Alternative rock band Coldplay is known for quite a few powerhouse songs. The post-Britpop outfit made waves with songs like “Viva La Vida” from 2008 and “A Sky Full Of Stars” from 2014.
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There’s also “Speed Of Sound” from 2005. That song hit no. 8 on the US charts and ranked even higher on the band’s native UK charts. And surprisingly enough, Coldplay’s frontman hates playing this song live. His reasoning? He just can never get the dang song right during live performances.
Why Chris Martin Hates Playing the Coldplay Song “Speed of Sound” Live
Chris Martin penned “Speed Of Sound” in 2004 as an ode to his daughter, Apple, as well as English singer/songwriter Kate Bush.
“That’s a song where we were listening to a lot of Kate Bush last summer, and we wanted a song which had a lot of tom-toms in it,” Martin said in an interview from 2005. “I just had my daughter up also, and was kind of feeling in a sense of awe and wonderment, so the song is kind of a Kate Bush song about miracles.”
What beautiful inspiration. It’s wild to think that Coldplay’s Chris Martin hates playing “Speed Of Sound” live, a sentiment allegedly shared by his fellow bandmates.
According to an interview with Martin from 2011, the band struggled to get the song “right” during the recording process, and he’s reluctant to perform it live. However, the band still whips the song out during their live sets. Fans would probably riot if they didn’t. However, they’ve only performed the tune 318 times, compared to “Yellow” which the band has played a whopping 1,167 times (as of April 2025).
“We never got it right,” said Martin when asked about his least favorite Coldplay song. Though, “Talk” made his list of least favorite tunes as well, simply because the band’s bassist hates playing it.
Later, in an interview with Howard Stern, Martin further clarified his opinion on “Speed Of Sound”. He noted that “Speed Of Sound” isn’t a bad song. Still, because the band (in his mind) failed to record the song to their standards and likewise struggled to perform it perfectly, so he can’t handle even listening to it.
“It pains me,” Martin said. “We don’t play it. […] Like I said, an audience can pick up real fast if you’re not convinced by something.”
We’re always our own worst critic, after all.
Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images for iHeartRadio
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