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June 29, 2016 2:56 pm
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Coldplay Begins Concert With Broadcast of Charlie Chaplin’s Iconic Speech in ‘The Great Dictator’

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avatar by Shiryn Ghermezian

Chris Martin. Photo: Wikimedia Commons.

British rock band Coldplay started its set at the Glastonburg Festival on Sunday by broadcasting excerpts of the iconic speech Charlie Chaplin delivered in The Great Dictator, the 1940 political satire in which the famous filmmaker/movie star played a Jewish barber.

“I’m sorry, but I don’t want to be an emperor. That’s not my business. I don’t want to rule or conquer anyone,” Chaplin begins his address. “I should like to help everyone, if possible, Jew, Gentile, black man, white. We all want to help one another. Human beings are like that. We want to live by each other’s happiness — not by each other’s misery.”

According to the BBC, the intro at Coldplay’s concert included the part of the speech in which the “barber” says, “You, the people have the power — the power to create machines. The power to create happiness! You, the people, have the power to make this life free and beautiful, to make this life a wonderful adventure.”

The Great Dictator is about a Jewish barber who spends years in an army hospital recovering from wounds he sustained during his service in the Great War, while a fascist dictator and his antisemitic policies take rise. Both lead roles in the comedic drama are played by Chaplin.

The Glastonburg Festival took place from June 22 to 26 in the UK. After performing in 2002, 2005 and 2011, Coldplay is now the only band to headline the festival four times, according to the Daily Mail. 

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