IT was a moment that had fans in tears – as ailing movie star Michael J Fox was brought on to the Pyramid Stage during Coldplay’s headlining Glastonbury set and Chris Martin paid a moving tribute to his “hero”. After the singer introduced him by referencing his “Chuck Berry riff” in the classic movie Back To The Future, the actor — now in a wheelchair after 33 years with Parkinson’s disease — joined the band to play guitar to their 2005 hit Fix You. And the crowd went wild as Chris declared that the 1985 film had been an inspiration, saying: “The main reason we’re in a band is because of watching Back To The Future.
“So thank you to our hero for ever and one of the most amazing people on Earth, Mr Michael J Fox.” It was a fitting tribute to the star , who was an idol to film lovers before becoming something of a hero to health campaigners after his shock diagnosis with the debilitating disease when he was just 29. Amazingly, ten years after his 1991 diagnosis, when asked how he would react if offered his old life back, he said: “I would, without a moment’s hesitation, tell you to take a hike.
” Now 63, Michael claims he has only found happiness after he was struck down by the degenerative condition . Before it, he said, life in Hollywood’s rat race had been “a narrow, sheltered existence fuelled by fear”. But after coming to terms with his illness, he ditched his obsession with status and threw himself into raising money for research into .
