David Bowie rejected a collaboration with Coldplay: "It's not a very good song, is it?"

Speaking to the NME, Coldplay's Will Champion and Jonny Buckland spoke about Bowie's death and legacy.

"I felt incredibly sad when I heard David Bowie had died," says Buckland. "We've all loved his music for as long as we've known about music."

Champion added: "When you have any involvement in music he was one of the points of reference for absolutely everything, for genres and for how to be a rockstar or a popstar or whatever it was. Completely defining that. So for musicians it's quite disorienting."

They also revealed that Bowie had denied the chance to work with the band; Coldplay once submitted a song to him, and frontman Chris Martin wrote a letter asking the legendary musician to get involved, but he passed up the opportunity.

According to Champion, Bowie replied "It's not a very good song, is it?"

Bowie passed away following an 18-month battle with cancer on 10 January. He released his 25th studio record Blackstar on 8 January, his 69th birthday, as a "parting gift".

Coldplay's latest album, A Head Full Of Dreams, which features Tove Lo, Beyoncé, Noel Gallagher, and more, is out now.

Watch Champion and Buckland speaking about Bowie below.