"Fix You" is a song by British

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wale ...

band

Coldplay Coldplay are a British Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1997. They consist of vocalist and pianist Chris Martin, guitarist Jonny Buckland, bassist Guy Berryman, drummer and percussionist Will Champion, and manager Phil Harvey (band m ...

. It was written by all four members of the band for their third studio album, '' X&Y'' (2005). It was released on 5 September 2005 as the second single from ''X&Y'' and reached number 4 on the UK Singles Chart. The song reached number 18 in the United States ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

Hot Modern Rock Tracks Alternative Airplay (formerly known as Modern Rock Tracks between 1988 and 2009, and Alternative Songs between 2009 and 2020) is a music chart published in the American magazine ''Billboard'' since September 10, 1988. It ranks the 40 most-playe ...

. Promo singles were released for the UK and US. The song is a sobering meditation on grief in the face of the death of a loved one; frontman

Chris Martin Christopher Anthony John Martin (born 2 March 1977) is an English singer, songwriter, musician and producer. He is best known as the vocalist, pianist and co-founder of the rock band Coldplay. Born in Exeter, Martin went to University Colleg ...

developed the song to comfort his then-wife, actress

Gwyneth Paltrow Gwyneth Kate Paltrow ( ; born September 27, 1972) is an American actress and businesswoman. The daughter of filmmaker Bruce Paltrow and actress Blythe Danner, she established herself as a leading lady appearing in mainly mid-budget and perio ...

, after her father Bruce Paltrow died. The anthemic track builds around an

organ Organ and organs may refer to: Biology * Organ (biology), a group of tissues organized to serve a common function * Organ system, a collection of organs that function together to carry out specific functions within the body. Musical instruments ...

accompanied by piano and acoustic guitar, and develops into a spirited second half with group vocals, drums, and strings. The hopeful message of the song, and its two-part arrangement, was critically acclaimed. The song has been performed at memorials such as by Coldplay at the One Love Manchester benefit concert in 2017. In September 2021, the song was ranked number 392 on ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

'' magazine's list of the "

500 Greatest Songs of All Time "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time" is a recurring song ranking compiled by the American magazine ''Rolling Stone''. It is based on weighted votes from selected musicians, critics, and industry figures. The first list was published in December 2 ...

Background

Coldplay lead singer

met American actress

in late October 2002, three weeks after the death of her father, television director Bruce Paltrow. As their relationship grew closer, Martin and Paltrow would listen to Coldplay's album ''Parachutes'', especially the uplifting song "Everything's Not Lost," to help her process the loss of her father. Martin and Paltrow married in December 2003. "Fix You" was inspired by Martin's wish to continue helping Paltrow get through her grief. He wanted to base the song on a church organ; instead he powered up a keyboard given to Paltrow by her father, the instrument sitting unused in their house, to find "it had these amazing sounds on it." Martin said that the song's composition is influenced by English

alternative rock Alternative rock (also known as alternative music, alt-rock or simply alternative) is a category of rock music that evolved from the independent music underground of the 1970s. Alternative rock acts achieved mainstream success in the 1990s w ...

band

Elbow The elbow is the region between the upper arm and the forearm that surrounds the elbow joint. The elbow includes prominent landmarks such as the olecranon, the cubital fossa (also called the chelidon, or the elbow pit), and the lateral and t ...

's 2003 anthem "Grace Under Pressure". In 2005, he described "Fix You" as "probably the most important song we've ever written". He wrote four other songs for or about Paltrow: "

Moses In Abrahamic religions, Moses was the Hebrews, Hebrew prophet who led the Israelites out of slavery in the The Exodus, Exodus from ancient Egypt, Egypt. He is considered the most important Prophets in Judaism, prophet in Judaism and Samaritani ...

" (2003), "Swallowed in the Sea" (2005), " Magic" and " Another's Arms" (2014). All of Coldplay helped in writing the song. During a track-by-track analysis, bassist

Guy Berryman Guy Rupert Berryman (born 12 April 1978) is a Scottish musician, songwriter, producer, businessman and designer. He is best known as the bassist of the rock band Coldplay and electronic supergroup Apparatjik. Raised in Kirkcaldy, he starte ...

observed that "Fix You" takes "a bit of inspiration" from " Many Rivers to Cross" by

Jimmy Cliff James Chambers, Jamaican Order of Merit, OM (born 30 July 1944), known professionally as Jimmy Cliff, is a Jamaican ska, rocksteady, reggae and soul musician, multi-instrumentalist, singer, and actor. He is the only living reggae musician to hol ...

(1969). Berryman added, "It becomes its own thing, kind of like points of inspiration that kind of lead you down certain paths. Whenever you want to write a song like someone else, it ultimately ends up sounding like something different anyway."

Arrangement

The song features an organ and piano in the key of

E major E major is a major scale based on E, consisting of the pitches E, F, G, A, B, C, and D. Its key signature has four sharps. Its relative minor is C-sharp minor and its parallel minor is E minor. Its enharmonic equivalent, F-flat maj ...

. It begins as a hushed electric organ

ballad A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and song of Great Britain and Ireland from the Late Middle Ages until the 19th century. They were widely used across Eur ...

, with Martin's falsetto. The song then builds in acoustic guitar and piano, accompanied by the sound of

string instruments In musical instrument classification, string instruments, or chordophones, are musical instruments that produce sound from vibrating strings when a performer strums, plucks, strikes or sounds the strings in varying manners. Musicians play some ...

during the beginning choruses. The melody shifts to a plaintive three-note guitar line, ringing through a rhythmic upbeat drum tempo. The song transitions to its bridge, which expands into a blend of piano, electric and bass guitar, drums, and a singalong chorus with an anthemic feel. Electronic sounds from a synthesiser join during the second half of the bridge. The song ends with the beginning chorus, with slow, melancholic piano notes being played in the background. The message that Martin sings throughout, is of encouragement: "Lights will guide you home / And ignite your bones / And I will try to fix you." Michele Hatty of ''

USA Weekend ''USA Weekend'' was an American weekend newspaper magazine published from 1953 to 2014. Founded as ''Family Weekly,'' it was purchased in 1985 by the Gannett Company, which turned it into a sister publication to Gannett's flagship newspaper '' ...

'' reported that Martin sings about recovering from grief in the song. Travis Gass of the ''

Bangor Daily News The ''Bangor Daily News'' is an American newspaper covering a large portion of central and eastern Maine, published six days per week in Bangor, Maine. The ''Bangor Daily News'' was founded on June 18, 1889; it merged with the ''Bangor Whig an ...

'' wrote that Martin offers his sympathies for the downtrodden, with "When you love someone but it goes to waste / Could it be worse?".

Release

Capitol promoted "Fix You" to US triple A and

alternative radio Modern rock is an umbrella term used to describe rock music that is found on college and commercial rock radio stations. Some radio stations use this term to distinguish themselves from classic rock, which is based in 1960s–1980s rock music. ...

on 15 August 2005. In the United Kingdom,

Parlophone Parlophone Records Limited (also known as Parlophone Records and Parlophone) is a record label founded in Germany in 1896 by the Carl Lindström Company as Parlophon. The British branch of the label was founded on 8 August 1923 as the Parloph ...

released "Fix You" on 5 September as the second single from '' X&Y''. The single was pressed with two

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph record, vinyl records and Compact cassette, cassettes, and the terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side of a Single (music), single usually ...

s: "The World Turned Upside Down" and "Pour Me". In Australia, the song was issued as a CD single on 12 September 2005. Two days later, the band released the ''Fix You EP'' in the iTunes Store. In response to

Hurricane Katrina Hurricane Katrina was a powerful, devastating and historic tropical cyclone that caused 1,392 fatalities and damages estimated at $125 billion in late August 2005, particularly in the city of New Orleans and its surrounding area. ...

, all of the sales went to the

American Red Cross The American National Red Cross is a Nonprofit organization, nonprofit Humanitarianism, humanitarian organization that provides emergency assistance, disaster relief, and disaster preparedness education in the United States. Clara Barton founded ...

Hurricane 2005 Relief and the

National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences, Inc. (NARAS), doing business as The Recording Academy, is an American learned academy of musicians, producers, recording engineers, and other musical professionals. It is widely known for its Gram ...

MusiCares MusiCares Foundation is a non-profit organization established in 1989 and incorporated in 1993 by the The Recording Academy, National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. Meant for musicians to have a place to turn in times of financial, pers ...

Hurricane Relief Fund. Promotional singles were released in the UK and US. The track peaked at number four in the UK Singles Chart on 17 September 2005. As of 30 July 2011, the song had spent 122 weeks on that chart. It peaked at number 59 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and number 18 on the ''

. The song also charted on the ''Billboard''

Pop 100 The Pop 100 was a songs chart that debuted in February 2005 and was released weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States until its discontinuation in 2009. It ranked songs based on airplay on Mainstream Top 40 radio stations, singles ...

and

Hot Digital Songs The Digital Song Sales (previously named Digital Songs and Hot Digital Songs) ranks the best-selling digital songs in the United States, as compiled by Luminate and published by ''Billboard'' magazine. Although it originally started tracking so ...

. The single appeared in Australia's Singles Chart in the number four position on 18 September 2005, after retiring in the 58 spot. It also appeared at number eight on the

Irish Singles Chart The Irish Singles Chart is the Republic of Ireland's music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by the Irish Recorded Music Association (IRMA) and compiled on their behalf by the Official Charts Company. Chart rankings are ...

and spent seven consecutive weeks on the chart. On 14 November 2010, the song re-entered the Australian singles chart at number 37. In 2005, Coldplay performed the song on ''

Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (''SNL'') is an American Late night television in the United States, late-night live television, live sketch comedy variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Michaels and Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC. The ...

'' and the

Live 8 Live 8 was a string of benefit concerts that took place on 2 July 2005, in the G8 states and South Africa. They were timed to precede the G8 conference and summit held at the Gleneagles Hotel in Auchterarder, Scotland, from 6–8 July 2005 ...

event in July. It has become the anthem for the event. In 2009, the song appeared on Coldplay's live album, '' LeftRightLeftRightLeft''. On 19 October 2011, following

Apple An apple is a round, edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus'' spp.). Fruit trees of the orchard or domestic apple (''Malus domestica''), the most widely grown in the genus, are agriculture, cultivated worldwide. The tree originated ...

CEO

Steve Jobs Steven Paul Jobs (February 24, 1955 – October 5, 2011) was an American businessman, inventor, and investor best known for co-founding the technology company Apple Inc. Jobs was also the founder of NeXT and chairman and majority shareholder o ...

' death, a private memorial service was held and streamed for Apple employees during which the band played the song. Steve Jobs was a longtime fan of Coldplay. Chris Martin remarked that when Jobs first heard their breakthrough track "

Yellow Yellow is the color between green and orange on the spectrum of light. It is evoked by light with a dominant wavelength of roughly 575585 nm. It is a primary color in subtractive color systems, used in painting or color printing. In t ...

" ten years earlier, he didn't think the band would "make it". On 4 June 2017, Coldplay performed "Fix You" at the One Love Manchester benefit concert for the victims of the

Manchester Arena bombing The Manchester Arena bombing, or Manchester Arena attack, was an Islamic terrorism in Europe, Islamic terrorist suicide bombing of Manchester Arena in Manchester, England, on 22 May 2017, following Dangerous Woman Tour, a concert by the Americ ...

Reception

The song received widespread acclaim from music critics. ''

'''s Kelefa Sanneh wrote in his review for ''X&Y'' that "One of the best is 'Fix You', an unabashedly sentimental song where Martin delivers words of encouragement in a gentle falsetto ..Proving once more that no band can deliver a stately

ballad like this one." Paul McNamee of ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming and culture website, bimonthly magazine, and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a "Rock music, rock inkie", the ''NME'' would be ...

'' said "It’s a wonderful song that shifts from simple stark piano and voice to a ringing, clattering burst of intent and proto-prog four-part harmony." Meanwhile, Adrien Begrand from ''

PopMatters ''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, ...

'' named "Fix You" the best ballad from ''X&Y''.

Alexis Petridis Alexis Petridis (born 13 September 1971) is an English journalist. He is the head Rock music, rock and pop music critic for ''The Guardian'', and a regular contributor for ''GQ''. In addition to his music journalism for the paper, he has written ...

of ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'' praised it as "beautifully turned ..The melody of "Fix You" invokes that weird sense of false memory whereby a new song feels instantly familiar". Others were more muted towards the track: ''Slant Magazine'''s Jonathan Keefe felt it timid, while ''Pitchfork'' reviewer Joe Tangari dismissed it as a " AOR ballad". In 2024, PPL ranked "Fix You" as Coldplay's eighth-most played song across radio and television in the United Kingdom.

Rankings

Music video

The music video for "Fix You" was directed by Sophie Muller, who had previously worked with the band for their 2002 video " In My Place". The video was filmed at the end of two concerts on 4 and 5 July 2005 at the

Reebok Stadium The Toughsheet Community Stadium is a Association football, football stadium in Horwich near Bolton, Greater Manchester, England. It is the home ground of Bolton Wanderers F.C., Bolton Wanderers Football Club, with an all-seated capacity of 28, ...

Bolton Bolton ( , locally ) is a town in Greater Manchester in England. In the foothills of the West Pennine Moors, Bolton is between Manchester, Blackburn, Wigan, Bury, Greater Manchester, Bury and Salford. It is surrounded by several towns and vill ...

, England, which were the band's first ever stadium performances. The concert goers doubled as extras for the video shoot, which required two takes on each day to complete. In the first half of the video, Martin wanders the streets of

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

starting at

Tooley Street Tooley Street is a road in central London, central and south London, south London connecting London Bridge to St Saviour's Dock; it runs past Tower Bridge on the Southwark/Bermondsey side of the River Thames, and forms part of the A200 road. (. ...

under

London Bridge station London Bridge is a central London railway terminus and connected London Underground station in Southwark, south-east London. It occupies a large area on three levels immediately south-east of London Bridge, from which it takes its name. The m ...

, while the slogan " Make Trade Fair" is projected onto the

Royal National Theatre The National Theatre (NT), officially the Royal National Theatre and sometimes referred to in international contexts as the National Theatre of Great Britain, is a performing arts venue and associated theatre company located in London, England, ...

, using the same

Baudot code The Baudot code () is an early character encoding for telegraphy invented by Émile Baudot in the 1870s. It was the predecessor to the International Telegraph Alphabet No. 2 (ITA2), the most common teleprinter code in use before ASCII. Each ch ...

colour scheme on the cover of ''X&Y''. The tunnels that Martin is seen wandering within are located both in and around King's Cross and St Pancras railway stations, with the filming for the video taking place during the time of the redevelopment and expansion of the latter. Martin is then seen walking across

Waterloo Bridge Waterloo Bridge () is a road and foot traffic bridge crossing the River Thames in London, between Blackfriars Bridge and Hungerford Bridge and Golden Jubilee Bridges. Its name commemorates the victory of the British, Dutch and Prussians at the ...

, which crosses the

River Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the The Isis, River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, s ...

, connecting the

South Bank The South Bank is an entertainment and commercial area on the south bank of the River Thames, in the London Borough of Lambeth, central London, England. The South Bank is not formally defined, but is generally understood to be situated betwe ...

with The Strand. As soon as the electric guitar kicks in, Martin's walk turns into a run as he darts through streets of London, until very quickly reaching the side of the stage at the

, where he joins the rest of the band for the song's finale. The audience sings along with the song's final refrain, and at the end of the video Martin thanks them for their support and wishes them goodnight. The video debuted on 1 August 2005. It was nominated at the 15th annual Music Video Production Association Awards in the category of Adult Contemporary. After its release, the music video was repurposed as a tribute to the victims of the

7 July 2005 London bombings The 7 July 2005 London bombings, also referred to as 7/7, were a series of four co-ordinated suicide attacks carried out by Islamist terrorists that targeted commuters travelling on Transport in London, London's public transport during the ...

, although it was filmed before they occurred.

Usage in media

The song appears in '' The Acoustic Album'' (2006). It was performed in 2006 by the

New England New England is a region consisting of six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the ...

octogenarian group Young@Heart Chorus. The group's performance was led by former chorus member Fred Knittle, who suffered from

congestive heart failure Heart failure (HF), also known as congestive heart failure (CHF), is a syndrome caused by an impairment in the heart's ability to fill with and pump blood. Although symptoms vary based on which side of the heart is affected, HF typically pr ...

and breathed with assistance from an oxygen tank. The song was recorded for '' Young@Heart,'' a 2007 British documentary that aired on

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by Channel Four Television Corporation. It is state-owned enterprise, publicly owned but, unlike the BBC, it receives no public funding and is funded en ...

. The song was featured in "The O.Sea", season 2, episode 23 of the American teen drama television series '' The O.C.'' in 2005, and then in ''

Without a Trace ''Without a Trace'' is an American police procedural drama television series created by Hank Steinberg that aired on CBS from September 26, 2002, to May 19, 2009 with the total of seven seasons and 160 episodes. The series focuses the cases of ...

'', ''

Cold Case ''Cold Case'' is an American police procedural crime drama television series. It ran on CBS from September 28, 2003, to May 2, 2010. The series revolved around a fictionalized Philadelphia Police Department division that specializes in invest ...

'', '' Brothers & Sisters'', and '' The Newsroom''. Part of the song was played over the trailer for the 2006 film '' World Trade Center''. It is also featured in the 2006 film '' You, Me and Dupree''. On 14 March 2009, the band performed a rendition of the song at the relief concert, Sound Relief, in

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

, Australia. American rock band

Yellowcard Yellowcard is an American rock band who formed in Jacksonville, Florida, in 1997. Their official lineup currently consists of lead singer Ryan Key, lead guitarist Ryan Mendez, bassist Josh Portman and violinist Sean Mackin. Primarily a pop- ...

covered the song and included it as bonus material on the

iTunes iTunes is a media player, media library, and mobile device management (MDM) utility developed by Apple. It is used to purchase, play, download and organize digital multimedia on personal computers running the macOS and Windows operating s ...

version of their 2012 album, '' Southern Air''. In December 2015, the song was used, alongside "

Bridge over Troubled Water ''Bridge Over Troubled Water'' is the fifth and final studio album by American folk rock duo Simon & Garfunkel, released on January 26, 1970, by Columbia Records. Following the duo's soundtrack for ''The Graduate'', Art Garfunkel took an acting ...

", in the UK charity Christmas No. 1 mashup song " A Bridge Over You", by the

choir A choir ( ), also known as a chorale or chorus (from Latin ''chorus'', meaning 'a dance in a circle') is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform or in other words ...

of the Lewisham and Greenwich NHS Trust, selling more than 127,000 copies. The song was referenced in the 2019

Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...

tribute film ''Yesterday''. A string version of the song was also featured in the animated adventure film ''Abominable'' (2019). The song was also featured towards the end of the 2019 Korean romance movie '' Tune in for Love''. English singer Sam Smith covered the song in May 2020, and released it as a single in July the same year. The song was featured on the Japanese edition of their 2020 album '' Love Goes''. South Korean

boy band A boy band is a vocal group consisting of young male singers, usually in their Teenage, teenage years or in their twenties at the time of formation. Generally, boy bands perform love songs marketed towards girls and young women. Many boy bands ...

BTS BTS (), also known as the Bangtan Boys, is a South Korean boy band formed in 2010. The band consists of Jin, Suga, J-Hope, RM, Jimin, V, and Jung Kook, who co-write or co-produce much of their material. Originally a hip hop group, they ...

covered the song in February 2021 for their ''

MTV Unplugged ''MTV Unplugged'' is an American television series on MTV. It showcases recorded live performances of popular music artists playing acoustic instrument, acoustic or "unplugged" variations of songs. The show aired regularly from 1989 to 1999. F ...

'' appearance. On 12 October 2021,

Ed Sheeran Edward Christopher Sheeran ( ; born 17 February 1991) is an English singer-songwriter. Born in Halifax, West Yorkshire, and raised in Framlingham, Suffolk, he began writing songs around the age of eleven. In early 2011, Sheeran independently r ...

made a surprise appearance with Coldplay at the launch show for the band's ninth studio album, '' Music of the Spheres'', covering the song at London's

Shepherd's Bush Empire Shepherd's Bush Empire (currently known as O2 Shepherd's Bush Empire for sponsorship reasons, and formerly known as the BBC Television Theatre) is a music venue in Shepherd's Bush, West London, run by the Academy Music Group. It was original ...

. In November 2021,

Kacey Musgraves Kacey Lee Musgraves (born August 21, 1988) is an American singer, songwriter, and musician. She began her career in the early 2000s, when she self-released three solo albums and recorded another album as a member of the duo Texas Two Bits. In 20 ...

covered the song for a

stop-motion Stop-motion (also known as stop frame animation) is an animation, animated filmmaking and special effects technique in which objects are physically manipulated in small increments between individually photographed frames so that they will appe ...

animation film from

Chipotle A chipotle ( , ), or chilpotle, is a smoke-dried ripe jalapeño chili pepper used for seasoning. It is a chili used primarily in Mexican and Mexican-inspired cuisines, such as Tex-Mex and Southwestern United States dishes. It comes in differen ...

called ''A Future Begins'', which focused on the farming industry of the United States. It won a silver

Clio Award The Clio Awards, also simply known as The Clios, is an annual award program that recognizes innovation and creative excellence in advertising, design, and communication, as judged by an international panel of advertising professionals. The awar ...

for Use of Music in Film/Video – 61 Seconds to Five Minutes, with Coldplay being credited as the songwriters. The song was used in "A Family Tradition", the final episode of the Spanish heist drama '' Money Heist'', which was released on

Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...

in December 2021. On 29 March 2022, American singer

Camila Cabello Karla Camila Cabello Estrabao (; ; born March 3, 1997) is an American singer and songwriter. She rose to prominence as a member of the Pop music, pop girl group Fifth Harmony, one of the List of best-selling girl groups, best-selling girl gro ...

covered "Fix You" as part of her set list on '' Concert for Ukraine'', a

benefit concert A benefit concert or charity concert is a type of musical benefit performance (e.g., concert, show, or gala) featuring musicians, comedians, or other performers that is held for a charitable purpose, often directed at a specific and immediate h ...

on ITV for the people affected by the

2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, , starting the largest and deadliest war in Europe since World War II, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, conflict between the two countries which began in 2014. The fighting has caused hundreds of thou ...

. The

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...

(NHL)'s

Montreal Canadiens The Montreal Canadiens (), officially ' ( Canadian Hockey Club) and colloquially known as the Habs, are a professional ice hockey team based in Montreal. The Canadiens compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic D ...

use the song as the team's official entrance music prior to home games played at the

Bell Centre Bell Centre (French: ''Centre Bell)'', formerly known as Molson Centre, is a multi-purpose arena located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Opened on March 16, 1996, it is the home arena of the Montreal Canadiens of the National Hockey League (NHL), ...

. On 9 December 2024,

Jacob Collier Jacob Collier (born 2 August 1994) is a British singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, producer and educator. His music incorporates a combination of jazz and elements from other musical genres, and often features extensive use of reharmo ...

performed a version of "Fix You" during his show at

the O2 Arena The O2 Arena, commonly known as The O2, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in the centre of The O2 entertainment district on the Greenwich Peninsula in southeast London, England. It opened in its present form in 2007. It has the third-highest seat ...

in London. He was joined by Chris Martin and then directed the audience as a choir while Martin continued singing.

Awards and nominations

The track was nominated for an

Ivor Novello Award The Ivor Novello Awards, named after the Welsh entertainer Ivor Novello, are awards for songwriting and Musical composition, composing. They have been presented annually in London by the The Ivors Academy, Ivors Academy, formerly called the Britis ...

in the category of Best Song Musically and Lyrically. The song was also nominated for a UK Festival Award in the category of Anthem of the Summer.

Track listing

Personnel

Credits adapted from Tidal. ;Band members *

– bass, synthesizer, producer, backing vocals *

Jonny Buckland Jonathan Mark Buckland (born 11 September 1977) is a British musician and songwriter. He is best known as the lead guitarist and co-founder of the rock band Coldplay. Raised in Pantymwyn, he started to play guitar at an early age, taking ins ...

– guitars, producer, backing vocals *

Will Champion William Champion (born 31 July 1978) is an English musician and songwriter. He is best known as the drummer and percussionist of the Rock music, rock band Coldplay. Raised in Southampton, he learned to play numerous instruments during his yout ...

– drums, percussion, producer, backing vocals *

– lead vocals, guitars, keyboards, organ, piano, producer ;Additional personnel * Ken Nelson, Danton Supple – producer * Mark Phythian, Carmen Rizzo, Rob Smith – programmer * Matt McGinn – guitar technician * Robert Smith – assistants ;Engineers * Keith Gary * Ken Nelson * Mark Phythian ;Assistant engineers * Jon Bailey * Jake Jackson * Mathieu Lejeune * Taz Mattar * Adam Noble * Mike Pierce * Dan Porter * Tim Roe * Bryan Russell * Adam Scheuermann * Rob Smith * Brad Spence * Jon Withnall * Andrea Wright ;Mastering engineers * Chris Athens * Adam Ayan * George Marino ;Mixing engineers * Michael H. Brauer * Keith Gary * Will Hensley ;Recording engineers * Mark Phythian ;Strings * Susan Dench * Richard George * Peter Lale * Ann Lines * Laura Melhuish * Audrey Riley (arranger) * Chris Tombling * Greg Warren Wilson

Charts

Weekly charts

Monthly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications and sales

Release history

Notes

References

External links

* {{Authority control 2000s ballads 2005 singles 2005 songs Capitol Records singles Coldplay songs Hurricane Katrina disaster relief charity singles Montreal Canadiens Music videos directed by Sophie Muller Parlophone singles Rock ballads Song recordings produced by Ken Nelson (British record producer) Songs about death Songs based on actual events Songs written by Chris Martin Songs written by Guy Berryman Songs written by Jonny Buckland Songs written by Will Champion