Coldplay's Glastonbury set was more than a singalong. It was a global moment of hope

The band's June 29 festival performance of "Fix You" with actor Michael J. Fox reminded the world about the power of unity and perseverance

Coldplay performed its 2005 hit “Fix You” at the U.K.’s Glastonbury festival on June 29, 2024, with actor Michael J. Fox on guitar. (Credit: BBC /YouTube /Screenshot)

Singer Chris Martin got down on his knees to start one of Coldplay’s biggest hits Saturday night in front of a crowd of 100,000 people at the Glastonbury Festival in Somerset, England.

Martin often plays piano on this one—he and the band wrote “Fix You” for his former wife Gwyneth Paltrow after the death of her father Bruce in 2003, using one of his keyboards.

But at this massive gig, Martin knelt centerstage, one hand on a microphone, the other in the air as spotlights revealed a man behind him holding a pink guitar and sitting in a wheelchair. Sweaty festivalgoers swayed in the dark, their wrists twinkling with synchronized LED bracelets.

“Lights will guide you home and ignite your bone,” the wave of voices sang, causing Martin to catch his breath in awe after the first chorus.

Cameras pan to centerstage for the next verse, and when it became clear the guest in the chair was actor and Parkinson’s Disease research innovator Michael J. Fox, the audience repeated the chorus louder. Martin jumped up and twirled down the catwalk while Coldplay’s Johnny Buckner and Fox turned up the volume for the song’s guitar-driven bridge.

“Go Michael,” Martin yelled, as he ran back to centerstage to groove behind Fox and bassist Buy Berryman, adding “Go Johnny, go, go, go!,” a directive to his band’s guitarist and a reference to a scene from the 1985 film Back to the Future in which Fox’s character Marty McFly plays Chuck Berry’s “Johnny B. Goode,” while mimicking some of the rock and roll architect’s signature guitar riffs and stage moves.

Then drummer Will Champion drooped the backbeat as fireworks and streamers exploded and Fox, seated, kicked his leg out past the guitar like Berry used to do.

When Martin chimed in again with “Tears stream down your face, when you lose something you cannot replace…” it felt like the whole world was singing with him.

“Lights will guide you home and ignite your bones,” he sang a final time, laughing in disbelief at the magnitude of the moment. “And I will try to fix you.”

“The main reason we’re in a band is because of watching Back to the Future,” Martin said after pausing the music. “So, thank you to our hero forever, and one of the most amazing people on earth, Mr. Michael J. Fox.”

After Fox was wheeled offstage, Martin asked the “choir of Glastonbury and surrounding nations” for one more round, this time with just their voices and the gospel chords of the simple upright piano where he now sat.

The video screens filled with elated faces of those in the audience, many young, some sobbing, others lost in joy, all singing a song they likely first heard on a CD in the backseat of their parents’ cars. Now the song belonged to them, too.

I dare anyone to watch this video and not be moved:

Why is this viral video striking a chord? The metaphors abound

A climactic ballad and a beloved figure in popular culture—one like Fox, who has demonstrated strength and optimism in the face of a grueling, deadly disease—make a potent combination.

But there’s so much more going on here.

The Coldplay song is damn good:

From the moment of its release on Coldplay’s 2005 X & Y, “Fix You” transcended Martin’s personal story of helping a loved one and became a universal sentiment about being a light in a dark and broken world.

With music, the collective often triumphs over the individual:

Coldplay is arguably the last “biggest band on earth” to appeal to a multigenerational global audience —meaning their 1997 formation makes them part of the monoculture of the first millennium rather than a product of today’s fragmented wilderness of music consumption.

Band > solo artist, right?

Although the sound of tens of thousands of people singing along with the hits of 21st century’s cascade of solo superstars is impressive, only a few of those hitmakers view their global platforms as opportunities to unify listeners beyond the stadium walls.

In other words, people singing a memorized lyric in unison is not enough to give a song a deep meaning. Case in point: at sporting matches, people sing and chant many songs. They’re fun (“Take me out to the ball game!”) but rarely do those types of songs transcend the moment; sometimes, it’s the other way around: the moment transcends the songs.

And, some anthems like “Fix You” take on more meaning as they evolve over time, and this song, already one of Coldplay’s most popular, took a giant leap forward at yesterday’s performance. It was a Live-Aid level moment.

Music reminds us democracy is fragile:

Rock and Roll was America’s freedom export, and Chuck Berry records were part of those records that made it to British shores in the 1950s after World War II, influenced the Beatles, and ultimately trickled down a few generations to bands like Coldplay.

While Coldplay’s performance was in no way political, the lyric of “Fix You” could easily apply to current politics and problems.

As I wrote earlier this year, intense feelings have been rife, especially in America, as we try to calibrate our lives to the concurrent stressors of recovering from a pandemic and dealing with inflation, military conflicts, and fears of losing democracy.

This week’s frenzy after the Biden-Trump debate in Atlanta was as worrisome as anything we’ve experienced politically in decades. Lots of things to “fix” in this example.

But it’s not just political parties or fretting over aging and lying leaders—despite the global growth of democracy, it’s at stake in elections in many countries this year, with a far-right group leading in the first round of elections in France and nationalism growing in America.

Seeing this video gave me hope that the good people of this country and world might come together to unify and “fix” global problems together in the same way Fox has persevered in trying to find a cure for Parkinson’s Disease.

If we want to “Be like Mike,” we need a never-give-up attitude and to treat each day as a privilege and a gift to share.

Music counters uncertainty

Nearly every epic anthem that brings people together has a clear and optimistic message. What, in a time of darkness, is more soothing than "Lights will guide you home”? Music = home.


Music provides hope, and its messengers matter

On his Instagram this morning after the concert, Michael J. Fox posted a photo of himself in front of a mural on the festival grounds that read “Optimism is a political act.”

“All the love and thanks to the Coldplay team who took such great care of us. And many thanks to Chris, Will, Johnny, Guy and Phil,” Fox wrote about the moment. “Oh yeah, in case you were wondering, it was f****** mind-blowing. There is a time for every band and a band for every time. This is Coldplay’s time.”