edge’s delay box. However, U2 also faced severe backlash following Rattle and Hum in 1988.
But that album closes with the splendid “All I Want Is You,” and the Irish group followed Rattle and Hum with Achtung Baby. Moreover, Coldplay employed U2’s co-architect Brian Eno to regain their footing on Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends.
It’s About More than Fixing the Band
Martin’s ex-wife Gwyneth Paltrow told Howard Stern that “Fix You” was Martin’s attempt to “put me back together after my dad died.” (The actress’ father, TV producer Bruce Paltrow, died in 2002).
Paltrow told SiriusXM “Everything’s Not Lost,” the closing track on Coldplay’s debut album Parachutes, helped the actress and her brother heal after their father’s death.
She and Martin met in 2002 and married in 2003. But by 2014, they announced their split as a “conscious uncoupling.” Yes, the lingo is ridiculous, but so is the public’s fascination with the private lives of people they’ve never met.
Coldplay followed with their breakup album, Ghost Stories, where Martin works through his anguish across 40 minutes of hazy mid-tempo, meticulously subdued songs.
In “Magic,” Martin sings, And with all your magic / I disappear from view / And I can’t get over / Can’t get over you.
He sounds lost and just the person who might need to hear “Fix You,” which is a kind of salve for despair in stadiums full of flashing wristbands.
Healing (with Oasis) in Manchester with Ariana Grande
Following the suicide bombing at Ariana Grande’s 2017 Manchester Arena show in the UK, Coldplay performed at the One Love Manchester benefit concert. Martin invited Grande on stage, and Coldplay sang Oasis’ “Don’t Look Back in Anger” to her.
For all the criticism Coldplay—and specifically Chris Martin—receives, the Manchester moment is the case for Coldplay.
Unless you’re made of stone, Coldplay’s performance of “Fix You” at One Love is moving, and Martin’s doe-eyed empathy is why his band is so massive.
Coldplay ambitiously aims for inspirational hymns, and the rave glowsticks and paint-splattered instruments cement their mission statement.
Martin believes “Fix You” healed Coldplay, but they’re not the only ones.
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Photo by Monica Schipper/Getty Images
