The sweet reason Coldplay played with Michael J Fox at Glastonbury

Poignant moment brought things full circle for British band

Coldplay have revealed the sweet reason they brought Michael J Fox on stage at Glastonbury.

On Saturday (29 June), the British band became the first act to headline the festival for the fifth time, surpassing a record they previously set alongside The Cure.

During their performance, which The Independent hailed as a “spectacle of a lifetime”, frontman Chris Martin introduced several surprise stars, including Palestinian-Chilean singer Elyanna.

But it was the unexpected inclusion of Back to the Future star Fox that stole the show. The actor, who has Parkinson’s disease, received a rapturous response from the 100,000-strong crowd, and played guitar alongside the band for two tracks: “Humankind” and “Fix You”.

Martin had teased Fox’s appearance earlier on in the show, referencing the song “Johnny B Goode”, which Fox’s Back to the Future character, Marty McFly, performs in the first film, released in 1985.

Addressing Fox’s involvement in Coldplay’s headline set, Martin said: “The main reason why we’re in a band is because of watching Back to the Future.”

He thanked Fox, calling him “our hero forever and one of the most amazing people on Earth”.

Michael J Fox plays guitar during Coldplay’s Glastonbury headline set (BBC)

Coldplay also had an array of stars watching from the viewing platform on the side of the stage: Martin’s on-off girlfriend Dakota Johnson was present, as was Tom Cruise and Simon Pegg, who star together in the Mission: Impossible franchise.

In a video obtained by The Independent, the pair could be seen joining the crowd in a rendition of Oasis’s “Don’t Look Back in Anger” before the gig.

Gillian Anderson was also there as was Stormzy, who was watching from the crowd.

The day before, on Friday (28 June), Dua Lipa impressed crowds with her very own headline set – despite a sound issue with the BBC broadcast that forced her to address claims she was miming.

Another Friday highlight were Sugababes – however, their performance on the West Holts stage drew such huge crowds there were reports of fans fainting during their show, while security blocked others from entering in an attempt to reduce overcrowding.

Rounding out the festival on Sunday (30 June) will be SZA.

Follow all the Glastonbury updates as they happen in our live coverage of the festival here.