The instrument with soul behind "Fix You" 🎹❤️

The nostalgic, almost church-like sound that opens one of the greatest songs in Coldplay's history doesn't come from a modern studio synthesizer. Behind those first chords lies a real instrument with a massive emotional weight for the band.

It is a real antique organ that belonged to Bruce Paltrow, the beloved father of Chris Martin's wife at the time, Gwyneth Paltrow.

The story behind the chords:

Following Bruce's sad passing in 2002, the family inherited his belongings, including this old instrument. One afternoon, Chris sat down at it at home to plug it in and try it out for the first time. As he pressed the keys, the mixture of melancholy from the loss and the unique, analog, and pure sound of that antique device suddenly inspired the exact chords of "Fix You."

Chris didn't just write the song to try and comfort his family during such a dark time; they insisted on using that same original organ for the final recording we all hear on the album X&Y. Every time the beginning of the song plays, the soul of that instrument lives on.