Lewis Capaldi praised after bravely battling Tourette’s on stage at Glastonbury

Lewis Capaldi has been praised after battling through Tourette’s Syndrome onstage at Glastonbury to finish his set on the Pyramid Stage yesterday.

The singer, who had cancelled all his shows in the run-up to Glastonbury, appeared visibly emotional as he experienced a selection of tics throughout his set.

But he was supported by a huge crowd at the Pyramid Stage who helped Capaldi through his songs – even joining in to sing ‘Someone You Loved’ at one point.

Capaldi’s voice also appeared to falter at one point and after performing ‘Hold Me While You Wait’ he apologised and admitted he was annoyed with his performance. He was immediately buoyed by the crowd who cheered ‘Oh Lewis Capaldi’ throughout the set.

While Glastonbury saw Capaldi make his live return, the singer also confirmed that he’ll now take the rest of the year off in order to fully focus on his mental health.

 “I recently took three weeks off just because I’ve been none stop the past year and I wanted to take a wee break from my head for my mental health,” he said.

“I wanted to come back and do Glastonbury because it’s obviously so incredible so I just want to thank you all for coming out. I was scared but you’ve really made me feel at ease so thank you very much for that.”

The Brit Award-winning singer added: “I feel like I’ll be taking another wee break over the next couple of weeks so you probably won’t see much of me for the rest of the year maybe even. But when I do come back, when I do see you, I hope you’re all still up for watching.”

Reacting on Twitter, writer Frances Ryan said: “The Glastonbury crowd filling in for Lewis Capaldi when he needed help was such a beautiful moment. Anyone saying ‘it was heartbreaking’ or ‘he shouldn’t have gone on’ is seriously missing the point. Disability is not a bad thing to be hidden. It exists alongside success and joy.”

Another said: “As his Tourettes overwhelmed him, and he needed a break thousands of voices lifted him up. I feel something akin to a religious experience hearing them sing. The effect on Lewis Capaldi must have been profound. You don’t even have to like the song to get choked up. Beautiful.”

Glastonbury is now into its final day, with a headline set from Elton John set to close proceedings tonight.