LONDON (REUTERS) - British band Coldplay chose an out of this world way to mark the release of their latest single Higher Power on Friday (May 7) - by beaming up into space.

The rock group, known for hit songs Paradise and Viva la Vida, linked up with the International Space Station (ISS) to speak with French European Space Agency astronaut Thomas Pesquet about life in space.

They also shared a recorded outdoor performance of their new song, featuring colourful alien holograms dancing to the tune, to Mr Pesquet, who played it on board the ISS.

"Right now we aren't able to play for anybody on Earth, so we thought we'd just play for you," said lead singer Chris Martin to Mr Pesquet during their chat, a video of which was shared on Friday. "It's like our one-man concert."

Last week, the band wrote on its Twitter page that the song, produced by Swedish songwriter and producer Max Martin, "arrived on a little keyboard and a bathroom sink at the start of 2020".

Coldplay will open next week's Brit Awards, Britain's pop music honours, with a performance of Higher Power on the River Thames near the ceremony's O2 arena venue in London.

They are also set to perform at Glastonbury's live-stream concert on May 22 after the festival's usual greenfield music event was cancelled again this year due to the Covid-19 pandemic.