David Bowie had an eclectic taste in music, working with everyone from John Lennon to Iggy Pop, Arcade Fire to LCD Soundsystem, and taking inspiration from rapper Kendrick Lamar on his final album.

There was one act it seems he wasn’t a huge fan of though: Coldplay.

"We once submitted a song to him because it had this three-part thing that had a sort of David Bowie-type character," drummer Will Champion explained, "and I think Chris wrote him a letter saying “Please will you sing on it?” and he came back and said: 'It’s not a very good song is it' (or as Chris Martin tells the story, 'It’s not one of your best')."

"He was very discerning – he wouldn't just put his name to anything,” Champion admitted, "I’ll give him credit for that!"

Coldplay frontman Chris Martin said the band 'would be nothing without the NME' (Getty Images)

When Bowie returned on the scene in 2013 with the haunting ‘Where Are We Now?’, it made Martin feel a little inadequate.

When [the song] came out I was staggered, and also annoyed," he said. "Like, 'Come on, it's not fair.' He's already got all these amazing songs and then this instant classic."

Labyrinth is the movie that springs to most people’s minds, but he also played Nikola Tesla in 2006’s The Prestige, with director Christopher Nolan paying tribute to him this week.

David Bowie: A life in albums Show all 27 1 /27 David Bowie: A life in albums David Bowie: A life in albums David Bowie 1967 David Bowie: A life in albums Space Oddity 1969 David Bowie: A life in albums The Man Who Sold The World 1970 David Bowie: A life in albums Hunky Dory 1971 David Bowie: A life in albums The Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stardust And The Spiders From Mars 1972 David Bowie: A life in albums Aladdin Sane 1973 David Bowie: A life in albums Pin Ups 1973 David Bowie: A life in albums Diamond Dogs 1974 David Bowie: A life in albums Young Americans 1975 David Bowie: A life in albums Station To Station 1976 David Bowie: A life in albums Low 1977 David Bowie: A life in albums Heroes 1977 David Bowie: A life in albums Lodger 1979 David Bowie: A life in albums Scary Monsters 1980 David Bowie: A life in albums Let's Dance 1983 David Bowie: A life in albums Tonight 1984 David Bowie: A life in albums Never Let Me Down 1987 David Bowie: A life in albums Tin Machine 1989 David Bowie: A life in albums Tin Machine II 1991 David Bowie: A life in albums Black Tie White Noise 1993 David Bowie: A life in albums Outside 1995 David Bowie: A life in albums Earthling 1997 David Bowie: A life in albums Hours 1999 David Bowie: A life in albums Heathen 2002 David Bowie: A life in albums Reality 2003 David Bowie: A life in albums The Next Day 2013 David Bowie: A life in albums Black Star 2016

"I've never seen a crew respond to any movie star that way, no matter how big. But he was very gracious and understood the effect he had on people,” he wrote in EW.

"Normally when you meet stars, no matter how starry they are, when you see them as people, some of that mystique goes away. But not with David Bowie,.