'Higher Power': Coldplay unveil new song by beaming it into space

The single was played for the first time for an astronaut onboard the International Space Station

French ESA astronaut Thomas Pesquet gestures during an interview with members of Coldplay. Reuters

Coldplay gave new meaning to the idea of a single launch, playing new song Higher Power for the first time during a video link-up with French astronaut Thomas Pesquet.

Pesquet spoke with the British group from the International Space Station.

"We sent you some music, because right now we aren't able to play for anyone on Earth, so we thought we would just play for you," singer Chris Martin said before playing the song late on Thursday.

"This is the premiere for the whole ... galaxy," he said, saying the song was about "trying to find the astronaut in all of us, the person who can do amazing things".

The band took the opportunity to quiz Pesquet about his time on the station, including how he unwinds.

"In the evenings when everyone goes to bed ... I put on my headset and play some music and just float ... it's really cool, you feel completely free," Pesquet said.

Asked by guitarist and sci-fi fan Guy Berryman what movies get wrong about being on a space station, Pesquet said the biggest mistake was how long it took to don a space suit and go outside.

"In the movies, it just happens ... space suit on, boom, you're outside," he said. "In reality ... it takes hours to prepare."

Coldplay, who have quit touring over environmental concerns, found common ground with Pesquet as he described his perspective from space.

"It's amazing how small and finite and fragile the Earth is," he said. "It's a ball, it's self-contained. Everything we have is here, there's nothing else. You have to use your resources wisely."

Pesquet then donned some sunglasses, adding they were necessary in the viewing pod.

"Now you look more like a rock star than we ever did," Martin said, laughing.

Has he seen any strange lifeforms out there, the singer asked with a grin. "Not yet, but I keep an eye for them ... I keep looking."

Coldplay also had an imaginative launch for the last album, 2019's Everyday Life, for which they placed ads in the classified sections of newspapers around the world, including in the local newspapers of their home towns in Britain.