Lewis Capaldi breaks his silence after Glastonbury performance
Lewis Capaldi has announced a further hiatus from live performance after struggling to sing through his Tourette symptoms at Glastonbury on Saturday – in a move he labeled ‘the hardest decision of my life’.
The singer, 26, took to social media on Tuesday to announce that he will not be touring ‘for the foreseeable future’ as it is ‘obvious’ that he needs to ‘spend a lot more time getting my mental and physical in order’ health’.
The Scotsman had already taken three weeks off for his performance on the Pyramid Stage at the weekend, but today admitted it wasn’t enough and he was “still learning to adapt to the impact of my Gilles de la Tourette ‘.
The hitmaker got emotional when he started losing his voice during the performance, prompting him to apologize to the audience – who then helped him finish his songs in heartwarming images that quickly went viral.
But after posting on Instagram on Tuesday, Lewis confirmed that he was canceling the planned 24 live dates he had planned for the rest of the year.
Break: Lewis Capaldi has broken his silence over his performance at Glastonbury and thanks fans for their support as he confirmed he will be taking a break from touring
Sorry: Lewis posted to Instagram on Tuesday confirming he was canceling the planned 24 live dates he had planned for the rest of the year
‘Hello everyone. First of all I want to thank Glastonbury for having me, for singing along when I needed it and for all the great messages afterwards. It really means everything,’ he began.
“The fact that this probably won’t come as a surprise doesn’t make it any easier to write, but I’m sorry to let you know that I’ll be taking a break from touring for the foreseeable future.
‘I used to enjoy every second of these kinds of shows and I had hoped that 3 weeks away would help me. But the truth is that I’m still learning to adapt to the impact of my Gilles de la Tourette and on Saturday it became clear that I need to spend a lot more time getting my mental and physical health in order so that I can keep doing everything I love long ago.’
“I know I’m incredibly lucky to be able to take some time off when others can’t and I want to thank my wonderful family. friends, team, medical professionals and all of you who have been so supportive every step of the way through the good times and even more during the past year when I needed it more than ever.”
“I’m so incredibly sorry for everyone who was planning on coming to a show before the end of the year, but I have to feel good to perform at the level you all deserve. Playing for you every night is all I’ve ever dreamed of, so this was the hardest decision of my life. I’ll be back as soon as possible. All my love always, Lewis’.
Lewis had 24 more dates planned for his Broken by Desire to Be Heavenly Sent tour, which ends in Belfast at Boucher Road Playing Fields on September 3.
Fans rallied around the star after footage of him struggling to sing at Glastonbury due to his Tourette symptoms went viral online.
“Stay strong and keep fighting you are amazing,” one fan wrote on Twitter, while another added, “Just incredible you got this, just keep being you.”
Lewis took to the Pyramid Stage on Saturday for his first gig in nearly a month, having taken a break from all commitments in the three weeks leading up to the festival
One onlooker labeled the Scot “absolute class” for “soldiers through,” while another tweeted: “Can’t imagine what it takes to have the guts to perform while living with Tourette but I hope Capaldi knows his fans are with him every step of the way.”
Lewis has been open about his struggle with Gilles de la Tourette – a neurological condition characterized by a combination of involuntary sounds and movements called tics that can cause speech and voice abnormalities.
Others said the “very moving” performance “will go down in history” while helping to raise awareness about the condition.
A patient with Gilles de la Tourette added, ‘I can tell you he would have held those tics all day and would have been exhausted, I hope he’s okay, he’s my hero now.
“What he just did for awareness, he risked his career, he is my hero, he tried, well done!”
Despite his struggles, the star had insisted on finishing his set and the show came to an emotional end as the audience affectionately sang “Someone You Love” to him.
In the heartwarming moment, Lewis walked across the stage singing short bursts of the song as the friendly crowd chanted at the top of their lungs in support of the star.
Towards the end of his set, he told the crowd, “I feel like I’ll be taking another little break for the next couple of weeks, you probably won’t be seeing much of me for the rest of the year.”
Lewis Capaldi fans rally around the star after a clip of him struggling to sing at Glastonbury due to his Tourette symptoms went viral online
During his Glastonbury show, Lewis also spoke candidly about why he was away from the stage for the music festival for three weeks.
He said: ‘I took three weeks off because I’ve been non-stop at the beginning of the year and I wanted a break for my head and my mental health, I wanted to come back and do Glastonbury, because it’s so incredible. ‘
His fans have since taken to Twitter to reassure him that they will wait for him no matter how long it takes.
“You are an amazing artist and create magic in your songs,” wrote one, “take a break and you’ll be wowing fans again in no time.”
Another said: ‘Everyone is behind you and the love for you is always there.
“Grab yourself that break, everyone will be here when you come back stronger than ever.”
A range of famous famous faces have also shown their support for the Scottish star.
TV presenter Dan Walker wrote: “Special moment at #Glastonbury as the crowd helps Lewis Capaldi ❤️.”