The Take That star hadn’t sang for years after the collapse of his solo career, and he said he had no desire to make a comeback until he heard the band’s LP Parachutes.
'I spent years telling everyone around that I didn't want to be an artist again. I didn't sing for six or seven years,” he told The Sun.
'I seldom sang on demos and if I could get someone else to sing then I would, right until I heard the first Coldplay album. I realised that you could be in a rock band and not have a husky rasp - Chris [Martin] has the most beautiful voice. I thought for the first time, 'I could see myself doing that again'. For the first time in years I could see that place.”
He continued: 'I was so inspired by that stuff. I used to play and sing it on my own. So when I came back I imagined that sound and the guitars and imagined the stadium sound of a Coldplay song. I thought that could work for us, especially as a vocal group as well. Obviously there are not usually many harmonies with Coldplay but I hear them and I could hear where they would fit. I thought that was very much a direction that could work for us.'