Its been 32 years since the world learnt that it was actually Marty McFly that invented rock n'roll with his stirring, yet divisive, version of Johnny B. Goode alongside Marvin Berry & The Starlighters in Back To The Future. The song would later go on to receive wider fame beyond Hill Valley after it was plagiarized by Marvin's cousin, Chuck. On Sunday night, Marty McFly himself, Michael J. Fox, decided to roll back the years and took to the stage to pay tribute to both the film and the legendary scene with a little help from Coldplay. They created a perfect Back To The Future medley that recreated Hill Valley High School's 1955 Enchantment Under The Sea dance, and consisted of Earth Angel and Johnny B. Goode. You can check out a video of the performance below.
The above incident (found via Billboard) took place on Sunday night at the Metlife Stadium in New Jersey during the encore of the second night of the American leg of Coldplay's world tour. After being prompted by a video from Moses Martin, his 10-year-old son with Gwyneth Paltrow, who revealed that it's both his and his dad's favorite ever film, Coldplay singer and front-man Chris Martin launched into a rendition of Earth Angel alongside his band-mates Johnny Buckland, Guy Berryman and Will Champion. I can only imagine that the crowd instantly paired off and then began to slow dance as Coldplay serenaded them. Yet this calm soon disintegrated as they were sent into raptures when Chris Martin invited Michael J. Fox onto the stage halfway through the number and the actor, with his Gibson Les Paul gripped into his hand, assisted the quartet on guitar for the remainder of the song.
Obviously any Back To The Future tribute wouldn't be complete without a quick rendition of Johnny B. Goode, though. So Coldplay's tenure as a fivesome instead of a foursome lasted for one more number as Fox blasted out the opening bars to the 1958 hit record, with Martin leading the way on the vocals. This actually isn't the first time that Chris Martin and Michael J. Fox have performed this classic track together. Back in 2013, at the annual benefit for the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research, the duo played Johnny B. Goode in New York City.
Fox was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease in 1991, and since then he has gallantly fought and raised money for the condition through his foundation. While known for his roles in Family Ties and Spin City, it was his performances in the Back To The Future trilogy that permanently confirmed his place in the pop culture pantheon. That's why footage of 55-year-old Michael J. Fox looking so happy and healthy alongside Coldplay will make millions of movie fans almost as delighted as the time George McFly punched Biff square in the nose.
