A collaboration between David Bowie and Coldplay might have been a dream scenario for many music enthusiasts, but Bowie decided against it.
It’s a choice that he might have reconsidered, as the album that Coldplay wanted him to contribute to eventually sold over 6,800,000 copies in its first year.
The reason behind his refusal was simply Bowie’s legendary status in the music industry.
Even without his direct involvement, Coldplay had envisioned a role in the song for what they termed a ‘David Bowie-type character’ to enhance the track.
Chris Martin, the lead singer of Coldplay, reached out to Bowie with a letter to see if he would be interested in participating.
This ‘David Bowie-type character’ was intended for Coldplay’s 2008 track ‘Lhuna’, which was part of the album ‘Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends’.
The song narrates the tale of someone imagining about a woman named Lhuna, and Coldplay hoped Bowie could embody the character they had in mind.
After its debut, the album emerged as the top-selling global release in 2008, marking its success. So, why did Bowie choose not to partake in it?
Despite Coldplay’s proven musical prowess, David Bowie was not impressed with ‘Lhuna’.
Will Champion, Coldplay’s drummer, reflected on Bowie’s reaction after his passing in 2016, revealing in an NME interview that Bowie was quite straightforward in his feedback.
Champion recalled that the ‘Starman’ icon responded: “It’s not a very good song, is it?”
Chris Martin also reminisced about Bowie’s reaction in his interview with NME, stating: “He called me and said, ‘It’s not one of your best’.”
Despite not featuring Bowie, Coldplay held no hard feelings. Champion remarked: “He was very discerning – he wouldn’t just put his name to anything. I’ll give him credit for that!”
While Coldplay missed out on securing Bowie’s involvement, it clearly did not hinder the success of the ‘Viva La Vida’ album.