Coldplay's Official Top 40 biggest songs in the UK revealed

There is a reason why Coldplay are one of the most resilient bands of their generation, still as popular today in 2024 as they were when they made their Official Chart debut in 1999.

That is, quite simply, that Chris Martin, Guy Berryman, Will Champion and Johnny Buckland are never content to stay in the same place for long. In their near 30-year career, Coldplay have veered wildly from tender alt-rock (Yellow), to fancy art-rock (Viva La Vida), stadium-sized pop anthems (Paradise) and swoony synth-pop (feelslikeimfallinginlove).

On their tenth album, Moon Music, their whole-hearted exploration of genre and melody continues, assisted by the record's executive producer, Swedish wizard Max Martin and a long list of collaborators, from Little Simz and Burna Boy to Ayra Starr and The Chainsmokers.

Now, for the first time ever, we here at Official Charts are unveiling Coldplay's Top 40 biggest-ever tracks in the UK.

But before we reveal the list in full, let's take a closer look at the Top 5...

5. Paradise

Released: 2011
Official Singles Chart peak: Number 1
Total UK chart units: 2.4 million

Allow Coldplay to take you to Paradise with the big, synth-heavy hit from Mylo Xyloto. 

Strangely enough, the song - Coldplay's second UK Number 1 single, following Viva La Vida - was originally written by Chris Martin after producers of The X Factor asked him to pen the winner's single for the 2011 series. However, drummer Will Champion insisted they keep it for their own album... we bet he's pretty happy with that decision now!

With over 1 million digital downloads to its name, Paradise is an Official million-seller in the UK, and is one of the best-selling singles in the history of the Official Singles Chart.

4. Fix You

Released: 2005
Official Singles Chart peak: Number 4
Total UK chart units: 2.6 million

One of the band's best-known tunes, the genesis of Fix You is pretty well-worn, written by Martin for his then-wife Gwyneth Paltrow, following the death of her father. 

Some fans, however, may be surprised to find out that Fix You was never actually a Number 1 hit for Coldplay - instead peaking at Number 4. But its enduring popularity speaks for itself. With total chart units now clocking in at 2.6 million (including 215 million streams to date), who needs a Number 1 single anyway?

3. Something Just Like This (with The Chainsmokers)

Released: 2017
Official Singles Chart peak: Number 2
Total UK chart units: 3 million

If, on paper, the collaboration between EDM DJ duo The Chainsmokers and British rock band Coldplay didn't make sense, then hearing the endearing Something Just Like This joins the dots for you. The full-hearted track certainly tracks with the love-first, emotion-heavy pop that Martin's seemed most interested in exploring since 2014 divorce record Ghost Stories. 

A massive mid-career hit for the band, Something Just Like This hit Number 2 on the Official Singles Chart (thanks to a big show of a performance at the BRIT Awards) and is the band's most-streamed song ever in the UK, clocking in 320 million streams across audio and video.

2. Yellow

Released: 2000
Official Singles Chart peak: Number 4
Total UK chart units: 3.1 million

The song that started it all. Yellow was Coldplay's first-ever UK Top 10 single, tracking all the way to Number 4 in 2000 (although the band would have to wait eight long years for that evasive Number 1 single...) Yellow may have been released in the era before the dominance of digital downloads and streaming, but it's more popular now in 2024 than it's ever been.

According to Official Charts Company data, Yellow has 3.1 million total UK chart units to its name, including 170,000 physical sales, 447,000 digital downloads and 294 million streams (making it the band's third most-streamed track ever).

1. Viva La Vida

Released: 2008
Official Singles Chart peak: Number 1
Total UK chart units: 3.5 million

Coldplay's first UK Number 1 single was a long time coming (eight years in fact), but what a Number 1 single Viva La Vida is. 

The title track for their epic and sprawling art-rock opus Viva La Vida, Or Death and All His Friends (what a title!) is a swooping and baroque orchestral pop-rock track, telling the story of the rise and fall of an unnamed powerful figure (candidates for said person could be Louis XVI, Napoleon, Julius Caesar, Ozymandius...take your pick!) that sees his once impressive empire turn to dust around him.

Powerfully wrought from Martin's lyrics and the majestic production (helmed by Brian Eno, Markus Dravs, Jon Hopkins and Rik Sampson) Viva La Vida was as potent a statement as any Coldplay has made in their career, and it was only right that it was the song that ended their eight-year search for a chart-topping single in both the UK and the US.

As it stands in 2024, Viva La Vida is Coldplay's biggest song ever on the Official Singles Chart; it's claimed 3.5 million UK chart units, including 911,000 digital downloads and 304 million streams.