“Speed of Sound” by Coldplay

"Speed of Sound" was the first taste of X&Y, Coldplay's third album, premiering on Steve Lamacq's BBC Radio 1 show in April 2005 and going out as the lead single the next day. Chris Martin has said the band wrote it after a spell of listening to Kate Bush, and you can hear some of her wide-eyed wonder in it: a rolling piano-and-guitar figure keeps climbing until the chorus blooms into a wash of synthesizers.

All four members share the writing credit. Martin handles piano, organ, keyboards and acoustic guitar along with the lead vocal, Jonny Buckland's electric guitar chimes around him, Guy Berryman doubles on bass and synth, and Will Champion drives it on drums and percussion, with a small string section filling out the sky. Coldplay produced it with Danton Supple, and Michael Brauer mixed it.

It went to number two in the UK and debuted at number eight on the Billboard Hot 100, the band's first American top 10 hit, and it took the 2006 Brit Award for Best British Single. It also holds an odd distinction: it was the billionth download sold on the iTunes Store.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.