Chris Martin Thinks ‘Speed Of Sound’ Is ‘Not That Good,’ But Coldplay Just Played It Live For The First Time In Years

“Speed Of Sound” was a huge moment for Coldplay, as it kicked off the X&Y era and was the band’s first top-10 single in the US. Yet, the band has a contentious relationship with the song.

In a 2011 interview with Concrete, Chris Martin explained that Coldplay thought they “never got it right” when it comes to “Speed Of Sound.” In a 2011 chat with Howard Stern, he explained that the band doesn’t play the song live because “an audience can pick up real fast if you’re not convinced by something.”

Since the X&Y era, the band has played the track live only rarely, and when they do, it’s usually acoustic of just a shortened version of the song. However, during a recent show at El Paso, Texas (as NME notes), they performed a full-band version of the full song for the first time since 2016.

Before playing it, Martin told the audience, “Why don’t we try and reclaim the song ‘Speed Of Sound?’ At some point, we’ll do a proper edit of the song and just do a remix. I’d like to make it a little bit quicker, a little bit shorter, a little bit tighter…” He added, “For those of you who weren’t born in 2005, it’s not that good, but [laughs] we’re going to try and play it anyway.”

Check out the video above.