 The band started recording the album in London a week after the September 11 attacks in the United States , during which their " poignant songs ... garnered larger audiences " . Coldplay had never stayed in London for an extended period before and were bombarded by problems focusing on the production process . They decided to relocate to Liverpool , where they had recorded some of the songs on Parachutes . Vocalist Chris Martin said that once there they " became obsessed with recording " . " In My Place " was the first song recorded for the album and the one that the band released as the album 's lead single " because it was the song that made us want to do a second album . It kept us going and made us think we could still write songs " , following " a strange period of not really knowing what we were doing " three months after the success of Parachutes . 
