Coldplay are forcing their studio engineer to eat.

The band have become concerned about the state of Rik Simpson - who is manning music composition program Pro Tools at the Beehive studio where the band is preparing their fifth album - as he doesn't appear to have time to eat properly or drink cups of hot tea, prompting guitarist Will Champion to take on a fatherly role over him.

A post on the band's blog at coldplay.com explained: "Not a lot gets past Mr. Champion. He's clearly twigged how hard Rik's been working and has figured that if Rik isn't going to look after himself, then he'll do it for him.

"Will stands behind Rik as he continues to fiddle in the Pro Tools screen. It's a lot like watching a parent trying to pull their child away from the X-box.

"I imagine Will has come straight in from the family breakfast table at home. Perhaps he's still in the transition from 'parent mode' to 'work mode'. Perhaps he's just nice. Either way, Rik starts the day with a healthy breakfast."

The budding engineer has also gained a nickname, due to the fact he never finishes a single cup of tea made for him.

The blog post continued: "True to form though, his brew is still two thirds full come lunch time. I'm led to believe that in a previous studio, Rik was referred to by the name 'Coldcup' for this practice of continually being too busy to get his brew while it was still hot."

The name 'Coldcup' is a play on the name of pioneering British dance music duo, Coldcut.

Coldplay's fifth and as-yet-untitled album does not have a scheduled release date at present.