David Bowie was known for his generosity when it came to collaborations. It was also common knowledge that he was not interested in playing the game for prestige reasons. He has worked with ease across eras and genres, from Queen to Bing Crosby to Nile Rodgers, but star power alone never merited an automatic yes. If Bowie did not feel an artistic impulse to collaborate, he refused (although once, for his mother) without apology.
This franchise has become part of its legend. Bowie was not shy about criticizing his peers, whether it was lashing out at Paul McCartney and Gary Numan, or forming a once-close friendship with Elton John after calling him the “token queen of rock and roll” in the 1970s. Even stories of clashes with Axl Rose – later detailed in Slash’s autobiography – reinforced the same common thread: Bowie valued risk and originality, not consensus. Comfort bored him.
This mindset explains why some of the most surprising collaborations never happened. Bowie repeatedly refused hot red peppersand he also continued to work with Coldplay at the height of their world domination. For an artist often described as borderless, Bowie was remarkably decisive about his limitations. And when it came to the Coldplay song he was asked to appear on, he didn’t beat around the bush, he just didn’t like it. No collaboration, no cameo, no Bowie. Considering how tightly choreographed even a Coldplay kiss-cam moment can be today, it’s not hard to imagine Bowie immediately lip-syncing the vibe and leisurely walking in the other direction.
Coldplay wanted to work with David Bowie on Viva La Vida
“Lhuna” would have brought together Coldplay, Kylie Minogue and Bowie
In 2008, Coldplay released their fourth album, Viva La Vida or Death and all his friends. The songs were recorded between 2006 and 2008 featuring production from frequent David Bowie collaborator, producer Brian Eno. This connection offered the opportunity for a star-studded collaboration.
One of the songs recorded during production was “Lhuna”, which was about a character fantasizing about the woman of the title, begging her to let him “in”. Not very subtle, and oddly different from Coldplay’s usual work. The plan was also to have a “David Bowie-type character” written into the song that they hoped Bowie would sing himself.
It is unclear whether Bowie’s verses were removed from the final cut (with Kylie Minogue in the title role) or whether Martin’s roles were intended to be Bowie’s. However, in an interview with Absolute Radio (via YouTube), Martin said the idea came from a dream where he sang alongside Minogue and Bowie. He also mentioned sending a piano recording to Bowie to listen to in an attempt to influence the charismatic astronaut persona (spoiler alert: it didn’t work). “Lhuna” did not make the final version of Live lifebut it was released as a charity single for World AIDS Day.
Why David Bowie turned down Coldplay’s “Lhuna”
The Thin White Duke really wasn’t a fan
NME spoke to Coldplay drummer Will Champion and the band’s guitarist Jonny Buckland following the death of David Bowie. They remembered mourning him as longtime fans, but Champion fondly remembered the time they tried to convince him to sing on “Lhuna” as a “David Bowie-type character.” The band’s singer, Chris Martin, had written a letter to Bowie describing the subject of the song, hoping for his input, Champion recalled. With a smirk, Champion revealed that Bowie texted them back simply saying: “It’s not a very good song, is it?“Coldplay at least understood and respected the fact that David Bowie would not put his name on anything.”I’ll give him credit for that.” Champion added, and the rest of the music world would probably agree with that sentiment. David Bowie was an enigmatic, but also rightly picky character who was careful about who and what he collaborated on, even if it meant potentially missing out on being part of a $6.8 million-selling hit album.
