Demand for ‘Violent Hill’, the new single from Coldplay, caused the band’s website to gridlock when it was released as a free download yesterday (April 29th).

The song is the first to be taken from the band’s forthcoming album, ‘Viva la Vida’, which is released on June 12th.

A spokesperson for the band said that demand for the song, which appeared online at 12.15pm, had been “incredible”.

"Massive demand slowed everything down in the first 40 minutes of the download going live,” they told the BBC.

"But that was quickly fixed and Coldplay.com is delivering tracks to fans at full speed."

Coldplay will play three free shows – in Barcelona, New York and London - this summer in support of the album.

(by Jason Gregory)