Coldplay's third album, X&Y, turned 20 two weeks ago. To mark the occasion, the band has dusted off "Speed Of Sound," the album's lead single, which was the band's first American top 10 hit but was later disavowed by the band.
When Coldplay released "Speed Of Sound" in 2005, it was their highest-charting single up to that point, debuting and peaking at #8 on the Hot 100. But Chris Martin later told an interviewer, "We never got it right." The band eventually stopped performing "Speed Of Sound" in concert because, as Martin told Howard Stern, "an audience can pick up real fast if something is clearly missing."
Saturday at the Sun Bowl in El Paso, Coldplay wrapped up the latest leg of their seemingly endless tour. Near the end of the show, the band performed an acoustic version of "Speed Of Sound," marking the first full-band performance of the song since 2016. Martin introduced the track like so:
We made an album 20 years ago which should have been a lot better, and it had a song on it called "Speed Of Sound," which we never really play. But because we had to wait 15 minutes for the show to start because of the weather and all that, we thought, well, we've had such a good time here in El Paso. Why don't we try to reclaim the song "Speed Of Sound"?
They will try to fix you, "Speed Of Sound." Check out footage of the El Paso performance, along with Martin's intro speech, below.
@iam.alexmeraz @coldplay performed “Speed of Sound” after more than a decade and a half of not playing it live at a concert. THIS was the best part of the show. El Paso, TX (6/14/2025) #coldplay #xy #speedOfSound #coldplayElPaso #elPaso #TX #texas #acoustic #unplugged #fyp
♬ original sound - Alex Meraz
Meanwhile, UK star Yungblud's new album Idols, out today, includes a song called "Ghosts" that seems to nick its piano intro from "Speed Of Sound." A rep for Yungblud tells Stereogum that "Ghosts" does not interpolate "Speed Of Sound" and there's no connection between the songs. Compare for yourself below.
One inspiration for "Ghosts" that Yungblud will acknowledge: The King And I.
