Glastonbury viewers left ‘in tears’ after Michael J Fox appears on stage in emotional moment during Coldplay set

Glastonbury fans watching Coldplay's headlining set have been left absolutely flawed after an unexpected appearance from Michael J Fox.

The Back To The Future star joined the band on stage towards the end of their set tonight (29 June).

Fox, 63, was diagnosed with Parkinson's aged just 29 in 1991, and subsequently retired from acting in 2020 due to his worsening symptoms, which include coordination difficulties, muscle stiffness, tremors and impaired movement.

The legendary actor joined the band on stage for their track 'Humankind' as well as iconic tune 'Fix You' and could be seen jamming out with his guitar.

It's safe to say there wasn't a dry eye to be seen as it marked an emotional moment for fans, who weren't expecting to see the actor on stage, especially seen as Coldplay had already brought out two surprise guests tonight.

"Coldplay bringing out Michael J Fox, baaaaawling," wrote one emotional viewer, while another penned: "Am I crying in the middle of the night watching Coldplay gig? I might, yes."

A third chimed in: "Coldplay. Michael J Fox. Tell me you didn’t cry," as a fourth added: "Michael J Fox getting his moment at Glastonbury with Coldplay. What a legend."

Fox also had fans in 'floods of tears' earlier this year when he appeared at the BAFTAs to present the Best Film gong.

Receiving a standing ovation from the BAFTA crowd as he prepared to deliver the award, Fox praised all the nominees and the power of cinema itself.

He said: "Thank you very much, five films are nominated in this category tonight.

"All five have something in common, they're the best at what we do. No matter who you are or where you're from these films can bring us together.

"There's a reason why they say movies are magic, because movies can change your day, they can change your outlook, they can sometimes even change your life."

Coldplay's Glasto set tonight made history as the band marked their fifth time headlining the iconic festival - the most of any artist ever.

They beat out The Cure to earn the impressive accolade as they stepped out onto the Pyramid stage.

Between it being one of the largest crowds people had seen and making music history in the process, it's certainly been one for fans to remember.

Coldplay's set may be done and dusted but Glasto is far from over. Tomorrow (30 June) we've got SZA headlining as well as the likes of Shania Twain and Burna Boy on the roster.

The most iconic Glastonbury moments

2000: The year that nearly killed Glasto

While Glasto has always had people attempting to gatecrash, 24 years ago gatecrashers descended the infamous festival in record numbers.

It was so bad it resulted in the festival being cancelled the following year as ticketless punters swarmed the site, with fears at the time the chaos could kill off the festival altogether.

Luckily, as we know, Glasto is still going strong. Speaking to the Guardian in 2020, the festival's co-creator Michael Eavis explained: "The fence wasn’t good enough, the security was crap. So I was hauled over the coals by the police, who said: "You’ve got to get someone to organise your show. You’re a nice bloke and all that, but you couldn’t arrange something in a brewery, you know the saying?

"I said: ‘Fair enough. At least I can be guaranteed to get 150,000 people at the drop of a hat – I did get the knack of that!’”

The set that turned Coldplay into megastars

The set helped turn Coldplay into megastars. (BBC)

Back in 2002, the ‘Fix You’ hitmakers won fans over as they played tunes from their upcoming second album.

Apparently, the band’s agent didn’t feel they were ready for it at the time, but Eavis insisted they headlined.

And I’m sure they’re glad they listened seeing as they’ve now got nine studio albums under their belt and millions in the bank, with their A Head Full Of Dreams Tour having grossed more than half a billion dollars in its two-year run. Impressive.

Jay-Z playing Oasis on the Pyramid Stage

He hit back in the best way. (BBC)

It was the feud no one saw coming, but in 2008 rapper Jay-Z responded to Noel Gallagher slagging off having ‘hip hop at Glastonbury’ in the most hilarious way.

The star opened up his infamous headlining set on the pyramid stage playing his own version of ‘Wonderwall’, which went down a treat with fans and spawned one of the most iconic moments in Glasto history.

The muddiest year ever

It was pure carnage. (BBC)

Britain isn’t exactly known for its glorious sunshine and I think that’s especially the case when it comes to festivals, which often see punters squelching through mud in their wellies, pint in hand.

Glasto in particular has become synonymous with being pretty muddy, but 2016 really took the biscuit. Even the festival’s boss said ’in all 46 years, it hasn’t been as bad as this’ as things became an absolute logistical nightmare after weeks of rainfall beforehand.

The scenes were chaotic, to say the least. Festival-goers were filmed diving into the mud and struggling to wade through gloop in such a way that made going for a pint like climbing Mount Everest. Generally, everyone was just really trying not to fall on their ars*s.

It wasn’t a pretty sight, but of course Brits still managed to embrace the music and the photos and videos have since gone down in the Glasto history books.

The Killers' secret set

The band performed again in 2019. (BBC)

The iconic band decided to take a more chilled approach to festival life by taking over the secret act slot on the John Peel stage in 2017.

However, as is usually the case with 'secret' gigs, word spread quickly as fans flooded to the stage in their droves to catch the band in action.

It was a far cry from their previous Glasto performance, which saw their headline show become marred with serious technical issues which majorly affected the sound.

Kylie's long-awaited headline set

Kylie's set broke records. (BBC)

In 2019 Kylie Minogue set the pyramid stage alight for her headline set, but she was actually meant to grace the stage much sooner.

14 years earlier, the pop princess was forced to cancel her slot after being diagnosed with breast cancer, making her appearance on the stage even more special for both her and fans.

Her set ended up being crowned the most-watched in Glastonbury’s history, raking in 3.9million watching at its peak, beating the likes of Ed Sheeran, Adele and even Beyoncé.

Alex from Glasto

That same year, rapper Dave created probably one of the most meme-able Glasto moments when he brought a bloke called Alex on stage to perform ‘Thiago Silva’ with him, which he absolutely nailed.

Safe to say the moment went viral, with the then 15-year-old becoming known as 'Alex from Glasto'.

It's no surprise really given his unreal rapping skills and the fact that he was donning a bucket hat, FILA bag and Paris Saint-Germain shirt. Brilliant.