Coldplay’s Chris Martin turned down the chance to collaborate with Justin Timberlake, telling him he only sang on his band’s records.

In a TV interview this week Timberlake intimated he made an approach to the singer, only to be rebuffed with the news that Martin only had eyes, or rather vocal chords, for Coldplay.

The pop star told Channel Four’s T4, “I'd like to get Chris Martin in the studio but he won't sing on anything but Coldplay stuff. I respect him and I hate him for that.”

However, Martin was telling little Justin porkie pies, as the singer recorded a duet with another pop star, Nelly Furtado, for her latest album – only to have the track dropped because his vocals sounded “too rocky”.

The British star has also collaborated with rapper Jay-Z for his comeback album, although whether Martin has contributed his warbling to it has not, as yet, been revealed.