Michael J. Fox plays guitar alongside Coldplay at Glastonbury headline performance, Little Simz performs to introduce new song

Go, Johnny, go! Coldplay brought Michael J. Fox on stage at Glastonbury on Saturday night to play guitar for the group’s headlining performance.

“The main reason we’re in a band is ‘Back to the Future,'” said Coldplay frontman Chris Martin after the performance. “So thanks to Michael, our hero.”

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Before launching into “Humankind,” Martin improvised the lyrics to point out the crowd – including Glastonbury founder Michael Eavis and Fox. Fox played with the group for the song and also stayed for a performance of “Fix You.”

Fox, who has been battling Parkinson’s disease since 1991, was confined to a wheelchair for the performance.

The group had previously also invited rapper Little Simz as a surprise guest, who introduced a new collaboration. The song’s title is rumored to be “Supernova,” with the lines “and so we pray” clearly heard in the chorus. Burna Boy also has a verse of the song, but was not present at the Glastonbury performance. Palestinian singer Elyanna was also on stage and helped with vocals.

Simz’s surprise appearance came after she played the Pyramid Stage directly before Coldplay. Before Simz took the stage, the band played a series of their biggest hits, starting with “Yellow,” slowing down with “The Scientist,” and playing “Viva La Vida” with a live orchestra.

As Coldplay’s performance came to a close after a rendition of “Sparks,” frontman Chris Martin urged the crowd to hold their hands up and send their love to “Israel or Palestine, Ukraine or Russia, wherever you want.”

At the beginning of the set, Coldplay welcomed Victoria Canal for “Paradise.” The 25-year-old singer-songwriter supported the band as a singer and pianist.

Coldplay are Glastonbury legends – the rock band led by Chris Martin first performed at the festival in 1999 and headlined in 2002 (when they replaced the Strokes at the last minute), 2005, 2011 and 2016. This year’s performance marks Coldplay’s fifth time as top act and the band is the first to achieve this.

Saturday night’s show followed last week’s news that the band’s 10th album, titled “Moon Music,” is set to be released on October 4. The first single from the album, “Feels Like I’m Falling in Love,” was released on Friday. “Moon Music” was produced by hitmaker Max Martin, who has worked with everyone from Britney Spears to The Weeknd. The album will be the band’s first since 2021’s “Music of the Spheres.”

Coldplay is currently still on the “Music of the Spheres” tour and has made significant efforts to reduce its carbon footprint. So far, it has generated 59% less CO2e emissions than its last stadium tour. With revenues of over $810 million, the “Music of the Spheres” tour is the third most successful and second most attended tour of all time. The tour is scheduled to end in New Zealand in November.

Coldplay was formed in 1997 at University College London and currently consists of lead singer Martin, guitarist Jonny Buckland, bassist Guy Berryman and drummer Will Champion. The band has sold over 100 million albums worldwide, making them one of the best-selling music acts of all time.

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