A Rush of Blood to the Head is the second studio album by the British rock band Coldplay. It was released on 26 August 2002 by Parlophone in the United Kingdom, and a day later by Capitol in the United States. The album was produced by the band and Ken Nelson, making greater use of the electric guitar and piano compared to their debut album, Parachutes (2000).
Recording began after the band achieved global popularity through Parachutes and "Yellow". A Rush of Blood to the Head reached number one in 12 countries upon release, with EMI shipping over 2 million copies in its first week worldwide. In the United Kingdom, it became the eighth best-selling album of the 21st century. The British Phonographic Industry (BPI) certified the album 10× Platinum for its accumulated sales of 3 million units, while more than 20 million copies were sold around the world. It spawned the hit singles "In My Place", "The Scientist", "Clocks" and "God Put a Smile upon Your Face".
A Rush of Blood to the Head has been critically acclaimed, and the band received three Grammy Awards for the album at the 45th Grammy Awards; Best Alternative Album, which was the band's second win in a row, Best Rock Performance for "In My Place", and Record of the Year for "Clocks" at the 46th ceremony. In 2007, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame included it on their 200 Definitive Albums list. In 2010, it was among ten albums nominated for the best British album of the past 30 years at the Brit Awards, and one of ten classic album covers from British artists commemorated on a UK postage stamp issued by the Royal Mail. It has appeared on several editions of Rolling Stones list of the "500 Greatest Albums of All Time". Multiple publications have listed A Rush of Blood to the Head as being considered amongst the best albums in history.
Recording
Coldplay started recording A Rush of Blood to the Head in London in September 2001, but later relocated to Liverpool, where they had recorded some of the songs on their debut album Parachutes (2000). Lead singer Chris Martin said that once there they "became obsessed with recording". The band wrote more than twenty songs in the months following for the album and some of those, including "In My Place" and "Animals", were performed live during the tours promoting Parachutes. The album's title was revealed through a post on the band's official website.
During initial recording sessions in Liverpool, Martin and guitarist Jonny Buckland worked alone, and only on weekends. Each Monday, they would present the song ideas that they had developed to their bandmates.
By June 2002, the band had completed A Rush of Blood to the Head, but thought their output sounded "rubbish" and reached an agreement with record label Parlophone to postpone the release of the album until they were completely satisfied.
After headlining the 2002 Glastonbury Festival, Coldplay returned to the studio and worked on some tracks from the "Songs for #3" CD they had produced earlier. Phil Harvey, the band's manager, heard "Clocks" and urged them to rework it immediately: "No, you must do that song now 'cause you're going on [in the lyrics] about urgency, and you're talking about keeping this song back. That doesn't make sense." Chris Martin has also stated that the album's title track is an homage to American singer-songwriter Johnny Cash. The title track is about uncertainties faced in life. According to Martin, the song "Green Eyes" was composed for an "American friend" and guitarist Jonny Buckland. During an interview for Apple Music, drummer Will Champion revealed that "A Whisper" was recorded on a single take, adding that the band never managed to re-record the song or play it live properly after the original session.
Artwork
The album cover for A Rush of Blood to the Head was designed by photographer Sølve Sundsbø. Sundsbø had been hired by fashion magazine Dazed & Confused in the late 1990s to produce a shot with a "technological feel, something all white", according to himself. As an artist, Sundsbø attempted to do a unique original piece, creating a shot that had never been seen before; he suggested taking shots using a three-dimensional scanning machine—used to measure head sizes for USAF fighter jet helmets—to fulfill his vision.
The model for the shots, named Mim, wore all-white cosmetic makeup, along with a coloured twill cape, to aesthetically produce optimal and desired results. The scanner could not properly identify some of the colors on the cape, so they were replaced with digital spikes, and the head in the image was chopped as the machine was unable to scan more than about thirty centimetres in height at a time. At first, Sundsbø had mixed feelings about the image, stating that when he first saw the result, he was terrified. "I thought it was so beautiful, but I was sure the magazine was never going to run it." The editor of the magazine, however, absolutely loved the image, and eventually featured it in one of their publications. After seeing the image in a publication of the magazine, Chris Martin approached Sundsbø for proper permission to use the image as the cover of A Rush of Blood to the Head. For the album's singles, Martin asked Sundsbø for any ideas; Sundsbø suggested scanning the head of each member of the band.
Release
A Rush of Blood to the Head was released on 26 August 2002 by Parlophone in the United Kingdom, and a day later on 27 August 2002 by Capitol in the United States. The album was completed and originally ready to hand over to record representatives and released in June 2002; however, after recording a demo of "Clocks" intended for the third album, the band delayed release by two months to allow them to work it into a finished track and include it on A Rush of Blood to the Head.
Critical reception
Reviews
Upon release, A Rush of Blood to the Head received positive reviews from contemporary critics. Review aggregating website Metacritic reports a normalised score of 80 out of 100 based on 25 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Rolling Stones Rob Sheffield said that "A Rush of Blood to the Head is a nervier, edgier, thoroughly surprising album", adding, "where Parachutes was the clumsy diary of a high-strung kid, A Rush of Blood sounds more like a band with the confidence to test its own limits." Emma Pearse of the American newspaper The Village Voice has the same sentiments, stating that it is "a little edgier, trancier, and more conversational" compared to Parachutes. Conversely, Robert Christgau gave the album a one-star honorable mention () and quipped "Let Green Eyes dump him for real and we'll see how long he hums in the void".
In 2012, it was ranked number 466 on Rolling Stones list of the 500 greatest albums of all time, with its ranking climbing to number 324 in the 2020 update. In 2013, the album topped a BBC Radio poll ahead of Hopes and Fears by Keane, Rio by Duran Duran and The Dark Side of the Moon by Pink Floyd. It was also included in 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die. Billboard listed "Green Eyes" among the best deep cuts from the 21st century.
Rankings
{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders sortable" style="text-align:center"
|+List of critic rankings
! scope="col" |Publication
! scope="col" |Year
! scope="col" |Description
! scope="col" |Result
! scope="col" class="unsortable" |
|-
! scope="row" |
| 2002
| style="text-align:left;" |Best Albums of 2002
| 3
|
|-
! scope="row" |Billboard
| 2002
| style="text-align:left;" |Critics' Choice Albums 2002
| 1
|
|-
! scope="row" |Blender
| 2002
| style="text-align:left;" |Top 10 Albums of 2002
| 2
|
|-
! scope="row" |Consequence
| 2009
| style="text-align:left;" |Top of the Decade Albums
| 33
|
|-
! scope="row" |Entertainment Weekly
| 2008
| style="text-align:left;" |100 Best Albums from 1983 to 2008
| 49
|
|-
! scope="row" |
| 2007
| style="text-align:left;" |1000 Albums to Hear Before You Die
| Placed
|
|-
! scope="row" |Loudwire
| 2025
| style="text-align:left;" |
| Placed
|
|-
! rowspan="2" scope="row" |Newsweek
| 2020
| style="text-align:left;" |100 Best Rock Albums of All Time
| 77
|
|-
| 2021
| style="text-align:left;" |50 Best Rock Albums from the 21st Century
| 12
|
|-
! rowspan="2" |NME
| 2006
| style="text-align:left;" |100 Greatest British Albums Ever
| 67
|
|-
| 2013
| style="text-align:left;" |
| 266
|
|-
! scope="row" |Paste
| 2009
| style="text-align:left;" |
| 33
|
|-
! scope="row" |PopMatters
| 2002
| style="text-align:left;" |
| 3
|
|-
! rowspan="3" scope="row" |Q
| 2002
| style="text-align:left;" |Recordings of the Year – 2002
| Placed
|
|-
| 2004
| style="text-align:left;" |50 Best British Albums Ever
| 19
|
|-
| 2016
| style="text-align:left;" |
| Placed
|
|-
! scope="row" |Radio X
| 2023
| style="text-align:left;" |
| 16
|
|-
! scope="row" |Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
| 2007
| style="text-align:left;" |Definitive 200 Albums of All Time
| 65
|
|-
! rowspan="3" scope="row" |Rolling Stone
| 2002
| style="text-align:left;" |Best Albums of 2002
| 3
|
|-
| 2011
| style="text-align:left;" |100 Best Albums of the 2000s
| 21
|
|-
| 2023
| style="text-align:left;" |
| 324
|
|-
! scope="row" |RTÉ Gold
| 2023
| style="text-align:left;" |Top 100 Greatest Albums
| 29
|
|-
! rowspan="2" scope="row" |Spin
| 2010
| style="text-align:left;" |Top 125 Albums of the Past 25 Years
| 107
|
|-
| 2014
| style="text-align:left;" |
| 278
|
|-
! scope="row" |
| 2009
| style="text-align:left;" |
| 71
|
|-
! scope="row" |Uncut
| 2009
| style="text-align:left;" |150 Greatest Albums of the 21st Century So Far
| 131
|
|-
! scope="row" |Under the Radar
| 2009
| style="text-align:left;" |Best Albums of the Decade (2000–2009)
| 76
|
|-
! scope="row" |
| 2002
| style="text-align:left;" |Pazz & Jop Critics Poll
| 9
|
|-
! scope="row" |WXPN
| 2021
| style="text-align:left;" |All Time Greatest Albums
| 249
|
|-
! scope="row" |Yardbarker
| 2023
| style="text-align:left;" |Best Alternative Albums of the 21st Century
| Placed
|
|}
Accolades
{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders"
|+List of awards and nominations
! scope="col" |Year
! scope="col" |Ceremony
! scope="col" |Category
! scope="col" |Result
! scope="col" class="unsortable" |
|-
! rowspan="6" scope="row" style="text-align:center;" |2002
| Fryderyk Awards
| Best Foreign Album
|
| style="text-align:center;" |
|-
| Gaffa Awards (Denmark)
| International Album of the Year
|
| style="text-align:center;" |
|-
| MTV Europe Music Awards
| rowspan="2" |Best Album
|
| style="text-align:center;" |
|-
| Q Awards
|
| style="text-align:center;" |
|-
| Rockbjörnen Awards
| Best International Album
|
| style="text-align:center;" |
|-
| Top of the Pops Awards
| Top Album
|
| style="text-align:center;" |
|-
! rowspan="10" scope="row" style="text-align:center;" |2003
| Brit Awards
| British Album of the Year
|
| style="text-align:center;" |
|-
| Danish Music Awards
| International Album of the Year
|
| style="text-align:center;" |
|-
| Edison Awards
| Best International Group Album
|
| style="text-align:center;" |
|-
| Grammy Awards
| Best Alternative Music Album
|
| style="text-align:center;" |
|-
| Hungarian Music Awards
| Foreign Modern Rock Album of the Year
|
| style="text-align:center;" |
|-
| Mercury Prize
| Album of the Year
|
| style="text-align:center;" |
|-
| rowspan="2" |NME Awards
| Album of the Year
|
| rowspan="2" style="text-align:center;" |
|-
| Best Album
|
|-
| Premios Oye!
| English Album of the Year
|
| style="text-align:center;" |
|-
| Žebřík Music Awards
| Best Foreign Album
|
| style="text-align:center;" |
|-
! scope="row" style="text-align:center;" |2010
| Brit Awards
| British Album – Last 30 Years
|
| style="text-align:center;" |
|}
Commercial performance
A Rush of Blood to the Head reached number one in 12 countries. EMI shipped over 2 million copies of the album in its first week worldwide. The British Phonographic Industry has since certified the album 10× Platinum for 3 million. With the subsequent release of "Clocks" and "The Scientist", the album spent over one year on the chart. A Rush of Blood to the Head has been placed at number seven on the list of United Kingdom's 20 biggest-selling albums of the 21st century, published by Music Week. As of October 2021, it has sold over 3 million copies in the UK, making it Coldplay's best-selling album and the 10th biggest of the 21st century.
It spent four consecutive weeks at number one on the European Top 100 Albums chart in 2002. In the United States, A Rush of Blood was Coldplay's first venture into the Top 5, with 140,854 copies sold. It was stronger than its predecessor, Parachutes, which debuted at number 189 in December 2000. A Rush of Blood debuted at number-one on the Canadian Albums Chart, selling 28,200 copies in its first week. The album has been certified 4x Platinum by the Canadian Recording Industry Association for shipments of over 400,000. It has been certified 7× Platinum by the Australian Recording Industry Association, having accumulated shipments of more than 490,000 units.
Track listing
All tracks are written by Coldplay, with co-production from Ken Nelson.
Personnel
Credits adapted from AllMusic.
Coldplay
- Chris Martin – lead vocals, piano, keyboards, acoustic guitar, rhythm guitar (tracks 8–9)
- Jonny Buckland – lead guitar, backing vocals (tracks 1 and 6), acoustic guitar (track 4), twelve-string slide guitar (track 6)
- Guy Berryman – bass guitar
- Will Champion – drums, backing vocals
Technical and additional personnel
- Coldplay – producer, string arranger, mixer, art direction
- Andrea Wright – assistant engineer
- Ann Lines – string performer
- Audrey Riley – string arranger and performer
- Ben Thackeray – assistant engineer
- Blue Source – art direction
- Chris Tombling – string performer
- Dan Green – string performer
- Danton Supple – mixer (track 2, 3, 6, 8, 10)
- George Marino – mastering
- Jon Bailey – assistant engineer
- Jon Withnal – assistant engineer
- Ken Nelson – producer, engineer, mixer
- Laura Melhewish – string performer
- Leo Payne – string performer
- Mark Phythian – additional production, mixer
- Peter Lale – string performer
- Richard George – string performer
- Rik Simpson – additional engineering
- Sølve Sundsbø – cover art
- Susan Dench – string performer
- Tom Sheehan – photographer
- Zed Nelson – photographer
Charts
Weekly charts
{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
|+Weekly chart performance for A Rush of Blood to the Head
! scope="col" style="width:21em;" |Chart (2002–2025)
! scope="col" |Peak<br/>position
|-
! scope="row" |Argentine Albums (CAPIF)
| 2
|-
|-
|-
|-
|-
|-
! scope="row" |Croatian International Albums (HDU)
| 36
|-
|-
|-
! scope="row" |European Albums (Music & Media)
| 1
|-
|-
|-
|-
! scope="row" |Greek Albums (IFPI)
| 1
|-
|-
! scope="row" |Icelandic Albums (Tónlistinn)
| 38
|-
|-
|-
! scope="row"| Norwegian Rock Albums (IFPI Norge)
| 7
|-
|-
! scope="row" |Portuguese Albums (AFP)
| 3
|-
|-
! scope="row" |Singaporean Albums (RIAS)
| 7
|-
! scope="row" |South Korean Albums (Gaon)
| 89
|-
! scope="row" |South Korean International Albums (Gaon)
| 10
|-
! scope="row" |Spanish Albums (AFYVE)
| 9
|-
|-
|-
! scope="row" |Emirati Albums (IFPI)
| 8
|-
! scope="row" |South Korean International Albums (Gaon)
| 20
|-
! scope="row" |Uruguayan Albums (CUD)
| 4
|}
Year-end charts
{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
|+Year-end chart performance for A Rush of Blood to the Head
! scope="col" style="width:24em;" |Chart (2002)
! scope="col" |Position
|-
! scope="row" |Australian Albums (ARIA)
| 48
|-
! scope="row" |Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)
| 15
|-
! scope="row" |Belgian Alternative Albums (Ultratop Flanders)
| 8
|-
! scope="row" |Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)
| 31
|-
! scope="row" |Canadian Albums (Nielsen SoundScan)
| 35
|-
! scope="row" |Canadian Alternative Albums (Nielsen SoundScan)
| 10
|-
! scope="row" |Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)
| 31
|-
! scope="row" |European Albums (Music & Media)
| 14
|-
! scope="row" |French Albums (SNEP)
| 73
|-
! scope="row" |German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)
| 64
|-
! scope="row" |Irish Albums (IRMA)
| 1
|-
! scope="row" |Italian Albums (FIMI)
| 31
|-
! scope="row" |New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)
| 43
|-
! scope="row" |Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)
| 88
|-
|-
! scope="row" |UK Albums (OCC)
| 4
|-
! scope="row" |US Billboard 200
| 140
|-
! scope="row" |Worldwide Albums (IFPI)
| 24
|}
{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
|-
! scope="col" style="width:24em;" |Chart (2003)
! scope="col" |Position
|-
! scope="row" |Australian Albums (ARIA)
| 10
|-
! scope="row" |Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)
| 72
|-
! scope="row" |Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)
| 7
|-
! scope="row" |Belgian Alternative Albums (Ultratop Flanders)
| 3
|-
! scope="row" |Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)
| 26
|-
! scope="row" |Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)
| 6
|-
! scope="row" |European Albums (Billboard)
| 8
|-
! scope="row" |French Albums (SNEP)
| 83
|-
! scope="row" |German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)
| 17
|-
! scope="row" |Irish Albums (IRMA)
| 7
|-
! scope="row" |Italian Albums (FIMI)
| 54
|-
! scope="row" |New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)
| 3
|-
|-
! scope="row" |UK Albums (OCC)
| 7
|-
! scope="row" |US Billboard 200
| 17
|-
! scope="row" |Worldwide Albums (IFPI)
| 6
|}
{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
|-
! scope="col" style="width:24em;" |Chart (2004)
! scope="col" |Position
|-
! scope="row" |Australian Albums (ARIA)
| 31
|-
! scope="row" |Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)
| 46
|-
! scope="row" |Belgian Alternative Albums (Ultratop Flanders)
| 27
|-
! scope="row" |Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)
| 77
|-
! scope="row" |UK Albums (OCC)
| 85
|-
! scope="row" |US Billboard 200
| 76
|}
{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
|-
! scope="col" style="width:24em;" |Chart (2005)
! scope="col" |Position
|-
! scope="row" |Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)
| 51
|-
! scope="row" |Belgian Alternative Albums (Ultratop Flanders)
| 37
|-
! scope="row" |UK Albums (OCC)
| 103
|-
! scope="row" |US Catalog Albums (Billboard)
| 9
|}
{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
|-
! scope="col" style="width:24em;" |Chart (2006)
! scope="col" |Position
|-
! scope="row" |US Catalog Albums (Billboard)
| 23
|}
{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
|-
! scope="col" style="width:24em;" |Chart (2007)
! scope="col" |Position
|-
! scope="row" |Belgian Midprice Albums (Ultratop Flanders)
| 21
|-
! scope="row" |Belgian Midprice Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)
| 35
|}
{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
|-
! scope="col" style="width:24em;" |Chart (2008)
! scope="col" |Position
|-
! scope="row" |Belgian Midprice Albums (Ultratop Flanders)
| 39
|-
! scope="row" |Belgian Midprice Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)
| 30
|}
{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
|-
! scope="col" style="width:24em;" |Chart (2014)
! scope="col" |Position
|-
! scope="row" |South Korean International Albums (Gaon)
| 84
|}
{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
|-
! scope="col" style="width:24em;" |Chart (2023)
! scope="col" |Position
|-
! scope="row" |Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)
| 79
|}
{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
|-
! scope="col" style="width:24em;" |Chart (2025)
! scope="col" |Position
|-
! scope="row"| Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)
| 60
|-
! scope="row"| Icelandic Albums (Tónlistinn)
| 93
|}
Decade-end charts
{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
|+Decade-end chart performance for A Rush of Blood to the Head
! scope="col" style="width:24em;" |Chart (2000–2009)
! scope="col" |Position
|-
! scope="row" |Australian Albums (ARIA)
| 19
|-
! scope="row" |UK Albums (OCC)
| 8
|-
! scope="row" |US Billboard 200
| 88
|}
Certifications and sales
See also
- 2002 in British music
- List of fastest-selling albums
- List of best-selling albums in Belgium
- List of best-selling albums in Europe
- List of best-selling albums in the United Kingdom
- List of best-selling albums of 2002 in Ireland
- List of best-selling albums of 2003 in Ireland
- List of number-one albums in Hong Kong
- List of number-one albums in Norway
- List of number-one albums of 2002 (Australia)
- List of number-one albums of 2002 (Canada)
- List of number-one hits of 2002 (Europe)
- List of number-one hits of 2002 (Germany)
- List of number-one hits of 2002 (Italy)
- List of number-one hits of 2002 (Switzerland)
- List of number-one albums from the 2000s (Denmark)
- List of UK Albums Chart number ones of the 2000s