British rock band Coldplay have released 71 music videos, 5 video albums and 6 films, appearing in a wide range of television shows throughout their career as well. They were formed in London by Chris Martin (vocals, piano), Jonny Buckland (lead guitar), Guy Berryman (bass guitar), Will Champion (drums, percussion) and Phil Harvey (management).[1] Before their recording contract with Parlophone in 1999,[2] a music video for "Bigger Stronger" was shot and directed by Mat Whitecross, who ultimately became one of the long-time collaborators of the band.[3] It was followed by the singles "Shiver", "Yellow", "Trouble" and "Don't Panic" from Parachutes (2000), with the third earning a MTV Video Music Award for Best Art Direction.[4]
To promote A Rush of Blood to the Head (2002), Coldplay made "In My Place" and "The Scientist" available. The latter won three MTV Video Music Awards and ran for Best Short Form Music Video at the 46th Annual Grammy Awards.[5] Publicity affairs were completed in the following year with "Clocks", "God Put a Smile upon Your Face" and Live 2003, their first video album. Released in 2005, X&Y spawned "Speed of Sound", "Fix You", "Talk" and "The Hardest Part". They were succeeded by "Violet Hill", which came out in anticipation for Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends (2008).
The band later shot two different versions of "Viva la Vida", one where they are performing the track and the other referencing Depeche Mode's "Enjoy the Silence". Additional music videos encompassed "Lovers in Japan", "Lost!", "Life in Technicolor II" and "Strawberry Swing", which received three UK Music Video Awards. In 2010, Coldplay launched "Christmas Lights" as a holiday single,[6] while the subsequent year saw Whitecross directing "Every Teardrop Is a Waterfall", "Paradise" and "Charlie Brown" for Mylo Xyloto (2011). The record featured "Princess of China" and "Hurts Like Heaven" as well, having its promotion concluded by Live 2012. Two years later, Ghost Stories (2014) was made available with five music videos: "Midnight", "Magic", "A Sky Full of Stars", "True Love" and "Ink". The marketing campaign was closed in November with its namesake live album.[7]
In 2015, Coldplay released "Adventure of a Lifetime" as the lead single for A Head Full of Dreams, following it with the visuals for "Birds", "Hymn for the Weekend", "Up&Up", "A Head Full of Dreams" and "Everglow" throughout the next year. Moreover, the band won two D&AD Awards and two silver prizes at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity for the third.[8] They later launched The Butterfly Package (2018), a set containing their fifth live (Live in Buenos Aires) and video (Live in São Paulo) albums plus a documentary directed by Whitecross. Everyday Life (2019) produced six new music videos: "Orphans", "Daddy", "Everyday Life", "Cry Cry Cry", "Champion of the World" and "Trouble in Town". The group also launched a YouTube broadcast performing the album from the Amman Citadel. In 2021 and 2022, Dave Meyers directed "Higher Power", "My Universe" and "Let Somebody Go" for Music of the Spheres, complemented by another three short clips and a concert film. "Feels Like I'm Falling in Love", "We Pray" and "The Karate Kid" arrived in 2024.
| Title | Year | Directors | Details | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| "Bigger Stronger" | 1999 | A man enters a lift and gets transported to a beach, where he finds the band's members buried in the sand. Despite publishing the music video on their website, Coldplay never released it officially on YouTube. | [9] | |
| "Shiver" | 2000 | The band perform the song in a studio. In July 2020, all music videos from Parachutes (2000) were remastered in celebration of its 20th anniversary.[10] | [11] | |
| "Yellow" | A slow motion sequence of Martin walking along the beach as he sings and the sunlight arrives. The music video was meant to include the other band members, but the funeral of Champion's mother was held on the same day.[12] | [13] | ||
| "Trouble" | The original music video was directed by Sophie Muller and features Martin as a prisoner in a dark warehouse, while Buckland and Champion struggle to tie Berryman to a chair in a slow motion sequence.[14] It was replaced by Hope's version for being "too grisly" for American audiences. His take combined an animated world with real-life footage of the band and earned a MTV Video Music Award for Best Art Direction. In 2012, a fan published the European version on YouTube and received a license from Parlophone.[15] | [16] | ||
| "Don't Panic" | 2001 | A diagram of the water cycle is shown as a house with the band doing chores inside. The animation style used is vaguely similar to "Trouble", but without real-life footage. | [17] | |
| "In My Place" | 2002 | The band perform the song in a large white room as Martin sings directly to the camera. The two women sitting on a step in the background are members of the crew. In August 2022, the music video was remastered along with "The Scientist" and "Clocks" to celebrate the 20th anniversary of A Rush of Blood to the Head (2002).[18] | [19] | |
| "" | The music video uses reverse motion, beginning with Martin lying on a mattress, continuing with him wandering through various locations and revealing he was involved in a car accident along with a woman played by Irish actress Elaine Cassidy. It won three MTV Video Music Awards.[20] | [21] | ||
| "Clocks" | 2003 | A stoic crowd watches the band perform the song with a laser show and other stage light effects. A link to the Make Trade Fair website can be seen on Martin's left hand. | [22] | |
| "God Put a Smile upon Your Face" | The music video intercuts black and white footage of the band performing the song with the story of a man who bumps into a mysterious stranger and starts to disappear. He is played by English actor Paddy Considine. | [23] | ||
| "Speed of Sound" | 2005 | Coldplay perform the song in a sound stage behind large LED displays. The lights were synthesised to showcase an animation made from Martin's vocal track. | [24] | |
| "Fix You" | Martin wanders the streets of London at night as the song's tempo picks up. He finishes the music video by performing with the band at Reebok Stadium, in Bolton. | [25] | ||
| "Talk" | In this black and white, science fiction-themed music video, the band are astronauts landing on an alien planet, where they re-activate a dormant robot. It tries to kill them and destroy their spaceship as the group attempts to fly away. | [26] | ||
| "" | 2006 | The music video uses footage from Attitudes (1985), which was then digitally enhanced to appear as though Coldplay were performing the song along with dancers Barbara Moseley and Gene Spencer. Their set was filmed in 1990. | [27] | |
| "Violet Hill" | 2008 | The band climbs a hill and reach a quiet town to play the song with different instruments. They can also be seen dancing and walking around Mount Etna. Days later, an alternative version named Dancing Politicians, directed by Mat Whitecross, was released. It features numerous shots of political figures combined with scenes of war. | [28] | |
| "Viva la Vida" | Coldplay perform the song in a blurry, warped version of the Liberty Leading the People (1830) painting. The band members crumble into rose petals as the song ends. An alternative music video directed by Anton Corbijn was released on the same day as a tribute to Depeche Mode's "Enjoy the Silence".[29] It portrays Martin as the king from the lyrics and ties the loose ends from "Violet Hill". | [30] | ||
| "Lovers in Japan" | The music video intercuts footage of the band playing in a courtyard and each member making light drawings. Their performance ends with a rain of butterfly-shaped confetti. | [31] | ||
| "Lost!" | Both versions of the song have Coldplay performing it on the Viva la Vida Tour as the music video, with Jay-Z making an appearance through a television screen in "Lost+".[32] A fan contest for "Lost?", the track's piano rendition, was held months later.[33] The winning and runner-up takes were directed by Paul O'Brien and Martin Buzora, respectively, and published on the band's website.[34] | [35] | ||
| "Life in Technicolor II" | 2009 | A group of children are waiting for a traditional Punch and Judy performance, however, the band appear as puppets "onstage" playing the song on an increasingly extravagant show. Harvey appears as one of the parents with a camera. | [36] | |
| "Strawberry Swing" | Shynola | The music video consists of Martin lying on the floor as he interacts with stop motion animated chalk drawings. His character sees a woman being held hostage by a giant squirrel, which leads him to turn into a superhero and save her. It won three UK Music Video Awards.[37] | [38] | |
| "Christmas Lights" | 2010 | Whitecross edited the music video in a one-shot format. It begins with the band lying on the floor, until Martin gets up to play the piano and the others disappear. The set is later revealed to be a stage near River Thames and the rest of the group show up again, now accompanied by three Elvis impersonators: Tim Crompton, Harvey and Simon Pegg.[39] | ||
| "Every Teardrop Is a Waterfall" | 2011 | The band play across various backdrops sprayed with colourful, stop motion animated graffiti, which were painted by Mylo Xyloto (2011) art director Paris. | [40] | |
| "Paradise" | A runaway elephant played by Martin escapes the zoo and embarks on a journey to find his friends in Cape Town. The music video was filmed in a nature documentary style and had a scrapped version directed by Shynola, who posted their take separately later.[41] Harvey and Crompton made an appearance as the zookeepers chasing the elephant. | [42] | ||
| "Charlie Brown" | 2012 | A hooded young man played by Elliott Tittensor meets up with his girlfriend (played by Antonia Thomas) and they steal a car together, which is used for going to a colourful rave where the band are playing. Coldplay also released a live performance version co-directed by Mark Rowbotham before the official one was finished.[43] | [44] | |
| "Princess of China" | Alan Bibby | The music video portrays Martin and Rihanna as lovers with a complicated story as they engage in a sword fight. It contains visual references to Chinese wuxia films. | [45] | |
| "Hurts Like Heaven" | An animated version of the Mylo Xyloto (2011) comics' first issue. The story is set on a futuristic dystopian world where sound and colour are completely forbidden. | [46] | ||
| "Midnight" | 2014 | The music video was mostly shot with thermal infrared imaging and negative imagery, incorporating various visual effects. It shows glimpses of a wandering wolf and sped-up cityscapes, the band can be seen in a forest as well. | [47] | |
| "Magic" | Starring Chinese actress Zhang Ziyi, the music video is a tribute to silent films. She plays the stage magician Cecile, who performs in a traveling circus with her young assistant Christophe (played by Martin). As their work continues, he begins to notice the abusive relationship Cecile has with her husband Claude (also played by Martin), a famous, but alcoholic magician. Christophe then formulates an idea to relieve Cecile of her troubles as he learns levitation. The story happens in the present despite the early 20th century influences. A director's cut with a guest appearance from Peter Fonda was included on Ghost Stories Live 2014.[48] | [49] | ||
| "" | Martin walks through King Street, Sydney dressed as a one-man band. He then reaches Berryman, Buckland and Champion, who are also dressed as one-man bands. They play the instrumental refrain of the song and he continues his walk alone, being followed by a crowd of fans (including Harvey dressed as a koala).[50] The music video ends with the band reuniting again and finishing the song with their fans as paper-made stars are blown into the square. An alternative scrapped version directed by Artisan was later posted separately, one shot from it can be seen on the official take when Martin passes by a television store.[51] | [52] | ||
| "True Love" | The music video portrays Martin as a janitor and Canadian actress Jessica Lucas as an aspiring ballerina, both using giant body suits. As they are not taken seriously as dancers or people, the pair face various humiliations on their daily life until meeting each other. Åkerlund commented his idea was "about just being different in the world, where life is a struggle and then you meet somebody who understands you and then it all falls into place". | |||
| "All Your Friends" | Released for Remembrance Sunday, the music video pays tribute to "all those from all nations who fought in the First World War" with archival footage.[53] It was released as part of the bonus content for Ghost Stories Live 2014. | [54] | ||
| "Always in My Head" | Jock Mooney | An animated version of the Ghost Stories (2014) album cover. The music video displays the numerous illustrations present in the wings and was released as part of the bonus content for Ghost Stories Live 2014. | [55] | |
| "Ink" | Jamie Carter | The original music video was an animated interactive project in the style of Choose Your Own Adventure (1979) and told the story of a men traveling across the world in search of his lost lover.[56] It had 300 possible outcomes and a final version was published on Coldplay's YouTube channel based on the fans' most selected options.[57] | ||
| "Ghost Story" | 2015 | Black and white shots of the band performing the song fade into each other. The music video was released as part of the bonus content for Ghost Stories Live 2014. | ||
| "Adventure of a Lifetime" | Recorded at The Imaginarium, the music video tells the story of a group of chimpanzees that come across a Beats Pill and become inspired to form a band. Each one of them was designed to resemble a Coldplay member. | [58] | ||
| "Birds" | 2016 | The music video follows the band at the Salvation Mountain as they shoot photos that were later used for the promotion campaign of A Head Full of Dreams (2015). | [59] | |
| "Hymn for the Weekend" | Coldplay pays a visit to Mumbai, India. The video was also inspired by the Holi festival and feature appearances from Beyoncé and Indian actress Sonam Kapoor. | [60] | ||
| "Up&Up" | Gal Muggia | Featuring surrealistic elements such as a popcorn-spouting volcano, racehorses galloping on water and a turtle floating down a subway platform, the music video alludes to various contemporary issues and received two silver prizes at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity. | [61] | |
| "" | The band wanders around the streets of Mexico City on bicycles as they make their way to a concert of the A Head Full of Dreams Tour. The music video also uses a snippet from Charlie Chaplin's The Great Dictator (1940). | [62] | ||
| "Everglow" | Martin performs the song on a piano. A scrapped version directed by Joe Connor was made available separately in 2017.[63] It features an ice dancer (played by Tanja Kolbe) who is coping with loss as she dances with a partner who is no longer there. A fansite published the take on YouTube and received a license from Parlophone as well.[64] | [65] | ||
| "Something Just Like This" (Tokyo Remix) | 2017 | The music video intercuts footage of Coldplay's Tokyo Dome show, the Chainsmokers performing at a festival and a boy wearing a superhero costume as he plays with toys on his bedroom. It also uses a kaleidoscope effect. | [66] | |
| "Orphans" | 2019 | Starting with a voice note from Martin, in which he is heard playing what would become the song's main riff, the music video shows how the track was developed from its earliest roots to the fully polished version that was released. It won a MTV Video Music Award for Best Rock Video.[67] | [68] | |
| "Daddy" | The music video combines live action puppetry, digitally painted sets and traditional animation to tell the story of a young girl lost at sea and sailing towards the unknown, symbolising the memories she has of her father. It won two silver prizes at the Clio Awards.[69] | [70] | ||
| "Everyday Life" | Footage of the band performing the song on a beach is combined with scenes from around the globe in countries such as Ukraine, South Africa and Morocco. The music video is themed after the Xhosa word "ubuntu", which can be translated to "humanity". | [71] | ||
| "Cry Cry Cry" | 2020 | Cory Bailey | The music video shows a couple played by Meshach Henry and Ida Saki dancing as they age from young lovers to old married partners while Coldplay perform the song. | [72] |
| "Champion of the World" | Martin plays a bullied schoolboy who is forced to repeatedly escape reality and enter his own dreamworld. | [73] | ||
| "Trouble in Town" | Inspired by George Orwell's Animal Farm (1944), book the music video shows New York City plagued by crimes and homelessness under the regime of a pig dictator. Proceeds from the song were donated to the Innocence Project and the African Children's Feeding Scheme. | [74] | ||
| "Higher Power" | 2021 | Landing on a post-apocalyptic planet, Martin explores its cities and meets a group of alien holograms. He dances with them as Berryman, Buckland and Champion appear playing the song and their combined energy allows him to fly into outer space. A visualizer of the band performing the track on a container depot, directed by Paul Dugdale, was released in anticipation for the official version.[75] Following the latter's debut, a choreography video was issued with the Ambiguous Dance Company.[76] | [77] | |
| "My Universe" | The music video depicts Coldplay, BTS and fictional alien band Supernova 7 performing the song together on different planets. The groups are then united as holograms through alien DJ Lafrique, who broadcasts the performance with her radio ship. They are being hunted by the Silencers from the Mylo Xyloto (2011) comics, suggesting its universe is connected with Music of the Spheres (2021).[78] | [79] | ||
| "Let Somebody Go" | 2022 | Martin and Gomez try to reach out for each other as a city pulls them apart until they finally manage to have a final hug. The black and white music video drew comparisons to Inception (2010), by Christopher Nolan. | [80] | |
| "People of the Pride" | The music video intercuts footage of the band playing the song at Climate Pledge Arena and animated scenes which were used as their stage backdrop during concerts. | [81] | ||
| "Biutyful" | After meeting each other at a local bar, a fictional puppet group named The Weirdos try to have a successful musical career while living in a humans-only world. | [82] | ||
| "Humankind" | Marcus Haney | Coldplay perform the song at Foro Sol. The music video features time-lapsed images of Mexico City seen through an "alien camera" as well. Its interface and footage include the name of cities such as Barcelona, Cardiff, Zürich and Amsterdam written both regularly and in the fictional alien languages created for the track's parent album, leading fans to speculate those places would host Music of the Spheres World Tour shows.[83] | [84] | |
| "Feels Like I'm Falling in Love" | 2024 | Natasha Ofili and the Coro de Manos Blancas join the band to play the song in sign language over a dark background, which changes to a concert at the Odeon of Herodes Atticus in Athens. Footage was rendered in black and white, then made available in Disability Pride Month.[85] An alternative one-shot version, directed by Ant Barrett, was later released for the song's Zerb remix.[86] It presents a helmeted person dancing on the streets of Helsinki with Martin.[87] | [88] | |
| "We Pray" | Three music videos were released: the Little Simz version is considered the original, mixing footage of the collaborators with artworks and lyrics; the Tini version sees them together at Grafton Street in Dublin, as directed by Ben Mor;[89] and the Elyanna version comes from their performance at Croke Park, directed by Ant Barrett.[90] | [91] | ||
| "" | Ralph Macchio busks on the streets of Melbourne with a keyboard to get money for dinner. Rejected by onlookers, he changes his performance to tap dancing, consequently meeting a scalper that offers Coldplay tickets in exchange for a watch and a toy. During the show, Martin faces vocal issues and Macchio helps him to perform. | [92] |
| Title | Details | Peak chart positions | Certifications | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK Video [93] | AUS DVD [94] | AUT DVD [95] | BEL (FL) DVD [96] | BEL (WA) DVD [97] | DEN DVD [98] | ITA DVD [99] | NLD DVD [100] | POR DVD [101] | US Video [102] | ||||
| Live 2003 | — | — | 2 | 8 | — | — | 1 | 1 | — | 1 | |||
| Live from Austin City Limits |
| Released exclusively on iTunes United States | N/A | ||||||||||
| Live 2012 | 1 | 1 | — | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | |||
| Ghost Stories Live 2014 |
| 2 | — | — | 6 | 3 | — | — | 4 | — | — |
| |
| Live in São Paulo |
| Part of The Butterfly Package and not sold separately | N/A | ||||||||||
| "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. | |||||||||||||
| Title | Year | Channel | Details | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| All Eyes on Coldplay | 2005 | MTV Live | Exclusive interview and broadcast of the band's secret performance at the Round Chapel | [116] | |
| 100% | Fuse | 6 December 2005: Exclusive interview | [117] | ||
| Max Masters: Coldplay | 2008 | Max | 7 June 2008: Exclusive documentary | [118] | |
| MuchOnDemand | MuchMusic | 31 July 2008: Exclusive interview | [119] | ||
| 60 Minutes | 2009 | CBS | Season 41, Episode 18: Exclusive interview | [120] | |
| ITV | Season 33, Episode 2: Exclusive documentary | [121] | |||
| 2010 | Fox | Season 21, Episode 11: "Million Dollar Maybe" guest appearance | [122] | ||
| Boombox All Access with Coldplay | Boomerang | 5 February 2010: Exclusive interview | [123] | ||
| Saturday Night Live | 2011 | NBC | Season 37, Episode 6: "Someone Like You" sketch | ||
| Coldplay: Ghost Stories | 2014 | Sky Arts | Ghost Stories premiere including a special programme, interview and performance | ||
| Watch | Guest appearance performing a magic trick with Dynamo | [124] | |||
| Game of Thrones: The Musical | 2015 | NBC | Mockumentary for Red Nose Day | [125] | |
| Rockfield: The Studio on the Farm | 2020 | BBC Two | Guest appearance telling the band's history with Rockfield Studios | [126] | |
| Dynamo Is Dead | 2023 | Sky Max | Guest appearance offering advice to Dynamo | [127] |
| Title | Year | Details | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| How We Saw the World – Live in Toronto | 2006 | Concert film directed by Hamish Hamilton and released in television channels around the world | ||
| A Head Full of Dreams | 2018 | Music documentary directed by Mat Whitecross and released in cinemas around the world | [128] | |
| Everyday Life – Live in Jordan | 2019 | Music film directed by Paul Dugdale and released exclusively on YouTube | [129] | |
| Reimagined | 2020 | Music short film directed by Andy Hines and released exclusively on Apple Music | [130] | |
| Music of the Spheres: Live at River Plate | 2023 | Music film directed by Paul Dugdale and released in cinemas around the world | [131] | |
| Tutto Passa – A Tribute to Napoli | 2024 | Tribute short film directed by Stillz and released exclusively on YouTube | [132] |
| Company | Year | Promoting | Theme song | Region | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apple Inc. | 2008 | iTunes Store | "Viva la Vida" | United States | [133] |
| Target Corporation | 2014 | Ghost Stories | "" | [134] | |
| Beats Electronics | 2015 | Beats Pill | "Adventure of a Lifetime" | Various | [135] |
| BMW | 2021 | "Higher Power" | [136] | ||
| DHL | 2022 | Music of the Spheres World Tour | "Yellow" | [137] | |
| Kia | 2024 | Kia EV9 | "Wish I Was Here" | United States | [138] |
| DHL | Music of the Spheres World Tour | "Good Feelings" | Various | [139] |