Michael J Fox leaves Coldplay Glastonbury crowd stunned
Source: X/Back to the Future Musical
Back to the Future star Michael J Fox has joined Coldplay on stage for part of their record-breaking set in front of 100,000 people at Glastonbury.
The British band first headlined on the Pyramid Stage in 2002. On Saturday, they overtook four-time headliner The Cure as the band to play Britain’s biggest music festival most often.
Fireworks, confetti and two very special guests (both called Michael) wowed the crowd during the set by frontman Chris Martin, guitarist Jonny Buckland, drummer Will Champion and bassist Guy Berryman.
Their first guest was festival co-founder Michael Eavis. The second was another “legendary” Michael – acting legend Michael J Fox.
“One who just totally rocks, with his Chuck Berry riff and the way he punched Biff. Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome Michael J Fox,” Martin said.
Martin was referring to Fox’s role in the Back to the Future trilogy, in which his character Marty McFly played Johnny B Goode and saw off antagonist Biff Tannen.
Source: Coldplay
Michael J Fox joins stage for Fix You
Coldplay has had plenty of hits since they first played Glastonbury in 1999, where they took the stage in the New Bands Tent.
Their song, Fix You, has stood the test of time, even nearly 20 years after its initial release.
Fox was brought on to the stage in a wheelchair and played the guitar for Fix You alongside the band.
The Hollywood actor, 63, was diagnosed with young-onset Parkinson’s disease a year after Back To The Future Part III was released in 1990.
He worked for years while hiding his diagnosis, but went public with it in 1998. Two years later, he founded the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research.
He announced his on-screen retirement in 2020 and in 2023 starred in the Apple+ documentary Still: A Michael J Fox Movie, exploring how Parkinson’s affected his life.
For part of Saturday’s performance, Martin crouched down at Fox’s level as the crowd chanted back the song’s chorus, before the former actor started playing.
Later, during an interlude in Fix You, Martin swapped to the lyrics for Johnny B. Goode – the song fans associate with Marty McFly and Back to the Future.
“Go, Johnny, go, go, go,” Martin sang, as Fox rocked out from his chair, even throwing a kick out as he did in the 1985 film
It’s actually not the first time Fox has joined Coldplay on stage. In 2016, he also played with the band at the MetLife Stadium in New Jersey.
‘F—ing mindblowing’
Fox took to Instagram to thank Coldplay for hosting him.
“Oh yeah, in case you were wondering … it was f—ing mind-blowing,” he wrote of the experience.
“There is a time for every band and a band for every time. This is Coldplay’s time.”
There were no shortage of other celebrities at Glastonbury.
Tom Cruise was in England for the five-day festival, seen standing with his Mission: Impossible co-star Simon Pegg and director Christopher McQuarrie.
Gillian Anderson was also with that crew when they sang along to Oasis’s Don’t Look Back in Anger before Coldplay’s set.
There were also reported sightings of Alexa Chung, Paul Mescal, Sienna Miller, Cara Delevingne, Anya Taylor-Joy, Dave Grohl and Noel Gallagher.
