Coldplay photo by Anton Corbijn, David Bowie photo by Jimmy King

In a new interview with NME, Coldplay's Will Champion said the late David Bowie once turned down their request for a collaboration. The band had written a song with a multi-part harmony, and envisioned Bowie as one of the voices. When Chris Martin wrote Bowie a letter asking him to participate, the response was definitive: "It's not a very good song, is it?"

"He was very discerning," Champion added. "He wouldn't just put his name to anything. I'll give him credit for that."

Watch NME's video of Champion's comments, which came as a larger reflection on Bowie's music, below.

Read our "Afterword" feature on Bowie, plus tributes from Nile Rodgers, Bradford Cox, Carlos Dengler, Thurston Moore, Carlos Alomar, and Jonathan Lethem.