Picture supply, Getty ImagesImage caption, The band performed for 2 hours, racing via hits like Repair You and YellowArticle informationAuthor, Mark SavageRole, Music Correspondent48 minutes agoIs there such a factor as a band that’s too large for Glastonbury?If that’s the case, Coldplay is perhaps it.Individuals are climbing up scaffolding, safety guards are standing on emergency automobiles, precise Tom Cruise is watching from a viewing platform, accompanied by Gillian Anderson and Simon Pegg. Michael J Fox even joins them to play guitar on Repair You.At different levels round Worthy Farm, A-list artists floundered, with some fields barely at one-third capability.Everybody, it appears, is straining for a glimpse of rock’s most generous-spirited band. And Coldplay don’t disappoint.Picture supply, Stephen Fildes / BBCImage caption, Tom Cruise loved the set from a viewing platform to the facet of the stageLike Dua Lipa on Friday night time, they perceive the transient: You’ll be able to’t flip as much as Glastonbury and play the identical outdated pageant set. It has to really feel particular.They begin with Yellow. Sure, Yellow. A track some other band would save for the encore.And for the subsequent hour, the hits don’t cease: Greater Energy, Paradise, The Scientist, Hymn For The Weekend, Viva La Vida. The setlist is stacked.Nevertheless it’s greater than that. Chris Martin makes it his mission to succeed in each member of the viewers individually.That’s why they offer out the wristbands that flip the entire discipline into an enormous LED display screen. That’s why there are and confetti cannons each 5 minutes. That’s why so lots of their songs have a bit that goes “woaaaaah” – even essentially the most informal fan can sing alongside.Throughout The Scientist, Martin thanks the individuals who’ve waited by the entrance obstacles all day. “It’s wonderful that none of you needed to pee,” he laughs.However he additionally thanks “all people in the midst of the sector” and the latecomers “on the again, 5 time zones away, of their wellington boots”.“Thanks for all of your flags and the singing and every part. That is our favorite factor to do on earth, so thanks for letting us do it.”The manufacturing is such an assault on the senses – with all its lasers and big balloons and confetti cannons – that experiencing it leaves you feeling barely dizzy. Nevertheless it’s precisely that largesse that units Coldplay aside. Cynics may dismiss it as pandering to the bottom widespread denominator. I favor to consider it as generosity. An act of group.It additionally helps that they’ve an impenetrable arsenal of hits.Clocks, with its swirling piano hook, is a surprisingly paranoid stadium anthem (“am I a part of the treatment, or am I a part of the illness”), whereas Sky Full Of Stars is a pure sugar-rush of pop perfection.The pressing, propulsive Viva La Vida may inform the story of a deposed despot reminiscing about his glory days, however everybody is aware of it for the 5 observe “oh-ah-woah-oh-oh” hook, that rings across the Pyramid Stage lengthy after Coldplay have left.Picture caption, The set was an all-around assault on the sensesBut maybe essentially the most intriguing part got here in the direction of the center of the set, when Coldplay briefly indulged in some new materials and deep cuts.It featured the stay debut of the track We Pray, that includes Nigerian star Burna Boy and British rapper Little Simz; and a vibrant rendition Arabesque, from 2019’s underappreciated On a regular basis Life album, which included a blistering saxophone solo from African icon Femi Kuti.The latter, specifically, provided a glimpse of how Coldplay might function outdoors the confines of stadium rock.However earlier than lengthy, they had been again in crowd-pleasing mode, racing via the dance anthems One thing Simply Like This and My Universe, a collaboration with Okay-pop supergroup BTS.For the encore, they emerged on a B-stage, the place Martin reminisced about their first ever go to to Glastonbury, 25 years in the past this month.They performed the brand new band tent, they had been late, they usually had been “simply the worst” (his phrases, not mine).To have fun, they performed Sparks, a rarely-heard acoustic ballad from their debut album, Parachutes.Then, the very best second of the night time. Picture caption, Coldplay are the one band to have headlined Glastonbury 5 timesTurning the cameras on the viewers, Martin began improvising odes to particular person followers.“5 good-looking males of their tracksuits / They’ve made it to the entrance of the entrance part,” he sang to at least one group.“They didn’t come at the moment / Dressed as Coldplay.“They got here dressed as One Route.”After a couple of extra ditties, the cameras all of a sudden minimize to Glastonbury co-founder Sir Michael Eavis, prompting a roar of approval from the viewers. Once more, Martin started to sing.“Sir Michael we simply wish to thanks“As people go you’re the very best of all kinds“You’re a musical charmer“You’re the world biggest farmer“Whoever acquired knighted sporting shorts?”Picture caption, Sir Michael Eavis was seranaded from the stageAnd simply when it appeared like that may be the crowning glory, actor Michael J Fox appeared on display screen.The actor, who just lately launched a documentary about dwelling with Parkinson’s, was in a wheelchair, however the viewers went wild.Martin defined that the star’s 1985 movie Again To The Future had “impressed us to turn out to be a band”. And Fox joined him onstage to play Repair You on a peach guitar.Each Glastonbury wants a defining second – and this felt just like the one for 2024.This was Coldplay’s fifth time headlining Glastonbury, after earlier stints on the high of the invoice in 2002, 2005, 2011 and 2016.Chris Martin beforehand informed the BBC he was cautious about returning to the pageant after folks complained about him making visitors appearances throughout different folks’s units – together with Stormzy and Kylie Minogue.”I noticed a tweet afterwards which mentioned, ‘You’ll be able to at all times depend on him to come back on in a tracksuit and break every part’,” he recalled.Tonight, that felt like distant historical past.Tom Cruise’s one-word evaluation? “Superior.”Picture supply, Getty ImagesImage caption, The Pyramid Stage was flooded with lasers, spotlights, fireworks and confettiSetlistForever HeldYellowMusic Of The SpheresHigher PowerAdventure Of A LifetimeParadiseThe Scientist w/ ReverseClocksHymn For The WeekendCharlie BrownViva La VidaWe PrayThat’s AlrightArabesqueViolet Hill∞ (Infinity)One thing Simply Like This / BreakawayMy UniverseA Sky Full Of StarsSunriseSparksJumbotron SongHumankindFix YouFeelslikeimfallingingloveImage supply, Getty ImagesImage caption, Little Simz gave an exhilarating efficiency instantly earlier than ColdplayColdplay had been preceded on the Pyramid Stage by Little Simz, enjoying her solely UK present of the yr – but when she was rusty, it didn’t present.The Londoner staged a hip-hop masterclass that highlighted each her lyrical flex and her magnetic stage presence.She stood alone on stage for the opening salvo of Silhouette, No Merci and I Love You, I Hate You – every of which spotlight the impartial artist’s hard-won success.“Do not I am God’s little one? Received right here alone,” she rapped on Silhouette.It’s a theme she returned to on the night time’s solely new track, The Code, which featured an excellent clap-back to her detractors: “You’ll be able to transfer the goalposts and I’ll nonetheless preserve scoring.”Having established her credentials, she relaxed a little bit, bringing out Nigerian singer Obongjayar for the supple Level And Kill earlier than segueing into extra mellow songs like Girl and Egocentric.The clamour and pleasure grew as her set continued. In the direction of the top, the rapper eliminated her shades and surveyed the viewers, wanting visibly moved.“That is so mad for me,” she mentioned. “I’ve been doing music since I used to be knee excessive and that is by far the most individuals I’ve ever carried out in entrance of.“It truly is a dream.”Picture supply, Getty ImagesImage caption, Newcomers The Final Dinner Occasion drew an enormous crowd to The Different StageOther units on the Pyramid Stage on Saturday got here from Cyndi Lauper – who suffered from technical points that affected her vocals – and indie band Keane, marking the twentieth anniversary of their chart-topping debut album Hopes and Fears.“It modified our lives,” mentioned a frontman Tom Chaplin, main the viewers on a full-throated singalong via hits like Someplace Solely We Know, Bedshaped and All people’s Altering.The Different Stage had an eclectic line-up that included pop star indie heroes Bloc Occasion, newcomers The Final Dinner Occasion and pop star Camila Cabello, whose quirky set noticed her using round on a BMX.Picture supply, Getty ImagesImage caption, Jessie Ware placed on a spirited present, regardless of diminished viewers numbers on the West Holts stageKasabian performed a not-so-secret set on the Woodsies tent, which was crammed to bursting level, whereas pop queen Jessie Ware headlined on West Holts – bringing feel-good disco anthems to a disappoingly small crowd. (Blame Coldplay).She gave it her all, although, hot-stepping via the wonky disco groove of Freak Me Now, and brandishing a microphone stand that doubled as a dominatrix’s whip, to the delight of her diehard followers.”I’m right here to have a great time, to not earn a great time,” mentioned one. Elsewhere, Disclosure introduced out Sam Smith to play Latch as they headlined The Different Stage, and South Korean DJ Peggy Gou acquired festivalgoers prepared for the all-night dance arenas with an invigorating set on The Park Stage.In different phrases, there was an excessive amount of music – and an excessive amount of selection – for anybody to devour in someday.The leisure continues on Sunday with R&B star SZA headlining the Pyramid Stage and Shania Twain anticipated to attract the weekend’s greatest viewers for her mid-afternoon efficiency within the legend slot.